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Family northern lights in Inari: which evenings take children

A bright green aurora arc over a log cabin with lit windows, a snowy yard and a line of spruces

Illustration photo: the aurora over a cabin, not in Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With a child under four, book Visit Inari's hunt by car or its kota camp, which it lists for all ages; the hotel does not take children under three. From four, a sleigh camp from either company is the family evening: children ride sitting down, and the fire and snacks carry a cloudy night. The hotel's camp is the shorter night out. Keep the snowshoe night for children of seven and over, and the snowmobile evenings for teenagers.

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.

Visit Inari: hunt by carVisit Inari: kota campWilderness Hotel: aurora campVisit Inari: snowshoe night
Youngest All ages All ages 4, or 3 on shorter trips 7
How a child travels In the car In a sleigh behind a snowmobile In a sleigh behind a snowmobile Walks
Starts 20:00 20:30 20:00 on the booking calendar 20:30
Back around 23:00 23:30 22:30 23:00
Collects you in the village Yes Yes Not stated Yes

Ages are the youngest each company names for the evening; the return time adds the printed length to the start. Nothing is marked, because the right evening depends on the child.

Where these figures come from
  • Visit Inari: hunt by car: Three hours in a car with a guide who drives towards clear sky, with a hot drink. Listed for all ages.
  • Visit Inari: kota camp: A sleigh to a kota away from the village lights, with sausages and pancakes by the fire. Listed for all ages; children always ride in the sleigh.
  • Wilderness Hotel: aurora camp: A sleigh behind the guide's snowmobile to a camp with hot drinks and snacks. The hotel's rule is children from four, three on shorter trips.
  • Visit Inari: snowshoe night: A guided walk on snowshoes through the forest to a fire with a picnic snack. Not for children under seven.

For a family in Inari the first question is not which evening is best, but which will take your youngest and how late it keeps them out.

Under four

Wilderness Hotel Inari takes no child under three on any activity, and names four as the age from which children join all of them, with three-year-olds steered to shorter ones.1 Its booking form for the heated sledge nonetheless lists an infant place for ages three and under, with a note that it provides no child carriers; ask the reception which rule applies before you count on it. Visit Inari lists its hunt by car and its kota camp for all ages.2

How children travel

On the sleigh evenings children sit in a sleigh towed by the guide’s snowmobile, whether the adults ride with them or drive; at the hotel that means everyone under fifteen.3 Visit Inari collects its guests from hotels in the village before each safari; the hotel’s aurora listings do not say where they start.

The late hour

No guided aurora evening in Inari starts before eight. Visit Inari’s three-hour camp gets back at around half past eleven; the hotel’s camp, half an hour shorter and starting earlier, at around half past ten. For a small child the hotel’s camp is the shorter night.

Older children

From seven the snowshoe night opens up: a walk through the forest to a fire, for a child who would rather move than sit still in the cold.4 The snowmobile evenings are for teenagers: Visit Inari’s takes riders from twelve, and at the hotel only a driver of eighteen with a licence may take the handlebars.

What each evening costs a family of four is on northern lights tour prices in Inari.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is it too cold for children?

It can be. Wilderness Hotel Inari says winter nights here usually run from ten to twenty-five degrees below zero and can fall to forty below. Both companies lend outer clothing for the evening, overalls, boots and gloves, but neither says which children's sizes it stocks, so give the ages when you book, dress children in wool underneath, and ask what happens on the coldest nights.

Can a pregnant parent come on the sleigh evenings?

Ask first. Wilderness Hotel Inari says snowmobile-related tours are not suitable for pregnant guests, because of the bumps, vibration and exhaust, and its aurora camp and heated sledge are towed by a snowmobile. Visit Inari advises against its snowmobile safaris in pregnancy. The hunt by car and the snowshoe night avoid the snowmobile altogether.

Can a parent without a driving licence join a snowmobile evening?

Yes. Visit Inari sells its kota camp as a sleigh ride for anyone without a licence, and Wilderness Hotel Inari's snowmobile evening has an adult-in-sleigh place for adults who have no licence or do not want to drive. So one parent can drive while the other rides in the sleigh with the children, which is where both companies seat them.

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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