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Ice fishing price in Ivalo: what each trip costs and where it is cheapest

Several freshly caught silver fish with red fins lying on snowy, cracked ice

Illustration photo: fish on the ice, not a catch from a trip described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

The fisherman's trip is the cheaper ticket, but it lends winter clothing only on request, and a family needs children of ten or over. The trip with reindeer and lunch costs more and includes clothing, a hot meal and hotel pickup. Before booking it, compare the two platforms, and ask the company whether its own lower price and child fare still apply.

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.

Arctic GuidesIvalo Safaris on ViatorIvalo Safaris on GetYourGuide
Per hour €35.50 – the lowest price per hour €38.75 €41.25
Family of four, children 10+ €568 – the lowest family total €620 €660
Not in the price Winter clothing, on request Not stated Pickup outside Ivalo

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per hour and the lowest family total. Per-hour figures divide the price by four hours. Families of four assume children of ten or over, since the fisherman's trip takes no one younger and neither platform prints a child fare.

Where these figures come from
  • Arctic Guides: The fisherman's trip across Lake Inari from a meeting point in Ivalo, with the fishing gear and warm drinks, and winter clothing on request.
  • Ivalo Safaris on Viator: The trip with reindeer and lunch, including hotel pickup and thermal clothing, at its lower platform price.
  • Ivalo Safaris on GetYourGuide: The same trip at the higher platform price, with pickup from Saariselkä possible for an extra charge.

Both trips from Ivalo take about four hours, so the hour costs what the ticket does, divided by four.

The cheaper ticket

The fisherman’s trip is the lowest price, and the difference is mostly in what it leaves out: winter clothing is available only on request, and there is no lunch, only warm drinks by the fire.1 For a family it also requires every child to be ten or over.

The same trip at two prices

The trip with reindeer and lunch includes hotel pickup, thermal clothing and a hot meal, and it is cheaper on one platform than on the other.2 For a family of four the gap is forty euros for the same morning, so check both on your date before booking.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Why is the same trip priced three ways?

Because it is sold in three places. The two booking platforms print different prices for the same four-hour trip, and an online shop that shares the company's phone number, under the name Ivalo Holidays, lists it for less still, at 129 euros with 69 for children from seven to thirteen. We could not tell whether that shop is current, so it is not in the table; ask when you book.

What does it cost from Saariselkä?

More. The Ivalo company collects from the Saariselkä, Kakslauttanen and Kiilopää area for an extra charge, which the listing does not print. The fisherman's trip starts from a meeting point in Ivalo, so from Saariselkä you add the drive. The trips sold in Saariselkä itself are covered on the Saariselkä ice fishing page.

Is a free cancellation included?

On the booking platforms, yes: both trips can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before. Booked in the company's own shop, the terms are the shop's, which we did not find printed. If your dates could move, the platform price may be worth the difference.

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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