Family northern lights in Kilpisjärvi: which evening takes which child
Illustration photo: the aurora over a lake, not in Kilpisjärvi.
The short answer
With children of eight or nine, the safari company's evenings are the only ones that take them: the snowmobile evening puts them in the towed sleigh, and the minivan chase travels by road rather than behind a snowmobile. From ten, the small agency's private sledge evening opens up. Expect to pay the adult price for each child, and pick the earliest start the children can manage.
In Kilpisjärvi a family’s aurora evening is decided by the children’s ages before the forecast.
Who each evening takes
The safari company takes children from eight on both its evenings, and on the snowmobile evening any child under 140 centimetres travels in the sleigh behind the guide.1 The small agency’s private sledge evening takes children over ten with a parent or guardian.2 The tundra guide prints no age, so ask.
How late they run
These are late evenings for a child. The minivan chase runs from half past seven to half past eleven, the snowmobile evening from eight to eleven, and the private sledge evening from half past seven for three hours.
What a family pays
The safari company is explicit that its prices follow seats and equipment, so a child pays what an adult pays, and the tundra guide’s single price for up to four covers children in the same way as adults. The evenings themselves are compared on best northern lights tour in Kilpisjärvi.
Questions people ask
Can a teenager ride on the snowmobile rather than in the sleigh?
On the safari company's evening, a passenger on a shared snowmobile must be at least 140 centimetres tall, and only an adult of eighteen or over may drive. A tall young teenager can therefore sit behind a parent, while a shorter child travels in the sleigh. The small agency carries everyone in a sledge behind the guide's snowmobile, so the question does not arise there.
Is it too cold for children at night?
None of the three prints a temperature limit for its evenings, though the safari company refunds in full if it cancels for hazardous weather. All three lend a winter outfit, the safari company asking only that guests bring their own beanie and thin gloves. The minivan chase is the one evening spent partly inside a vehicle rather than wholly out on the snow, which is worth weighing on a very cold night.
Is there anything for a pregnant parent?
The small agency advises pregnant women not to join its evening, which is spent in a sledge behind a snowmobile over fifteen kilometres. The safari company's snowmobile evening involves the same kind of ride. The minivan chase travels by road, so for a pregnant parent it is the evening worth asking about first, before booking the others.