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Husky safari in Tornio: which side of the border to book

Harnessed sled dogs on a snowy forest track in low sunshine, the nearest one howling with its head thrown back

Illustration photo: a sled dog team in Finland, not at the kennels described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If you want the dogs to yourselves, book the kennel on the Swedish side: every ride there is private, from two hours seated in a sled to four hours that end with you driving a team. If you want a winter outfit lent and a ride you steer yourselves at a euro price, take the self-drive ride from Kemi. The private safari in Keminmaa is the cheapest of the three, but says the least about itself.

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.

Tornedalen: The Sled RideTornedalen: Take the LeadSea Lapland SafarisOld Pine Husky Lodge
Price 2,095 SEK 3,000 SEK €195 €116
Priced per Person Person Person Person
Who drives The musher You You, taking turns Not stated
Private Yes – only your own group on the tour Yes – only your own group on the tour Not stated Yes – only your own group on the tour
Minimum age 5 15 Driver 18; children ride with a parent Not stated
Winter clothing Not stated Not stated Included Not stated
Starts at Leipijärvi, Haparanda (Sweden) Leipijärvi, Haparanda (Sweden) Safari house in Kemi Lodge in Keminmaa

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: only your own group on the tour. The Swedish kennel prices in kronor and the other two in euros, so the price row is not ranked: converting it would put a figure on the page that no operator published. All four print a price per person.

Where these figures come from
  • Tornedalen: The Sled Ride: Two hours seated in a big sled behind a team, about ten kilometres, with lunch or an evening snack. Every tour at this kennel is private.
  • Tornedalen: Take the Lead: Two and a half hours driving your own team, one guest and one guide per sled, two guests at most.
  • Sea Lapland Safaris: A five-kilometre run you steer yourselves, two to a sled, taking turns, with a full winter outfit lent in town.
  • Old Pine Husky Lodge: A private two-hour safari for your group only, at a lodge in Keminmaa, with coffee or tea. Trail length and clothing not given.

Tornio has no kennel of its own on the booking platforms. The nearest dogs are across the river in Sweden, or half an hour down the road towards Kemi.

The kennel on the Swedish side

The twin towns’ tourist site lists one husky company, on the Haparanda side of the border. It sells only private rides: the seated one covers about ten kilometres with two people to a big sled, and the others hand you the runners.1 Its prices are in Swedish kronor and exclude the transfer to the kennel, which it arranges on request.

Its clocks are Swedish too. Finland is an hour ahead of Sweden, so a start time agreed with a kennel in Haparanda is an hour later on a Tornio hotel’s clock.2 Confirm which country’s time a pick-up is in when you book.

The two rides towards Kemi

Kemi is 21 minutes away by road, and its two rides sit at opposite ends. One is the complete package, with everything you need handed to you in town. The other is a bare private safari at the lowest price on this page, for a group that can look after itself and does not mind asking questions its listing leaves open.

Choosing

Pick the Swedish kennel for privacy and time with the dogs, the Kemi ride for a complete package at a euro price, and Keminmaa if your group already has warm gear and wants the dogs to itself for less. The same two Kemi rides are compared in more detail in husky safari in Kemi, and the rest of what Tornio sells is on the Tornio destination page.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Do we have to cross the border for the Swedish kennel?

Yes. The kennel is on the Haparanda side, and its prices run from the meeting point: the transfer there and back is left out and offered on request, so agree it, and its cost, when you book. Finland and Sweden are both in the Schengen area, so there is no passport control on the bridge, but carry an identity document anyway.

Will the Kemi rides collect us from Tornio?

Their listings do not say so. The Kemi ride's listing shows a pickup badge but names its meeting point as the safari house in Kemi, from where a car takes you to the kennel, and the Keminmaa safari gives the lodge's own address and a ten o'clock start. Ask either company before booking whether it collects from a Tornio hotel, and at what price, or plan on driving the 21 minutes yourselves.

What if we need to cancel?

The two rides towards Kemi are sold on booking platforms that allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. The Swedish kennel sells directly and its pages print no cancellation terms at all, so ask for them in writing before you pay, particularly for the four-hour tour, which is the most expensive thing on this page.

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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