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Family snowmobile safari in Ivalo: where each child rides

A black and white view from above of a snow-covered frozen lake crossed by faint tracks, with rippled drifts across the surface

Illustration photo: tracks on a frozen lake seen from above, not Lake Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With children over ten, book the Lake Inari safari: tall children sit behind a parent and pay the adult fare, shorter ones ride in the sleigh the guide pulls. With younger children, ask the same company for a private tour, which it offers for exactly that case. On a very cold day, remember that the sleigh riders sit still, and the sleigh trip itself is cancelled at minus twenty.

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.

Ivalo Safaris, drivingIvalo ExperiencesPrimitif Aventure
Youngest 10; younger on a private tour Not stated 10
Where a child rides Behind a parent over 140 cm; sleigh if shorter Sleigh Passenger sled
Child fare Adult price behind a parent Not stated Not stated
Time of day Daytime Evening Night

Nothing is ranked: for most families the youngest child's age and height decide. Rules are as each company prints them.

Where these figures come from
  • Ivalo Safaris, driving: The Lake Inari safari, where a parent drives and a tall child sits behind, and shorter children ride in the guide's sleigh.
  • Ivalo Experiences: An evening sleigh ride to the edge of the Hammastunturi wilderness for up to eight, with no age limit printed in our record.
  • Primitif Aventure: A night ride in a passenger sled with a suit and helmet lent, for children of ten and over.

For a family, a snowmobile outing at Ivalo turns on two measurements: the youngest child’s age and the tallest child’s height.

Who sits where

On the driving safari to Lake Inari, a child over 140 centimetres may sit behind a parent and pays the adult price. Children of ten to twelve who are shorter travel in the sleigh the guide pulls, and nobody under ten joins the shared group; the company asks families with younger children to request a private tour.1 Only adults of eighteen with a licence drive.

The cold in the sleigh

A child in the sleigh sits still under a reindeer hide while the drivers keep moving, so the sleigh feels the cold first. The company cancels its sleigh trip at minus twenty or below, with a refund or another date.2 On a day close to that, a thermos and an extra layer for the sleigh riders matter more than for anyone driving.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is there a child fare on the snowmobile safari?

Not on the listing. A child tall enough to sit behind a parent pays the adult price, the company says, and the booking platforms show one price per person with no child fare. What a child in the sleigh pays is not printed anywhere we found, so ask when you book, especially if two of your children will ride there.

Are children's winter clothes lent?

Yes. The company lends thermal clothing free of charge to everyone on its safaris, and its rental page lists children's overalls from 80 to 164 centimetres and boots from size 26 to 35. Bring a warm hat, wool socks and a mid layer of your own, because the overall goes over normal clothes.

Can a baby come on the evening sleigh ride?

Ask first. The evening ride to the Hammastunturi wilderness prints no age limit in our record, which is not the same as welcoming babies. It lasts about three hours in the evening cold, most of it sitting still in a sleigh, so think about how a baby copes with that before asking. The two outings that do print a limit set it at ten.

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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