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Family husky safari in Kemi: what works with children

A grey and white husky puppy standing in a snowy field, looking back over its shoulder

Illustration photo: a husky puppy in the snow, not at either kennel on this page.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With a toddler or a baby, book the farm's hour-long guided tour of the kennel, since its rides are not for babies. With children from about four, its shortest ride keeps them on the sled for fifteen minutes and warm by the fire afterwards. Without a car, book the ride from Kemi, where children ride in a parent's sled; through a local agency it collects you from your hotel.

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.

Farm, short rideFarm, kennel tourKemi ride, platformKemi ride, agency
Children With an adult; not babies No age limit printed Youngest age not stated Child fare from 3
Where children sit Not stated No ride In a parent's sled In a sleigh, two at a time
Getting there Own car, or a transfer on request Own car, or a transfer on request Car from the Kemi safari house Pickup from your hotel
Clothing Rented on site Not stated Lent Lent

Nothing is ranked: the right choice depends on the youngest child, and the kennels describe their age rules in different terms.

Where these figures come from
  • Farm, short ride: Fifteen minutes on the sled at the Keminmaa farm, then the dogs, a snack and the fire. Children come with an adult; babies do not.
  • Farm, kennel tour: An easy hour at the same farm, all year round, meeting the dogs with a guide and no sled at all. The one option here for the very young.
  • Kemi ride, platform: Five kilometres from the Kemi safari house, children in their parents' sled, an adult of 18 or over driving and the outfit lent.
  • Kemi ride, agency: The same kennel trip sold by a Kemi travel agency, which collects you from your hotel in Kemi or Tornio and seats up to two children in a sleigh.

With children, the first question is not which ride but whether they ride at all, and then who they sit with.

The youngest

The Keminmaa farm takes children on its rides only with an adult, and says its rides are not for babies. For a baby or a toddler it sells something else: an easy hour touring the kennel with a guide, all year round, with no sled involved.1 Its guided tour prices children from three.2

Children who can sit a sled

From about four, the farm’s fifteen-minute ride is built for them: short enough that nobody gets cold, followed by time with the dogs by the fire. On the ride from Kemi, children travel in their parents’ sled while an adult drives, and the listing prints no youngest age, so ask with a small child.

Without a car

The farm is in Keminmaa, and you drive yourselves or pay for a transfer. The Kemi ride starts from the safari house in town, and a Kemi travel agency sells the same trip with a car to and from your hotel, putting children under twelve in a sleigh, up to two at a time.3

What this costs for a family of four is on husky safari prices in Kemi. The kennels themselves are introduced on husky safari in Kemi.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What should the children wear?

On the ride from Kemi the lent outfit covers overalls, shoes, wool socks and gloves, and the agency version adds an under-cap. The Keminmaa farm rents boots and overalls on site but does not say which sizes it keeps, so if your child is small for their age, ask before you go or bring a snowsuit, a hat and mittens of your own.

Can a teenager drive the sled?

Not on the ride from Kemi, whose listing sets 18 as the minimum age for the driver. The Keminmaa farm prints no driving age. Its terms say only that guides may seat anyone they judge unfit to drive in the sled, and that two sharing a sled may weigh 180 kilograms together. Ask the farm before you promise a fourteen-year-old the handlebar.

What if it is very cold on the day?

The farm reserves the right to shorten, change or cancel a ride in overly cold or overly warm weather, and in too little or too much snow. Its hour on the sled starts only from mid-January for the same reason. With young children, the short programme is the one least likely to be cut, and the one that ends soonest by the fire.

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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