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Family northern lights in Ivalo: what children pay and how long they are out

Hands in red knitted mittens holding a red mug of hot drink with a snowflake-shaped marshmallow, snow falling around them

Illustration photo: a hot drink held in mittens, not on a tour described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With young children, the reindeer farm's evening is the gentlest: two and a half hours six kilometres from the village, a hut with a fire, a child fare from four and free below. For a real hunt, the company that charges only if you see the lights has a child fare and collects you. The sleigh ride and dinner on Lake Inari lends thermal clothing in children's sizes, which matters on a four-hour evening.

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.

Ivalo Reindeer FarmNorthern PolarIvalo Safaris
Child fare €149, ages 4–12 €169, age not stated Not stated on either listing
Free for Under 4 Not stated Not stated
Evening length 2.5 h Not stated 4 h
Winter clothing Not stated Not stated Lent, children's sizes
Somewhere warm A hut with a fire The van A hut with a fire

Nothing is ranked: a short evening suits a small child and a long one an older child. Fares and ages are as each company prints them on its own site.

Where these figures come from
  • Ivalo Reindeer Farm: Two and a half hours in the reindeer enclosure six kilometres from the village, with a fire in a hut, and children under four free.
  • Northern Polar: A hunt by van for two to eight people that collects you in Ivalo, with a lower fare for children and most of it paid only after a sighting.
  • Ivalo Safaris: Four hours by sleigh to the company's island on Lake Inari, with reindeer, dinner and thermal clothing lent in children's sizes.

With children, the question is less which evening sees the most sky than which one is still bearable at the end.

Who prints a child fare

The reindeer farm near the village charges less for children from four to twelve and nothing for those under four, and its evening lasts two and a half hours.1 The hunt from the village prints a child fare too, without saying up to what age, and charges most of it only if the lights are seen.2 The drives on the booking platforms show one price for everyone.

Keeping warm

A child standing still in the dark gets cold faster than one sledging. The Lake Inari evening lends thermal overalls down to children’s sizes and boots from size 26,3 and both it and the reindeer farm have a hut with a fire to go back to. On a van hunt, the van is the warm place, so bring layers you can add at each stop.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What if our children fall asleep before the lights appear?

It happens, and it is one reason to choose an evening built around something besides the sky. At the reindeer farm and on Lake Inari the children have reindeer to feed and a fire to sit by, so a cloudy or quiet night is not wasted. On a drive in a van, a sleeping child is easy to carry; on a snowfield it is not.

What if the forecast is bad on the night we booked?

The hunt from the village cancels with a full refund if the weather rules the night out, and asks for two or three other dates when you book. The Lake Inari evening lets you move the date if the forecast looks poor. The reindeer farm does not say, so ask. With children, a spare night in the plan takes the pressure off everyone.

Is a child fare cheaper on the booking platforms?

Not that we could see. The drives and the Lake Inari evening show one price per person there, with no child fare and no age limit printed. The child fares on this page come from the companies' own websites, so book direct if you want them, and read their own terms before paying.

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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