Family husky safari in Posio: who can come and where they ride
Most kennels keep puppies, and most children ask about them first.
The short answer
With children under eight, book the ten-kilometre ride: children from four pay a child fare, under-fours come free with a paying adult, one child can sit in the parents' sled and any others ride with the guide. From eight, the longer rides into the park open up. Arrange the drive to the farm yourselves or ask for a transfer, which costs extra.
The kennel beside Riisitunturi prints its rules for children plainly, which makes planning a family ride easier than usual.1
Who pays and who rides free
Children aged four to twelve pay a child fare. Under-fours come free with a paying adult. Anything longer than ten kilometres is for eight and over, so families with younger children are on the ten-kilometre loop.
Where the children sit
Two adults share a sled, one driving and one sitting. One child can ride in that sled with them; any other children travel with the guide.
Getting there
The prices do not include the trip to the farm. The kennel can arrange a transfer for an extra charge, or you drive yourselves.
The family ticket
The Posio tourist office’s weekly programme lists a family ride of an hour and a half for two adults and all their children.2 The kennel’s own page does not.
What the rides cost for a whole family is added up on husky safari price in Posio.
Tours you can book
A 10 km husky ride you drive yourselves, from a kennel in Posio
Run by Kota-Husky
From €175per person
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)Two hours seated in a husky sled driven by a musher
Run by Trott Husky
From €200per person
Length2 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)Twenty kilometres by dog sled into Riisitunturi National Park
Run by Kota-Husky
From €255per person
Length3.5 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Can our older child drive the team?
The kennel's page prices children up to twelve and says two adults share a sled, one driving and one sitting, but it prints no minimum age for driving. A child of thirteen or more pays the adult fare, but the page does not say whether that also lets them drive, so ask the kennel before the ride rather than finding out at the start line.
What if our toddler gets cold halfway?
The ten-kilometre loop stops about halfway so drivers can swap, which is the natural moment to check on a small child, and it ends by a fire in a kota with a hot drink. The longer rides are not open to children under eight at all. The kennel's page does not say whether it lends children's winter clothing, so ask before you go, and dress a young child in more layers than feel necessary.
Is the seated ride in Ranua better with small children?
It depends on age. In Ranua a musher drives and everyone sits, which suits a family where neither parent wants to drive, but its listing says it is not for children under five. At the Posio kennel a child from four pays a child fare and an under-four rides free with a paying adult, so for the youngest children Posio is the one that takes them.