Family snowmobile safari in Utsjoki: where the children sit
Illustration photo: a snowmobile towing a sledge in the Arctic, not in Utsjoki.
The short answer
Book a sled trip, not a driving one: under fifteen, children ride in a sledge behind the guide's snowmobile. For a short outing with a pick-up near the village, take the village company's two-hour snow safari, which it names as suitable for families. For a longer trip with a child price you can see in advance, take the holiday village's three hours on the fells. Skip the half-day safari with small children.
For a family in Utsjoki, the question of who drives answers itself.
Where the children ride
The rule the Explore Utsjoki site gives for the area is that a driver must be eighteen with a valid licence and that children under fifteen travel in a sledge pulled by the guide’s snowmobile.1 A family trip is therefore a sled trip, with a parent either beside the children in the sled or, if licensed, driving behind.
The two trips built for it
The village company’s two-hour snow safari is the one it calls suitable for families with children,2 and it collects you from near the village. It points families away from its four-hour version. The holiday village’s sled trip takes three hours up to views over the Teno and the Norwegian fells, and charges 90 euros for a child under twelve against 170 for an adult.3
What children cost
The holiday village prints its child price. The village company prints one figure per trip and gives children under twelve a 30 per cent discount in its terms, so ask it to confirm the child fare when you book. The full comparison is on snowmobile safari in Utsjoki.
Questions people ask
Can a teenager ride behind a parent on the snowmobile?
Neither seller says so. The rule on the Explore Utsjoki site puts children under fifteen in the guide's sledge and says nothing about a passenger seat behind a driver, and the village company's driving trip lets extra people ride in the sled. Whether a teenager of fifteen to seventeen may ride behind a licensed parent is not stated anywhere, so ask the seller before booking rather than assuming either way.
Will they have warm clothes and helmets for the children?
Both sled trips include them: the village company lends extra winter gear and helmets, and the holiday village includes warm clothes and a helmet. Neither says what sizes it has for small children, so bring your own warm layers, mittens and boots and ask about helmet sizes when you book, particularly for a child under six.
How cold is too cold for the children?
Neither seller prints a temperature limit on its snowmobile pages. A sled behind a snowmobile is a cold place to sit still, so ask the seller when you book at what temperature it shortens or cancels a trip with children, and keep the date flexible if you can. The village company's terms let you cancel free up to seven days before.