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Northern lights with children in Sodankylä: which hunt a family can manage

Two people seen from behind sitting on a frozen shore under a bright green aurora, with snowy hills and a starry sky

Illustration photo: two people under the aurora in the high Arctic, not in Sodankylä.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With young children, book the two-hour hunt from the village: it is the shortest night on offer and lends an overall, boots and gloves, though ask whether they come in children's sizes. Choose a four- or six-hour hunt only for children who can stay up late and stay warm in their own clothes, and ask the company about ages before paying, since no listing states them.

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.

Arctic WondersArctic SISU: huntArctic SISU: grill night
Length of the night 2 h 4 h 6 h
Warm clothing Lent; sizes not stated Not lent Not lent
Getting there From the village office Pickup in a marked area Hotel pickup

Nothing is ranked: the right length depends on the child. No hunt states an age limit or a child fare.

Where these figures come from
  • Arctic Wonders: The shortest night, two hours from the village office, with an overall, boots and gloves lent and hot drinks with cookies.
  • Arctic SISU: hunt: Four hours by car with pickup from your address, and clothing advice instead of clothing lent.
  • Arctic SISU: grill night: Six hours with a fire and grilled salmon, collected from and returned to your hotel.

For a family, an aurora hunt is mostly a question of how long a child can stay out at night in the cold, and the Sodankylä hunts answer it differently.

The short night

Arctic Wonders’ hunt lasts about two hours from its office in the village, and the GetYourGuide listing lends an overall, boots and gloves, with hot drinks and cookies.1 It is the one a family with small children can fit before bedtime.

The long nights

Arctic SISU Experience collects you and spends four hours on its hunt, or six on its night with a fire, and gives advice on clothing rather than lending it.2 They suit older children who are dressed for Lapland and can stay awake.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Price not stated

Questions people ask

Can a child sleep in the car during a hunt?

On the hunts that drive between viewing spots, a tired child may doze between stops, but none of the listings says so or mentions child seats. If your child needs a car seat, ask the company whether it has one or whether you should bring your own before you book.

What should a child wear?

More than for a day outing: a snowsuit over wool layers, winter boots, a hat under the hood and mittens, because most of a hunt is spent standing still at a viewing spot in the coldest hours. On the hunts that lend clothing, ask for children's sizes when you book rather than on the night.

Would a child enjoy it if the sky stays cloudy?

That depends on the night you book. The short hunt comes with hot drinks and cookies, and the six-hour night stops for salmon grilled over a fire, which gives a cloudy evening a point of its own. A four-hour drive with no aurora is the hardest to sell to a child.

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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