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Northern lights in Kemi with children

A small wooden cabin with lit windows and lamps on a snowy shore at dusk, the grey sea behind it

Illustration photo: a lit cabin on a winter shore, not one of the huts described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For most families, book the campfire evening through the Kemi travel agency: it collects you from your hotel in Kemi, children aged three to eleven pay 90 euros and younger ones nothing, and it is over by half past eleven. With very young children who need somewhere warm, the fireside hut in Keminmaa is the gentler wait, though it prints no child fare. For a family who want the evening to themselves, the private sleigh off Ii costs 380 euros for four.

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.

Campfire evening via TaxariSalmon Lodge: firesideSea Lapland: campfire on the platformIisland: private sleigh
Child fare €90 (3–11) Not stated Not stated €50 each
Youngest Under 3 free Suits everyone Not stated Very small children may not cope
Getting there Hotel pick-up in Kemi Hotel pick-up Ask the operator Drive to Ii
Warm place to wait Campfire Hut with a fireplace Campfire Fire on the ice
Two adults, two children €450 Not stated Not stated €380 – the lowest total for two adults and two children aged three to eleven

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest total for two adults and two children aged three to eleven. Only the family total is marked, and only where a child fare is printed: an evening that prints none cannot be priced for a family, so it is left as not stated rather than charged at the adult rate.

Where these figures come from
  • Campfire evening via Taxari: The safari company's campfire evening sold by a Kemi travel agency, with the hotel pick-up and a child fare, two and a half hours from nine.
  • Salmon Lodge: fireside: Four hours at a hut with a fireplace, which says it suits everyone and collects from hotels in Kemi and Tornio.
  • Sea Lapland: campfire on the platform: The same campfire evening booked on the platform: warm clothing lent when needed, no child fare printed, and no pick-up point named on the page.
  • Iisland: private sleigh: A private sleigh on the sea ice off Ii with reindeer skins on the seats; the operator warns that very small children may not cope with the cold.

For a family, an aurora evening is a question of three things: what the children cost, where they keep warm, and how you all get there after dark.

What the children cost

On the booking platform none of Kemi’s aurora evenings prints a child fare. Off it, the Kemi travel agency that sells the safari company’s campfire evening charges 90 euros for children aged three to eleven and nothing for younger ones.1 Two adults and two such children pay 450 euros, with the hotel pick-up included.

Where they keep warm

The campfire evenings keep you outdoors by a fire for most of the time. The fireside lodge in Keminmaa waits at a hut with a fireplace, describes its site as accessible and says the evening suits everyone,2 which matters with a child who will need to come inside.

An evening to yourselves

The private sleigh on the sea ice off Ii adds 50 euros for each child to its price for two, so a family of four pays 380 euros for the evening to itself. Its own page is candid that very small children may not manage the cold.3 Which of these evenings suits which forecast is on the best northern lights tour in Kemi.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Priced for the whole party

Questions people ask

Do we need a car seat for the pick-up?

None of the listings says what the vehicles carry for small children. Finnish law requires a child under 135 centimetres to use a child restraint suited to their height and weight in a car, so ask the seller whether one is fitted or bring your own. The travel agency and the fireside lodge both drive you, and on the Ii sleigh you drive yourselves to the start.

What should children wear?

More than you think, because an aurora evening is mostly standing or sitting still. The safari company lends overalls, boots, wool socks and gloves on its campfire evening when needed; the Ii sleigh rents overalls and boots for 30 euros a person; the others leave it to you. Wool next to the skin, a warm hat under the hood and spare mittens for each child.

Is there anything for a family that is earlier in the evening?

Not among the aurora evenings: the ones that print a time start at nine or later. The Ii sleigh is the exception in midwinter, setting off around eight around the turn of the year, and around ten later in spring. A child who will not last to midnight is better served by the shortest evenings, the two-hour island campfire or the two-and-a-half-hour campfire evening, than by the three-to-five-hour hunt.

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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