Family northern lights in Posio: what works with children
Illustration photo: the aurora over a snowy forest edge, not in Posio.
The short answer
With children, choose a short evening over the long Posio car. Salla's two-hour sleigh ride, an hour and a half away, has a child fare for ages three to eleven and keeps everyone in a sleigh behind a snowmobile. Kemijärvi's heated-sleigh evening lets children of three and under go free and charges under-fifteens half, but it needs four adults. For the youngest, a clear night on the edge of the village asks for no booking at all.
For a family in Posio the aurora question has two parts: which evening takes the children, and how much of the night they can manage.
The long local option
The Posio tour is a private car for seven hours and names no age limit and no child fare. That may suit older children; for a four-year-old it is a very long evening.
The short evenings, a drive away
Salla, an hour and a half away, runs a two-hour sleigh ride behind a snowmobile to a hut near Ruuhitunturi, and prints a fare for children of three to eleven.1 Kemijärvi, 85 minutes away, takes you out in a heated sleigh for two and a half hours, lets children of three and under ride free and charges under-fifteens half, but runs only when four adults have booked.2
Without a booking
The village’s tourist information points to open or high ground beyond the street lights as the place to watch.3 With small children that can be a short walk rather than a drive, and nobody has to last until a tour ends.
How the Posio tour’s refund is worded is explained on northern lights in Posio.
Questions people ask
How late are the best hours for seeing the aurora?
Posio's own tourist information gives ten in the evening to midnight as the likeliest window, which is past most young children's bedtime. A short evening that starts early can still be lucky, but it is a trade: an early sleigh ride suits the children, and the hours after ten suit the sky. On a clear night one adult can stay up and wake the others if the display arrives.
Do the evenings lend warm clothing for children?
Kemijärvi's heated-sleigh evening lists thermal clothing in the price, and the Kemijärvi and Ranua car tours list winter clothing too, though none of them mentions children's sizes. Our record of the Salla sleigh ride does not mention clothing, and the Posio car asks you to bring your own warm layers. For a child, ask about sizes when booking and pack your own mittens and hats regardless.
What does a family of four pay?
On the Salla sleigh ride, two adults and two children of three to eleven pay 270 euros from the published fares. On the Kemijärvi sleigh evening the same family would pay 345 euros with two children under fifteen, but only if two more adults book, because the evening needs four. The Posio car is 1,850 euros for the whole party however many children come, up to eight people.