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Ice fishing prices in Inari, for one or for a family

Four small silver fish with red-rimmed eyes lying side by side on dark, frosted ice

Illustration photo: a small catch laid on ice, not from Lake Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For two adults and two children, Wilderness Hotel Inari's two-hour trip is the cheapest priced option, because it takes thirty per cent off for children up to fourteen. A couple without a car should book Galddoaivi Safaris' two-hour trip on its own site rather than the platform, for the same price with pickup and clothing included. A four-hour trip costs less per hour than a short one, and Visit Inari's is the cheapest of those if you ride in the sleigh rather than drive.

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.

Galddoaivi: 2 hoursWilderness Hotel: 2 hoursVisit Inari: 4 hoursWilderness Hotel: 4 hours
Adult €125 €122 – the lowest adult price €175 by sleigh €195
Child Not stated €85.40 (3–14) €122.50 (4–11), sleigh €136.50 (3–14)
Two adults, two children Not stated €414.80 – the lowest total for two adults and two children aged 4 to 11 €595.00 €663.00
Per adult hour €62.50 €61.00 €43.75 €48.75
Pickup in the village Included Not stated Included Not stated
Cancelling Not stated on its own site Free until 90 days before (online terms) €50 fee from 15 days out; full price after Free until 90 days before (online terms)

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest adult price and the lowest total for two adults and two children aged 4 to 11. Prices as each seller prints them on its own site. Child fares are thirty per cent off the adult price where a company prints that discount; the totals and hourly figures are our arithmetic.

Where these figures come from
  • Galddoaivi: 2 hours: Two hours on Lake Inari with a fishing guide's own gear, sonar and a tent in the cold. Booked on its own site, pickup and clothing are included.
  • Wilderness Hotel: 2 hours: A short snowmobile sleigh ride to the fishing spot, gear and a lesson, with warm drinks and the hotel's winter clothing package.
  • Visit Inari: 4 hours: Four hours on Lake Inari with a soup lunch by the fire and thermal clothing. Price by sleigh; driving a snowmobile costs more.
  • Wilderness Hotel: 4 hours: Four hours by snowmobile sleigh with lunch and warm drinks, and the catch cooked over a fire when there is one.

The ice fishing sold in Inari costs from about 120 to 300 euros an adult, and the longer the trip, the less each hour costs.

One trip, two ways to book it

Galddoaivi Safaris’ two-hour trip on Lake Inari costs 125 euros on the booking platform and on its own site, but only its own site includes pickup from your hotel in the village and clothing if you need it.1 The platform listing marks hotel pickup as not included and sends you to a sign by the road, and asks you to bring warm clothing.2 The platform’s advantage is free cancellation up to a day before, which the guide’s own site does not mention.

What children pay

Visit Inari takes thirty per cent off for children of four to eleven, on the sleigh place;3 Wilderness Hotel Inari takes thirty per cent off for ages three to fourteen.4 The fishing guide prints no child fare at all, which is why the hotel’s two-hour trip is the one with a family total the lowest you can work out in advance.

What driving adds

On Visit Inari’s four-hour trip a shared snowmobile costs 30 euros more than the sleigh, and a machine of your own 72 more, with a driver liable for up to 900 euros of damage. Children travel in the sleigh with a parent.

When plans change

Visit Inari takes the full price when you book a winter activity, charges a 50-euro office fee for cancelling fifteen days or more ahead and keeps everything after that.5 Wilderness Hotel Inari’s terms give free cancellation up to 90 days before arrival for winter bookings made online, though its activity booking system calls its own policy non-refundable; ask which applies before you pay.

Which trip suits which kind of day is on the best ice fishing in Inari.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What does the morning with a local fisherman cost a family?

Wilderness Hotel Inari prices it at 280 euros an adult, and with its thirty per cent off for children up to fourteen, two adults and two children pay 952 euros for four and a half hours, lunch of the catch included. That is more than twice what the same family pays for the hotel's two-hour trip.

Is there a supplement for a single traveller?

Not in the sleigh. On Visit Inari's four-hour trip a lone driver pays the single-driving price, 72 euros more than the sleigh, because the company does not put different parties on one snowmobile. Wilderness Hotel Inari's booking system accepts a party of one on its ice fishing trips. Galddoaivi Safaris' booking form offers group sizes from two, so ask whether it takes one.

How do we pay?

Visit Inari takes full payment when you book an activity for December to March, and its receptions also take bookings. Wilderness Hotel Inari runs without cash and takes only cards, at its reception and online. Galddoaivi Safaris takes bookings through a request form on its site, giving your group size and date, and replies to confirm; it does not say how you pay.

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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