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Family snowmobile safari in Ranua: ages, seats and fares

Two adults and two small children seen from behind, walking a snowy path between frosted birches and pulling a sled

Illustration photo: a family on a winter path, not on a Ranua safari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With children aged three to fourteen, book Ranua Resort's one-hour family safari, which has a child fare, or its ride to a reindeer farm for a longer morning. Lupland is the choice if you want the children in a sled behind the guide rather than on a parent's machine. For children of five to twelve who want to drive, Ranua Resort's mini snowmobile track is the only option, over Christmas or on request.

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.

Lupland: 1 hRanua Resort: family 1 hRanua Resort: reindeer farmRanua Resort: mini snowmobiles
Child price Not stated €85 €90 €20 for 5 laps
Child ages Under 15 3 to 14 3 to 14 5 to 12
Where a child rides Guide's sled Not stated under 140 cm Not stated under 140 cm Drives it
Adult price €125 platform, €99 own site €130 €175 Children only

Nothing is marked: the choice turns on where a child sits and how long they can stay warm, not on which fare is lowest.

Where these figures come from
  • Lupland: 1 h: Children under fifteen travel in a sled pulled by the guide, and the adults drive. One price per person, no child fare.
  • Ranua Resort: family 1 h: A child fare for three to fourteen; a child over 140 cm may sit behind a parent at the adult price, on a machine shared by two.
  • Ranua Resort: reindeer farm: Three and a half hours by snowmobile to a reindeer farm, with a child fare. The longest ride a younger child can join.
  • Ranua Resort: mini snowmobiles: A small track by the holiday villas where children drive their own machines, two at a time. No adults on the track.

Both snowmobile companies in Ranua take children, and each draws its line in a different place.

By height, with a child fare

Ranua Resort lets a child taller than 140 centimetres sit on the machine behind an adult, paying the adult price, and prints child fares for ages three to fourteen on its family rides.1 Its page does not say where a shorter child rides, so ask when you book.

By age, in the guide’s sled

Lupland puts every child under fifteen in a sled pulled by the guide, which keeps both parents on their own machines.2 It prints no child price.

Children at the handlebars

Ranua Resort also runs a mini snowmobile track for children of five to twelve, with equipment from its Safari House. It is open daily from eleven to two between 18 December and 7 January, and on request after that.3

Which Ranua ride suits a longer day is on the best snowmobile tour in Ranua.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What other Ranua Resort rides take children?

Besides the one-hour family safari, the resort prints child fares for ages three to fourteen on its three-hour ride to ice fishing at 80 euros, its three-hour aurora ride at 99 and its two-hour evening ride to a lakeside hut at 70. The reindeer farm ride, three and a half hours, is 90 for a child. The two-hour, four-hour and full-day safaris are listed for adults only.

Do the children need their own winter clothes?

Lupland includes winter outerwear on its safaris. Ranua Resort includes winter clothing only for families staying at the resort; other guests rent it for 15 euros a person on the resort's activities page, which its own FAQ puts at 30. Neither company prints children's sizes, so ask for the smallest size when booking and bring warm layers and mittens anyway.

Is there a snowmobile outing for a toddler?

Neither company prints a safari price for children under three. The gentlest rides behind a snowmobile are in a sleigh it pulls: Lupland's activity park includes transport by snowmobile-pulled sleigh, and Ranua Resort's visit to Santa's secret cabin starts with about fifteen minutes in one, free for under-threes. Both keep a small child seated in a sleigh rather than on a machine.

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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