Icebreaker cruises compared: four ships, five towns
Illustration photo: an icebreaker in pack ice, not one of the four ships compared here.
The short answer
Choose the terms before the ship. The Kemi cruises can be cancelled up to a day before and need no passport; the Swedish cruises let smaller children float, but need a passport and are sold without refunds on Viator. Between the Kemi ships, Sampo is the longer cruise with more included and Arktis the cheaper one. Book from the town you are staying in, since every price includes the bus.
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.
| Sampo | Arktis | Polar Explorer | Arctic Explorer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Kemi | €402 | €307 | €395 | Not stated |
| From Tornio | €435 | €340 | €395 | Not stated |
| From Rovaniemi | €506 | €411 | €425 | €350 |
| From Oulu | €536 | €411 | Not sold | Not sold |
| Sails from | Kemi | Kemi | Axelsvik, Sweden | Axelsvik, Sweden |
| Cruise | 3.5–4 h | 3 h | 3 h | 2.5 h |
| Floating from | 140 cm | 140 cm | 125 cm | 125 cm |
| Free cancellation | GetYourGuide: 24 h | GetYourGuide: 24 h | Viator: none; GetYourGuide: 45 days | Viator: none; GetYourGuide: 3 days |
| Passport or ID | Not asked | Not asked | Required | Required |
-
Sampo
- From Kemi
- €402
- From Tornio
- €435
- From Rovaniemi
- €506
- From Oulu
- €536
- Sails from
- Kemi
- Cruise
- 3.5–4 h
- Floating from
- 140 cm
- Free cancellation
- GetYourGuide: 24 h
- Passport or ID
- Not asked
The Kemi operator's longer cruise, with a guided tour of the ship, the SnowCastle exhibitions and lunch on the afternoon cruise.
-
Arktis
- From Kemi
- €307
- From Tornio
- €340
- From Rovaniemi
- €411
- From Oulu
- €411
- Sails from
- Kemi
- Cruise
- 3 h
- Floating from
- 140 cm
- Free cancellation
- GetYourGuide: 24 h
- Passport or ID
- Not asked
The Kemi operator's three-hour cruise with the floating and a certificate, meals and exhibitions extra.
-
Polar Explorer
- From Kemi
- €395
- From Tornio
- €395
- From Rovaniemi
- €425
- From Oulu
- Not sold
- Sails from
- Axelsvik, Sweden
- Cruise
- 3 h
- Floating from
- 125 cm
- Free cancellation
- Viator: none; GetYourGuide: 45 days
- Passport or ID
- Required
A three-hour cruise from Axelsvik in Sweden, with seven decks, an audio guide and a film; lunch extra.
-
Arctic Explorer
- From Kemi
- Not stated
- From Tornio
- Not stated
- From Rovaniemi
- €350
- From Oulu
- Not sold
- Sails from
- Axelsvik, Sweden
- Cruise
- 2.5 h
- Floating from
- 125 cm
- Free cancellation
- Viator: none; GetYourGuide: 3 days
- Passport or ID
- Required
A two-and-a-half-hour cruise from Axelsvik on a working icebreaker, explored with a digital guidebook.
Every price is per person and includes the bus from that town. No cell is marked: the ships differ in terms and length, and a higher price from a further town buys a longer ride, not a better cruise.
Where these figures come from
- Sampo getyourguide.com read Sep 28, 2026
- Arktis getyourguide.com read Sep 28, 2026
- Polar Explorer viator.com read Sep 28, 2026
- Arctic Explorer viator.com read Sep 28, 2026
- Sampo: The Kemi operator's longer cruise, with a guided tour of the ship, the SnowCastle exhibitions and lunch on the afternoon cruise.
- Arktis: The Kemi operator's three-hour cruise with the floating and a certificate, meals and exhibitions extra.
- Polar Explorer: A three-hour cruise from Axelsvik in Sweden, with seven decks, an audio guide and a film; lunch extra.
- Arctic Explorer: A two-and-a-half-hour cruise from Axelsvik on a working icebreaker, explored with a digital guidebook.
The icebreaker cruises sold to visitors in northern Finland on the platforms we read use four ships, run by two companies on either side of the border.
Kemi: Sampo and Arktis
The Icebreaking Company sails Sampo and Arktis from the harbour in Kemi and sells both with a bus from Kemi, Tornio, Rovaniemi and Oulu. Sampo’s cruise is three and a half to four hours, with a guided tour of the ship, the SnowCastle exhibitions and, on the afternoon cruise, lunch; Arktis is three hours, with meals and exhibitions extra.12 Both can be cancelled free of charge until a day before. No listing prices the bus on its own, but from Rovaniemi either ship costs 104 euros more than from Kemi, and from Tornio Arktis costs 33 more.345
Axelsvik: Polar Explorer and Arctic Explorer
Polar Explorer Icebreaker sails two ships from Axelsvik, in Sweden about 40 kilometres from the Finnish border, and sells them with buses from Kemi, Tornio and Rovaniemi.9 Polar Explorer’s cruise is three hours on seven decks with an audio guide and a film; Arctic Explorer’s is two and a half, explored with a digital guidebook.67 Children from 125 centimetres can float, against 140 on the Kemi ships. Every listing asks for a passport or ID card, and the Viator listings cannot be cancelled or changed at all, while the same company’s GetYourGuide listings allow free cancellation up to 45 days before for Polar Explorer and 3 days for Arctic Explorer.89
From Ruka
Neither company’s bus goes to Ruka. Soulvia journeys sells a day from Ruka or Kuusamo for up to eight people, collecting at about 8:50 and driving about three hours each way to a four-hour cruise, for 895 euros a person with food not included; the listing does not name the ship.10
The ship choice from Kemi itself, where both companies collect, is set out in icebreaker cruises from Kemi.
Tours you can book
Icebreaker Arktis from Kemi: three hours at sea with floating in the ice
Run by Icebreaking Company
From €307per person
Length3 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)Icebreaker Arktis in Kemi, with a bus from Tornio or Haparanda
Run by Icebreaking Company
From €340per person
Length3 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)Polar Explorer from Axelsvik in Sweden, with a bus from Kemi or Tornio
Run by Polar Explorer Icebreaker
From €395per person
Length6 h
Book now on Viator(opens in a new tab)Icebreaker Sampo from Kemi, with a ship tour and floating in the ice
Run by Icebreaking Company
From €402per person
Length3.5–4 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)Icebreaker Arktis, an afternoon trip from Oulu with the bus included
Run by Icebreaking Company
From €411per person
Length3 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)Icebreaker Sampo with lunch on board, an afternoon trip from Oulu
Run by Icebreaking Company
From €536per person
Length10 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)A small-group day from Ruka or Kuusamo to an icebreaker cruise in Kemi
Run by Soulvia journeys LLC
From €895per person
Length10 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Can we drive to Kemi and join there?
Yes, for Sampo and Arktis. The Kemi listings say you can start at the SnowCastle area, where parking is free, and take the operator's bus to the harbour from there, because driving your own car to the harbour is not allowed. You then pay the Kemi price rather than the price from your own town, so the saving is the difference in the table less the cost of the drive.
What happens if the sea has not frozen yet?
The cruises still sail. The Kemi listings warn that walking on the ice may not be possible on early-season cruises, and the Swedish operator says on one listing that ice thickness is not guaranteed until early January. Neither prints a refund for a cruise that sails without the walk, so if standing on the frozen sea matters most, book a date after the New Year.
Is there a child fare?
Not in the prices we read. Every listing prints one price per person, and the height limits apply only to the floating, so a child who is too small to float still pays for a place on the ship. The booking calendars may offer other categories once a date is chosen, so check there before paying for a family, and compare the total rather than the headline price.