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The best snowmobile tour in Saariselkä, by the time you spend riding

Two snowmobiles, each with a driver and a passenger, crossing an open snowfield

Illustration photo: snowmobiles in Gulmarg, not in Saariselkä.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For the most riding for the money, take the resort's four-hour tour, which promises the longest guaranteed time on the machine of the four. For a first try, its two-hour tour is the cheapest of the four and enough to find out whether you like it. If you have ridden before and want a snowmobile of your own for a full day, the hotel's day tour is the one built for it, but it needs a group of four.

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.

Resort, 2 hoursResort, 4 hoursHotel, 4 hoursHotel, full day
Riding time At least 45 min At least 2.5 h Not stated Not stated
Whole tour 2 h 4 h 4 h 6 h
Snowmobile Shared, or own at 18+ Shared, or own at 18+ Shared, or own Own
Children 12+ on the page 12+ on the page Sleigh, 4–14 Adults only
Price From €94.34 per person – the lowest price From €120.84 per person From €225 per person From €680 per person

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price. The resort's page lists its tours from twelve, while its booking calendar also sells a sleigh place for children up to eleven, so ask. The hotel's two-hour tour, at 145 euros, is left out of the table.

Where these figures come from
  • Resort, 2 hours: A two-hour outing from the resort with at least 45 minutes of riding, two to a snowmobile.
  • Resort, 4 hours: Four hours from the resort with at least two and a half of riding and a soup lunch.
  • Hotel, 4 hours: A four-hour day into the wilderness from a village hotel, with lunch and a driving lesson.
  • Hotel, full day: Six hours for riders with experience, each on a snowmobile of their own, for groups of four or more.

Two of Saariselkä’s snowmobile sellers price their tours directly: a resort and a hotel.

The resort’s two tours

Kakslauttanen, the resort south of the village, prints a minimum riding time for both of its tours: at least 45 minutes in two hours, and at least two and a half hours in four, with a soup lunch. Two riders share a machine unless one adult books a snowmobile alone.1 The four-hour tour therefore guarantees more than three times the riding for about a quarter more money.

The hotel’s tours

Wilderness Hotel Saariselkä, in the village, sells a two-hour and a four-hour tour on shared snowmobiles, and a six-hour day for experienced riders in which everyone drives their own machine; that day needs at least four people. The hotel does not print how long you actually ride.2

The one-hour and platform-sold tours are compared on the snowmobile safari in Saariselkä page.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What happens if I damage the snowmobile?

The driver pays the excess. The resort's booking calendar sets it at 1,500 euros for its snowmobiles, and another Saariselkä operator caps it at 1,200 euros per snowmobile and accident. The hotel's activity page does not give a figure, so ask before you ride, and ask whether a waiver can lower it, as some operators sell one.

Do they pick us up in the village?

The resort's transfer runs from and to the resort itself, which lies south of the village, so a guest staying in the village has to get to its reception first. The hotel, at Laanilantie 5 in the village, lists no transfer for its snowmobile tours, so ask where they start. If you are staying elsewhere, ask either one whether it can collect you and what that costs.

What should we wear?

The resort includes thermal clothing and driving gear. The hotel lists helmets but not overalls or boots among what its tours include, so either ask whether they lend them or rent a set: the resort rents thermal clothing with boots for 32 euros a day. Bring your own gloves or mittens and a warm hat to wear under the helmet.

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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