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Family snowmobile safari in Inari

A child in a dark snowsuit seen from behind, pulling a yellow plastic sled across a wide snowfield

Illustration photo: a child with a sled, not on an Inari trip.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With children from three to eleven, book Wilderness Hotel Inari: its trips seat under-fifteens in a sleigh pulled by the guide's machine while the parents drive. With children of twelve and over, Visit Inari's two-hour trip from the village is open to them too. A child under three cannot join any of these trips; the nearest trip that takes two-year-olds is in Saariselkä.

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.

Wilderness Hotel, two hoursWilderness Hotel, four hoursVisit Inari, two hoursMuotkan Ruoktu, two hours
Youngest 3 3 12 6, and 120 cm
Where children sit Guide's sleigh, under 15 Guide's sleigh, under 15 Not stated Behind an adult driver
Length 2 h 4 h 2 h 2 h
Starts Not stated Not stated Inari village, pickup Route 92, by car

No row is ranked: the youngest child's age decides the seller, and none of the four prints a child fare to compare.

Where these figures come from
  • Wilderness Hotel, two hours: Two adults share a machine and children under fifteen ride in a sleigh pulled by the guide's snowmobile; no one under three.
  • Wilderness Hotel, four hours: The same seating for children over a longer day in the wilderness, with lunch and warm drinks included.
  • Visit Inari, two hours: A first drive from the safari office in the village, open to children from twelve, with winter clothing lent to everyone.
  • Muotkan Ruoktu, two hours: A small group into the Muotkatunturi wilderness from the lodge on Route 92, for passengers from six and 120 cm tall.

Children can go snowmobiling from Inari, but which seller takes them depends on their age, and the two in the village draw the line in very different places.

Children from three to eleven

Wilderness Hotel Inari’s snowmobile trips seat children under fifteen in a sleigh pulled by the guide’s machine, while two adults share a snowmobile behind a driving lesson.1 The group’s terms set the floor at three: no infant under that age joins any activity.2 The two-hour trip is the family’s first try; the four-hour one adds lunch in the wilderness.

Children of twelve and over

Visit Inari’s two-hour trip from the village takes no one under twelve.3 Its other snowmobile trips set the same limit or take adults only, so a family with younger children books the hotel instead.

Up Route 92

Muotkan Ruoktu’s trips from the fell lodge take passengers from six, provided they are at least 120 centimetres tall, riding behind an adult driver.4 The lodge is reached by car. How its trips compare with the rest is on snowmobile safaris in Inari, and which trip suits which driver on the best snowmobile tour in Inari.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is winter clothing included for the children?

At Visit Inari every trip includes outdoor winter clothing: overalls, boots, driving mittens, a balaclava and a helmet. Wilderness Hotel Inari's snowmobile trips list only helmets, so ask whether overalls and boots are lent before you rely on them, and dress children in layers either way. The fell lodge lends a thermal suit and helmet.

Where does a fifteen-year-old sit?

Wilderness Hotel Inari puts children under fifteen in the guide's sleigh; its page does not say where a guest of fifteen to seventeen rides, who is too old for the sleigh and too young to drive. Visit Inari's general information says children ride in the guide's sled without giving an age. Ask the seller before booking for a teenager of that age.

Is there a snowmobile outing for a child under three?

None of the trips from Inari that print an age limit takes one. Wilderness Hotels does not let infants under three take part in any activity, Visit Inari's trips start at twelve, and the fell lodge at six. The nearest trips that take a two-year-old are the Lapland Safaris snowmobile trips in Saariselkä, about 56 minutes' drive south, where a child rides in the guide's sled.

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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