Family husky safari in Utsjoki: what children can do
Illustration photo: a husky in harness, not at the farms described here.
The short answer
With children old enough to steer, book the easy five-kilometre loop, which the village company names as its family ride, on flat fields. With children under twelve and a need to know the cost in advance, the holiday village's safari has a child price and seats two to a team, so a parent can ride with a child. With a child under five, ask first: the village company advises against them driving at all.
For a family the husky ride is the second half of the outing. The first is the drive over the Teno into Norway.
Which ride for which age
The village company does not recommend children under five driving a sled on its rides, and suggests that families with small children book a shorter programme instead.1 For older children, its easy loop on flat fields is the one it describes as right for families with children.2 Its spring day is for older teenagers and adults. The holiday village prints no age limit at all.
Who sits and who steers
The holiday village puts two people to each team, which lets a parent and a child go together.3 The village company’s rides are driven by the guests themselves, on shared sleds on the longer run.
The drive
Forty minutes to the holiday village’s farm, about an hour to the village company’s, and an hour and a half for the spring day. Both collect you from your accommodation and bring you back, so there is no need to drive yourself, but even the shortest ride is sold as three hours, so plan the day around it.
For the full comparison of the four rides, see husky safari in Utsjoki.
Questions people ask
Will the clothing fit our children?
Both sellers lend winter gear, but neither says what sizes it keeps. The holiday village includes warm clothes in its price and the village company provides extra winter gear if needed, so for small children bring your own warm layers, mittens and boots, and ask about child sizes when you book rather than on the morning.
Do children pay less?
At both. The holiday village prints 240 euros for a child under twelve against 300 for an adult. The village company prints a single price per ride and its terms give children under twelve a 30 per cent discount on its prices, so ask it to confirm the child fare on your booking before you pay.
What if a child falls ill in the days before the ride?
With the village company, cancelling in the last seven days costs the whole price, but its terms make an exception for illness backed by a medical certificate, so keep the paperwork if a doctor sees your child. The holiday village's activity pages print no cancellation terms, so ask it before booking what happens if a child cannot go on the day.