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Reindeer with children in Ruka: what works for a family

A lone white reindeer walking across frosty tundra in autumn colours

Illustration photo: a reindeer on the tundra, not at the Ruka farms.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With a toddler, book the winter village's reindeer cabin trip, whose child fare starts at one and which you can reach in the resort. With small children who mainly want to feed the animals, a farm visit of under an hour is enough and costs little. Without a car or children's winter clothing, book a safari company's farm visit that collects you and lends the outfit.

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.

Lammintupa, cabin tripErola, farm visitKujala, farm visitRuka Adventures, farm visit
Child fare €55 (1 to 12) €18 (3 to 12) €16 (2 to 12) €68 (4 to 11)
Sleigh ride 1.5 km None None 300 m
Length 2 h 40 min 1 h 2 h
Getting there Meet at the village café Not stated Drive to the farm Pick-up at Ruka hotels

No cell is marked: the right outing depends on the child's age and on whether you have a car and warm clothes. The farms that print a rule ask that children come with an adult.

Where these figures come from
  • Lammintupa, cabin trip: A sleigh ride of a kilometre and a half from the winter village to a cabin, feeding and sausages; child fare from age one.
  • Erola, farm visit: Forty minutes at a small farm's reindeer fence, feeding treats and taking photos; no sleigh.
  • Kujala, farm visit: An hour among the herd at a large old farm, feeding lichen in the corral; children under twelve with a parent.
  • Ruka Adventures, farm visit: A short sleigh ride at a farm, with pick-up from the Ruka hotels and a safari outfit for everyone.

With children, the reindeer outings around Ruka split into short visits at the fence and longer trips with a sleigh ride.

The youngest

Lammintupa’s trip to its reindeer cabin is the one that prices children from their first birthday, and it starts in the resort. Children ride in the sleigh for a kilometre and a half and then feed the reindeer and grill sausages in the cabin.1

Short visits for feeding

For children who mainly want to touch and feed the animals, a visit of under an hour is enough. Erola’s small farm spends forty minutes at its reindeer fence, and the Kujala farm an hour among its herd with lichen to hand out. Both ask that children come with a parent. Kujala leaves the journey to you, and Erola prints nothing about transport.1

Without a car

Ruka Adventures collects you from the Ruka hotels, dresses the whole family and gives children a short sleigh ride at a farm, with a child fare from four.2 Ruka Safaris’ farm trips take children over three sitting with an adult.

What each outing costs a family of four is on reindeer safari prices in Ruka, and the farms are introduced on reindeer farms in Ruka.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is there a reindeer outing in the evening for children?

Two. Erola's lantern walk through its forest takes children from three at €36, with juice by the fire at the end, and Ruka Safaris' sleigh ride under the evening sky takes children over three sitting with an adult. The walk is 1.2 km, which small legs manage; the sleigh ride suits children who would rather sit than walk in the dark.

Do children need their own winter clothing?

At the farms, yes: Kujala asks for warm clothes, gloves and shoes, Erola for weather-appropriate gear, and Lammintupa for winter clothing. The safari companies, Ruka Adventures, Ruka Safaris and Rukapalvelu, lend an outfit. Children stand still a lot while feeding reindeer, so an extra layer matters more than for a sleigh ride.

What happens if it is too cold on the day?

Lammintupa says its reindeer rides depend on the weather and that it refunds the full price if it cancels for that reason, the decision being its own. The other listings print no weather rule, so ask when you book what happens in a hard frost, and plan the outing for the warmest part of the day with small children.

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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