Best snowmobile tour in Tornio: matched to what you want
Illustration photo: snowmobiles seen from a drone, not on the tours described here.
The short answer
For open sea ice without leaving town, the Tornio company's Bothnian Bay ride. For forest and frozen rivers on both sides of the border, its wilderness ride. For the light, the short sunrise or sunset ride out of Kemi. For the longest time on the machine, the three-hour forest ride from Kemi. For a couple who want the ice to themselves, the private tour starting near Kemi. With small children, the snowmobile park that collects you.
Two snowmobile tours start in Tornio and several more on the Kemi side. Each is the right one for somebody, so this page picks by what you want.
Sea ice from town
The Tornio company’s Bothnian Bay ride takes you onto the frozen sea between Finland and Sweden for two hours without a drive to Kemi.1 If the flat white expanse of the bay is the picture in your head, start here.
Forest and rivers
Its wilderness ride swaps the sea for forest tracks, winter roads and frozen rivers, crossing into Sweden on the way.2 Pick it if you want trees around you rather than open ice.
The light
Out of Kemi, the sunrise and sunset rides are an hour and a half on the bay, timed to the two ends of the short winter day.3 They are the shortest rides here, and the light is the reason to book them.
The longest ride
The forest ride from Kemi runs for three hours, across the bay and into the wilderness beyond it.4 Nothing else here keeps you on the machine as long.
The ice to yourselves
One company starting near Kemi runs only private tours on the frozen sea and its islands, with a stop at a wilderness hut, for a couple or a party of up to six adults.5 It is the pick for a couple; the details are on private snowmobile tour in Tornio.
Small children
The snowmobile park run by a lodge on the Kemi side collects you from nearby towns, puts children in a sled and keeps a warm cabin for breaks.6 Its terms for children are on family snowmobile safari in Tornio.
The Tornio rides are set against Kemi’s on snowmobile safari in Tornio.
Questions people ask
Can we combine the snowmobile with ice fishing?
Yes, out of Kemi. The same company that runs the sunrise and forest rides sells a two-hour trip that takes you by snowmobile onto the frozen Bothnian Bay to fish with a guide, at 155 euros a head with the winter outfit and helmet lent. A driver who wants a machine alone pays a supplement of 55 euros, when one is available.
Which tours will a snowmobile beginner manage?
None of the listings asks for experience; what they ask for is a driving licence and an age of eighteen for whoever drives. The private tour near Kemi says that two people booking together can switch drivers during the ride, which suits a pair where one is nervous. On the shared rides two people share one machine, and the listings do not say whether the pair may swap, so ask when you book.
Is there an evening ride with a chance of the aurora?
The night ride out of Kemi runs for two hours through snowy forest and across the frozen bay after dark, and its listing mentions that you may even see the aurora. It is a snowmobile ride first, though, and not a northern lights tour: nobody promises the sky, and the route is set by the ride rather than by where the cloud breaks.