Family snowmobile safari in Kemijärvi: what the children pay and where they ride
Illustration photo: a winter track in a pine forest, not near Kemijärvi.
The short answer
With children of three to eleven, the Suomutunturi rides are the ones with a published price for them, from 40 euros on the one-hour ride; ask whether the child rides behind a parent or in a sled, because the page does not say. If you would rather not bring your own winter gear, the town resort's ride includes a full outfit, but ask about children's sizes and the youngest age it takes.
For a family, the difference between the two snowmobile sellers near Kemijärvi is what each has put in writing about children.
What the fell prints
Every Suomutunturi ride has a child fare for ages three to eleven, from 40 euros on the one-hour ride to 100 on the longest, and the gear is in the price.1 What it does not print is where the child sits: behind a parent on the machine or in a sled towed behind the guide. Ask, because it changes how warm and how comfortable the ride will be.
What the town ride includes
The two-hour ride from the resort in town comes with overalls, a helmet, boots, wool socks and driving gloves.2 No age limit or child fare is printed, so ask both, and whether the outfit comes in small sizes.
Before you book
Two questions cover it: where does the child ride, and what is the youngest age taken. The rides are compared on snowmobile safari in Kemijärvi.
Questions people ask
Which ride suits young children best?
The shortest. The one-hour ride at Suomutunturi is the only one under two hours and has the lowest child fare, 40 euros. The aurora ride runs at night and the longest ones last three and a half to four hours, which is a long time for a small child in the cold whether they sit behind a parent or in a sled. Start short, and book longer on a second day if it goes well.
Can a teenager drive?
The Suomutunturi page sets no driving age and no licence rule, and the town resort's page says nothing on either. Other operators in Lapland ask drivers to be eighteen with a licence, but that is theirs, not a rule these two have printed, so ask directly before promising a teenager the handlebars. At twelve and over they pay the adult fare either way.
What if the weather turns very cold?
Neither company prints a temperature limit on its snowmobile pages. The fell's rides include the gear, and the town ride includes overalls, boots, wool socks and gloves, but that is not the same as a cancellation rule. Ask what happens to the booking on a very cold day, and whether a shorter ride is offered instead, before you pay for a long one with children.