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Husky safari in Utsjoki: four rides across the river

Three harnessed huskies running straight towards the camera through snow, tongues out

Illustration photo: a sled dog team in France, not at the farms described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For a first try with children, book the easy five-kilometre ride: flat fields, a pick-up from your accommodation and warm gear if you need it. If you want a proper run, take the Teno valley ride, where you share a sled and take turns driving. The holiday village's safari suits a family that wants a printed child price and the clothing included. Save the full day for spring and for adults who are fit.

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.

Travel Utsjoki: easy 5 kmTravel Utsjoki: Teno valleyHoliday Village ValleTravel Utsjoki: Polar excursion
Price €180 €260 €300 adult, €240 child under 12 €550
Priced per Not stated Not stated Person Not stated
Length 3 h 5 h 3–4 h 10 h
On the sled About 5 km 10–15 km Not stated 30–40 km
Transfer to the farm Included About 60 min, included About 40 min, included About 1.5 h, included
Season October to early May Not stated Not stated March to early May

The price row is not ranked, because only the holiday village prints what its price covers, per adult and per child; the village company's listing prints a figure and its terms give children under 12 a 30 per cent discount.

Where these figures come from
  • Travel Utsjoki: easy 5 km: About five kilometres on flat fields, driven by the guests, with a pick-up from your accommodation and extra winter gear if needed.
  • Travel Utsjoki: Teno valley: Ten to fifteen kilometres, an hour and a half to two on the sled, sharing and taking turns, with drinks by a fire afterwards.
  • Holiday Village Valle: A safari in the fells above Tana, two people to a team, with clothing, transfers and a hot drink by the fire included.
  • Travel Utsjoki: Polar excursion: Ten hours in spring with six of them driving your own sled, 30 to 40 km, and a wilderness lunch.

In Utsjoki the dogs live on the other side of the river. Both companies that sell husky rides here drive their guests across the Teno to farms in Norway.

Two sellers, four rides

The village’s own tour company sells three, all at a small family farm across the border: an easy loop on flat fields, a longer run up the Teno valley and a spring day that asks for some fitness. Its rides are booked on request, because the farm has to confirm the date.1 The holiday village sells one safari at a farm about forty minutes away, and is the only seller here that prints a child price.2

Choosing

The easy loop is for a first time and for children old enough to drive. The Teno valley run is the one to book if the sled is the point of the day. The holiday village’s safari costs the most of the half-day rides, but everything is in the price and you know in advance what a child costs. The full day is a different undertaking, sold only in spring.

If you are further south, the dog outings at Ivalo are described on husky safaris at Ivalo, and the self-drive kennels around Saariselkä on the best husky tour in Saariselkä.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Price not stated

Questions people ask

Do we need a passport to cross into Norway for the ride?

Carry one. Finland and Norway are both in the Schengen area, so there is normally no passport check on the Teno bridges, but you are leaving the European Union for the afternoon, and both sellers drive you across the border to farms in the Tana area. An identity card or passport in your pocket costs nothing and avoids a problem if there is a check.

How soon do we get a confirmed booking?

Not straight away with the village company. Its husky rides are booked on request: you book in its web shop and it confirms within three days, because the farm across the river has to agree the date. The holiday village takes bookings by email and asks for them by six in the evening the day before, with the day itself confirmed separately.

What happens if we have to cancel?

The village company's terms let you cancel free until seven days before the tour, or thirty days for a group booking, and charge the whole price after that unless a doctor's note covers it. The holiday village's activity pages print no cancellation terms of their own, so ask for them in writing when you book, since its accommodation terms are much stricter.

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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