Family ice fishing in Kemijärvi: which trip takes the children
Illustration photo: houses by a frozen lake, not the resort described here.
The short answer
Take the resort's lake trip: it is the only one with a child fare, children under three go free, and licences, rods and outdoor clothing are in the price, on the lake beside the resort. Ask what a three-year-old pays, since the fare table skips that age. The platform trip lends boots and clothing but prints no child fare, and the professional fisherman's trips are priced for adults only.
For a family, ice fishing in Kemijärvi comes down to one trip with a child fare and several without.
The resort’s lake
The resort charges adults 83 euros and children aged four to eleven 35 euros for two hours on the lake beside it, with children under three free. Licences, rods, outdoor clothing and a warm drink are in the price, and it needs two adults to run.1 The fare table jumps from under three to four, so ask what a three-year-old pays.
The platform trip
The trip on the booking platform lends winter clothing and boots, prints only an adult fare, and names guests with back problems, mobility impairments and wheelchair users as unsuitable. It does not set an age.
The professional’s trips
The resort’s trips with a professional fisherman are sold to four to eight adults and print no child fare, so they are for the grown-ups in a family who want a morning on the ice.
What each trip costs a family in total is set out on ice fishing price in Kemijärvi.
Tours you can book
Two hours of ice fishing on a lake near Kemijärvi
Run by Rovaniemi Insider
From €79per person
Length2 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)Two hours of ice fishing on the lake beside the resort, licences included
Run by Jauri Resort
From €83per person
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Does a teenager pay the national fishing fee?
No. The fisheries management fee applies only to people aged 18 to 69, and ice fishing with a single rod is free of it in any case, except in rapids on migratory-fish waters and places with their own permits. On the resort's lake trip the price includes fishing licences anyway, so a family pays nothing extra there for permission to fish.
What if it is very cold on the day?
The resort says its lake trip takes place depending on weather conditions, and none of the Kemijärvi pages prints a temperature limit. The resort lends outdoor clothing; what goes underneath is yours to bring, so pack warm layers for the children, and ask the resort the evening before whether the trip is going ahead, since the page gives no fixed cut-off you could check yourself.
Can children join the evening trip by the fire?
The local company's evening ice fishing takes up to four people per booking at one price per person, and its page says nothing about ages or child fares. A family of four fits one booking, but ask before paying whether young children are welcome after dark on the ice, and whether it lends warm clothing, since the page does not say.