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Family ice fishing in Inari: which trips suit children

Sausages on sticks roasting over a log fire on snowy ground, with sparks and a blurred forest behind

Illustration photo: a campfire in the snow, not on one of the trips compared here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With a child under four, book Visit Inari's four-hour trip, which it lists for all ages, with children riding in the sleigh beside a parent; four hours is long, so dress them for it. From four, a two-hour trip is the easier first go: the fishing guide's has a tent for cold days and collects you from your hotel, and the hotel's goes out by sleigh. The lodge on Route 92 welcomes families and lets you cook the catch in a kota, if you have a car.

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.

Galddoaivi: 2 hoursWilderness Hotel: 2 hoursVisit Inari: 4 hoursMuotkan Ruoktu: 2 hours
Youngest Not stated 4, or 3 on shorter trips All ages Families welcome; no age printed
How a child rides out Not stated Snowmobile sleigh Sleigh, beside a parent Wooden sleigh
Warming up Tent on cold days Warm drinks Soup by a fire Kota for the catch
Length 2 h 2 h 4 h 2 h
Collects you in the village Yes Not stated Yes No; drive to Route 92

Ages are the youngest each seller names for the trip; the hotel's rule comes from its general terms. Nothing is marked, because the right trip depends on the child.

Where these figures come from
  • Galddoaivi: 2 hours: Two hours on Lake Inari with a fishing guide, a tent for cold weather and clothing if needed, with pickup from your hotel in the village.
  • Wilderness Hotel: 2 hours: A short snowmobile sleigh ride to the fishing spot, a lesson in drilling the hole, and warm drinks while the children wait for a bite.
  • Visit Inari: 4 hours: Four hours on Lake Inari with a soup lunch by the fire. Listed for all ages; children ride in the sleigh with a parent.
  • Muotkan Ruoktu: 2 hours: A wooden sleigh at a fell lodge on Route 92, reindeer skins to sit on, and a kota where you can cook the catch. You drive there.

Ice fishing is mostly sitting still on a frozen lake, which is harder for a small child than any activity that moves. The trips in Inari handle that in different ways.

Which ages

Wilderness Hotel Inari takes children from four on all its activities, three-year-olds only on shorter ones and nobody younger.1 Even so, its booking form for the two-hour trip lists an infant place for three and under, so ask which rule applies. Visit Inari lists its four-hour trip for all ages.2 The fishing lodge on Route 92 says only that its trip is open to families with children,3 and Galddoaivi Safaris names no age at all.

Getting out and keeping warm

Nobody walks out. On Visit Inari’s trip children ride in the sleigh with a parent while other adults may drive, and the hotel puts children in a sledge behind a snowmobile on its longer trip. Galddoaivi Safaris brings a tent for cold weather, lends clothing if needed and collects you from your hotel in the village;4 Visit Inari stops for soup by a fire in the middle of its four hours.

Two hours or four

Four hours is a long time for a small child on a frozen lake. If the age rule leads you to Visit Inari’s trip, treat the lunch by the fire as the halfway point, and pack dry mittens for after it.

What each trip costs for two adults and two children is on ice fishing prices in Inari.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What should a child wear?

The companies lend the outer layer: Visit Inari includes thermal clothing, the hotel lends overalls, boots and gloves for the activity, and the fishing guide lends clothing if needed. None says which children's sizes it has, so give ages when you book. Underneath, dress children in wool or synthetic layers, not cotton, with a hat, a scarf and wool socks in boots with room to move the toes.

What happens if it is too cold on the day?

Visit Inari says it may cancel a trip or change its route and length if the weather makes it unsafe, and Wilderness Hotel Inari keeps the same right for safety reasons. Neither prints a temperature limit. Ask the evening before, and remember that a child sitting still on the ice gets cold far sooner than an adult who is drilling holes.

Is there a trip where the family eats the fish?

Wilderness Hotel Inari's morning with a local fisherman ends with a meal of the fresh catch by an open fire, and its booking system takes children from four to fourteen on it, though at four and a half hours it is the longest trip here. At the lodge on Route 92 you can cook what you catch in a kota. The hotel's four-hour trip cooks the catch when there is one.

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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