Family husky safari in Tornio: what each kennel allows children
Illustration photo: husky puppies indoors, not at the kennels described here.
The short answer
With children aged five to twelve, the private seated ride on the Swedish side is the clearest choice: it states its minimum age and prints a child fare. With younger children, ask the Kemi company about the ride where children sit in a parent's sled, since it sets no age on its listing. With teenagers of fifteen or more who want to drive, the Swedish driving tours take them. For a toddler, an hour-long kennel visit in the Ylitornio area involves no ride at all.
The first question for a family near Tornio is not which kennel is best but which one will take your youngest child.
Five to twelve: the seated ride across the river
The kennel on the Swedish side takes children from five on its seated ride, in a big sled with the musher driving, and prints a child fare for ages seven to twelve.1 It is the only ride here that states both an age and a child price. The transfer to the kennel is not included, so either drive or ask the kennel to arrange one.
Under five: ask in Kemi
The ride out of Kemi seats children in their parents’ sled while an adult of eighteen or over drives, and its listing sets no minimum age.2 That leaves it open rather than confirmed for a toddler, so ask before booking. It meets at the safari house in Kemi, 21 minutes from Tornio, and drives you from there to the kennel. The Keminmaa lodge offers a child discount on its private safari but prints neither the amount nor an age.
Too young to ride
A family-run kennel in the Ylitornio area sells an hour’s guided visit with the dogs and no ride, at 40 euros a head.3 For a child too small for a sled, meeting the dogs may be the whole point.
Teenagers
At fifteen the Swedish kennel’s driving tours open up, and with them the chance for a teenager to run a team with a guide alongside.
The rides themselves are compared on husky safari in Tornio.
Tours you can book
A one-hour kennel visit to meet the huskies, without a ride
Run by Matara Creek
From €40per person
Length1 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)A private husky safari at a lodge in Keminmaa
Run by Old Pine Husky Lodge
From €116per person
Length2 h
Book now on Viator(opens in a new tab)A 5 km self-drive husky ride from Kemi, clothing included
Run by Sea Lapland Safaris
From €195per person
Length2.5 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)A private husky sled ride on the Swedish side, seated behind the team
Run by Tornedalen Husky & Adventure
From SEK 2,095per person
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Do the kennels lend winter clothing in children's sizes?
Only the Kemi ride says it lends clothing at all: overalls, shoes, wool socks and gloves. Its listing does not say whether the sizes go down to small children, so give the company your children's ages and heights when you book. The Swedish kennel and the Keminmaa lodge print nothing on clothing, so plan to dress children in your own full winter layers there.
Will a family of four ride in one sled?
Probably not on the Swedish seated ride. The twin towns' listing for the kennel describes the ride as about ten kilometres sitting on a big sled, two people to a sled, so a party of four would normally travel in two sleds behind two teams. Out of Kemi the listing puts two participants to a sled, taking turns to drive, so ask how the company divides a family with more children than parents before you count on sharing.
What do five- and six-year-olds pay on the Swedish seated ride?
The page does not say. It takes children from five and prints a child fare for ages seven to twelve, which leaves the two youngest years without a stated price. They may pay the child fare, the adult fare or something else; ask the kennel before you book rather than assuming, because it changes the family total noticeably.