Best snowmobile tour in Kilpisjärvi, by who is riding
Illustration photo: a snowmobile on open snow, not on the tours described here.
The short answer
First time on a snowmobile: the two-hour beginners' loop, twelve easy kilometres after a driving lesson. Coming for the landmark: the Three-Country Cairn tour. Not driving at all: ride the sledge behind the guide to the cairn, which is cheaper than a seat on a machine. Wanting your own guide: the village guiding company's private cairn tour. Experienced and in spring: the six-hour day to the summit of Halti.
Every guided snowmobile tour in Kilpisjärvi meets in the same village, so pick by the person on the machine.
For a first time
The two-hour loop starts with a driving lesson and keeps to twelve easy kilometres, the lowest level the company sets.
For the cairn
The three-hour tour to the yellow cairn where Finland, Sweden and Norway meet is the one the company calls its most popular, and it rates as easy too.
For a passenger
A seat in the sledge behind the guide’s machine costs less than a seat on a snowmobile on the cairn tour, and needs no licence or driving; children from eight can ride in it.
For your own guide
The village guiding company runs the cairn trip only for your party, one to four guests, and adjusts the pace to you.1
For an experienced driver
From March the six-hour day covers 110 kilometres to the border cairn on the summit of Halti and asks for previous experience on a snowmobile.2 Rental machines are the other route for experienced drivers, on marked trails only.3
The shared routes are set side by side on snowmobile safaris in Kilpisjärvi.
Tours you can book
Priced per person
A six-hour snowmobile day to Halti, Finland's highest fell
Run by Kilpissafarit
From €210per person
Length6 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Price not stated
A private snowmobile ride to the Three-Country Cairn, one to four guests
Run by Destination Kilpisjärvi
From €155pricing basis not stated
Length3 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Is the tundra tour a good first ride?
The company rates it at level two of three, against level one for the beginners' loop and the cairn tour, and it runs only from 6 January. A confident first-timer may manage it, but the company's own levels point beginners to the easier routes first, and the tundra tour lists no hot drink or pastry, which the cairn tour serves at the stop.
What does the Halti day ask of a group?
It runs only with at least four people on machines or six in the sledge, so a couple may find it cancelled or offered as a private tour at extra cost. Children must be ten to ride in its sledge rather than the usual eight, and a box lunch can be ordered ahead for 20 euros; otherwise the price covers the guide, the outfit, a hot drink and a pastry.
At what time of day do the tours run?
The beginners' loop runs from half past four to half past six in the afternoon, the cairn tour at nine and at one, the tundra tour from a quarter to one, the four-hour loop from eleven and the Halti day from ten. All times are Finnish; the company reminds guests that Norway and Sweden are an hour behind.