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Snowmobile safari with children in Ruka: what works for a family

A small child in a furry hat sliding down a snowy slope at the edge of a pine forest

Illustration photo: a child sliding in the snow, not on the Ruka safaris.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

With children who want to drive, book the family safari whose programme includes mini snowmobiles on a closed forest track, or a short turn on the winter village's children's track. With small children who will ride, pick a safari that seats them in a sled pulled by the guide. Check your child's height before booking, because it decides where they sit.

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.

Kuusamo Safaris: family safariLammintupa: children's trackRuka Adventures: sceneryRukapalvelu: family safari
Child fare €85 (5 to 12) €20 €55 (4 to 11) €110 (5 to 11)
Small children ride Heated sled No riding Sled Sleigh
On the machine from 135 cm No passengers 145 cm 140 cm
Children drive Mini snowmobiles, about 15 min Own track, 20 min No From 15, with a licence
Length 3 h 20 min 2.5 h 3 h

No cell is marked: the right safari depends on the child's height and whether they want to drive or ride. The ages are the ones each seller prints.

Where these figures come from
  • Kuusamo Safaris: family safari: A three-hour safari with a stop at the company's forest track, where children drive mini snowmobiles with the guide.
  • Lammintupa: children's track: Twenty minutes for children alone on a track at the winter village, with the gear lent; no adult safari.
  • Ruka Adventures: scenery: A two-and-a-half-hour safari with pick-up; children below the height line ride in a sled behind the guide.
  • Rukapalvelu: family safari: Three hours from a wilderness camp, with a sleigh behind a snowmobile for young children and teenage drivers allowed.

With children, a snowmobile safari around Ruka comes down to two questions: where the child sits and whether they get to drive.

Where children sit

Below a height line, children ride in a sled pulled by the guide’s machine; above it, they sit on the back of a parent’s snowmobile. Kuusamo Safaris draws the line at 135 cm and heats its sled, Rukapalvelu at 140 cm and Ruka Adventures at 145 cm.123 Rukapalvelu advises that an adult sits with small children in the sleigh.

Children at the handlebars

Kuusamo Safaris’ family safari stops at the company’s own track in the forest, where children drive mini snowmobiles for about fifteen minutes while the guide watches and parents wait by the campfire.1 The winter village at Lammintupa has a children’s track of its own, twenty minutes from the age of three or four, which suits families who want the driving without a safari.2

Ages

Kuusamo Safaris’ own page prices children from five and the resort shop from four, so ask before booking a four-year-old. Ruka Adventures takes children in the sled from four, and Rukapalvelu from five.

What each safari costs the family is on snowmobile safari prices in Ruka, and the rides compared by route are on the best snowmobile tour in Ruka.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can a teenager drive the snowmobile on the safari?

At Rukapalvelu, yes: its family safari lets a driver of fifteen take a machine with at least a Finnish class T licence, the tractor licence. Lammintupa asks for drivers of eighteen, and Ruka Adventures for a category B car licence. Where a teenager may not drive, they ride on the back of a parent's machine if they are tall enough for the seller's height rule.

Can a family go if no adult has a driving licence?

Yes, in two ways. The children's track at the winter village needs no licence, and Kuusamo Safaris says its licence rule does not apply to children on its mini snowmobiles. For the whole family, Ruka Adventures' evening sledge ride under the stars and the heated aurora wagon both seat everyone in a sled pulled by a guide's snowmobile.

Do children need their own winter clothing?

Not on the safaris: Kuusamo Safaris includes thermal overalls, boots, gloves, a balaclava and a helmet, Rukapalvelu a winter suit, wool socks, boots, gloves and a helmet, and Ruka Adventures a safari outfit. The winter village's children's track lends driving gear with winter clothing. In a sled a child sits still for long spells, so add a warm layer underneath.

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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