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The best reindeer tour from Kemijärvi for your party

Three harnessed reindeer, two pale and one dark with large antlers, standing by wooden sleds in snow at dusk

Illustration photo: reindeer ready for a sled ride, not at the farms named here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Stay in town for the herder's two hours in Kemijärvi if you want reindeer without a drive. For the most hands-on day, go to Salla, fifty minutes away, where the park teaches you to drive your own reindeer. For a long day out with the herd, take the farm safari from Sallatunturi. With a mixed-age family, the short farm visit near Luosto, 46 minutes away, is the one that states it takes all ages.

How the operators compare

Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.

Jauri Resort, KemijärviSalla Wilderness ParkSallatunturin TuvatLapland Safaris, Luosto
Best for No drive Driving a reindeer A long day out Mixed ages
Drive from Kemijärvi None 50 min 50 min 46 min
Length 2 h 3 h 5–6 h 1 h 45 min
Who holds the reins You sit in the sledge You Not stated Not stated

Prices are left to the reindeer price page for Kemijärvi; this table chooses by the kind of day, not by cost.

Where these figures come from
  • Jauri Resort, Kemijärvi: Two hours with a herder in town: a sled trip, lasso throwing and a fire in a kota, with transport and thermal gear.
  • Salla Wilderness Park: Three hours in Salla: a lesson, then your own reindeer and sleigh to drive behind the guide, and a picnic in a hut.
  • Sallatunturin Tuvat: Five to six hours and about 70 km to a wilderness reindeer farm, with soup and coffee in a Lapp hut.
  • Lapland Safaris, Luosto: An hour and three quarters with a herder near Luosto, transfers and a thermal outfit included, for all ages.

One reindeer outing is sold in Kemijärvi itself, and it is described on reindeer in Kemijärvi. The choice widens with a drive.

For the hands-on

Salla Wilderness Park teaches you to drive your own reindeer and sends you out behind the guide, with a picnic in a hut on the way.1 It is the only listing here that says you drive.

For a long day with the herd

Sallatunturin Tuvat’s farm safari is the big outing: five to six hours, around seventy kilometres, and lunch at a farm in the wilderness.2 Pick it if the reindeer are the day rather than an hour of it.

For small children and grandparents

The short visit near Luosto is the one listing that says all ages are welcome, and it lends a thermal outfit. Kemijärvi’s own outing stays the easiest if you would rather not drive at all.

Questions people ask

Is there anything shorter than two hours?

Near Pyhä, yes. Kairankutsu's visit at the Kopara reindeer park, sold on Viator, lasts about an hour and a half with what its title calls a one-hour sledge safari, at 130 euros per person, for groups of up to sixteen. It is 46 minutes from Kemijärvi by the driving times this site uses, the same distance as the Lapland Safaris visit near Luosto.

Can we see reindeer after dark?

In Salla, yes. Salla Wilderness Park runs an evening reindeer safari that starts from its reindeer park after dark, follows a route of about six kilometres through forest and open swamp, and stops by a fire, in December and from January to March. Its listing gives 116 euros for three hours without a price basis, and the swamp opens to the north with no light pollution, which is its case for the aurora.

Do we need a car for these?

For the three outside town, plan on it. The Kemijärvi outing includes transport from Jauri Resort and pick-up points in town. The Luosto visit includes transfers, but this site's record does not say from where, and the Salla outings' listings mention no pick-up from Kemijärvi at all, so ask each operator before assuming you can do without the car.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

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