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Northern lights with children in Salla: which evening suits which child

A faint green aurora low on the horizon beneath a sky full of stars, behind the silhouettes of pines

Illustration photo: a faint aurora over pines, not in Salla.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With small children, book the resort's sleigh ride: two hours, seated the whole way behind the guide, with a fire and sausages at a hut. With children who can manage a later night and who need warm clothing lent, the wilderness park's bus hunt dresses the family and keeps a warm vehicle close. Leave the snowshoe walk for older children who enjoy walking in the dark.

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.

Sleigh rideHunt by busSnowshoe walk
How long a child is out 2 h 3–4 h 3 h
Does the child walk No, seated Only at stops Yes, on snowshoes
Warm clothing Not stated Lent Lent
Child fare ages 3 to 11 3 to 12, half price 3 to 12, half price

Nothing is ranked: the youngest child's stamina decides. The reindeer evening, also from three, is left out because a child shares a sleigh in a line for three hours with no warm vehicle nearby.

Where these figures come from
  • Sleigh ride: Two hours seated in a sleigh behind a snowmobile, with a hut, a fire and sausages, and a child fare from three.
  • Hunt by bus: Three to four hours with pickup, a warm bus between stops and overalls and boots lent to the family.
  • Snowshoe walk: Three hours on foot through the forest at night, with clothing lent and children from three with an adult.

For a family, Salla’s aurora evenings differ less in the sky than in how a child spends the hours under it.

Seated all the way

Sallatunturin Tuvat takes families by sleigh behind a snowmobile to a Lappish hut, for a hot drink and sausages by an open fire, in about two hours. Nobody walks or drives, and children from three have their own fare.1 Its page does not say whether warm clothing is lent, so dress the children fully.

A warm bus between stops

Salla Wilderness Park collects you, lends overalls, boots and mittens to the family, and keeps the bus close for three to four hours.2 It runs from September, when evenings are milder.

On foot

The park’s snowshoe evening takes children from three with an adult, but three hours of walking in the dark suits older children best.3

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What time do the evenings start?

Neither company prints a fixed start time for its aurora evenings; they begin after dark, which in Salla comes early in midwinter and later in March. Ask for the start time when you book, and if a child's bedtime matters, choose a date in December or January when the evening can start soonest.

What if a child falls asleep?

On the bus that is simple: the child sleeps in a warm seat and the others step out when the sky is worth it. In the sleigh a child can doze wrapped up between adults. On snowshoes a tired child has to be carried, which is the main reason to keep that evening for older children.

Should we wake the children if the aurora comes out at night?

Many families in Lapland do. If your accommodation has a view north, an aurora alert app and a quick look outside before bed may give the children a sighting without any tour at all, and a guided evening can then be about the sleigh, the fire and the forest rather than the sky alone.

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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