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Northern lights in Inari: which evening to book

Faint green northern lights over a flat snowy shore, with a dark line of pines on the right

Illustration photo: northern lights over a snowy shore, not in Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Without a car, book in the village: Visit Inari and Wilderness Hotel Inari sell evenings by car, sleigh, snowmobile and snowshoe on their own sites, and Visit Inari collects guests from hotels in the village. If you want reindeer, Visit Inari's evening sleigh ride is the one pulled by reindeer. With a car and an appetite, the lodge on Route 92 adds a smoked salmon workshop by the fire, the cheapest evening here, and a wooden sleigh behind a snowmobile.

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.

Visit Inari: reindeer sleighWilderness Hotel: heated sledgeMuotkan Ruoktu: aurora sleighMuotkan Ruoktu: salmon and sky
Price €181 €175 €160 €95 – the lowest price per adult
Pulled by Reindeer A snowmobile A snowmobile No sleigh
Starts from Your hotel in the village Inari village; start point not stated Lodge on Route 92 Lodge on Route 92
Sold on Own site Own site Booking platform Booking platform
Food Hot drink Snacks and warm drinks Coffee and tea Smoked salmon you make
Warm clothing Included Included Bring ski clothing Not stated

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per adult. Prices per adult as each seller prints them. Only price is marked: no evening here can promise the aurora, and which ride suits you is a matter of taste.

Where these figures come from
  • Visit Inari: reindeer sleigh: About forty minutes in a wooden sleigh behind reindeer through the forest after dark, with a hot drink, collected from your hotel in the village.
  • Wilderness Hotel: heated sledge: A heated sledge towed by the guide's snowmobile to a camp spot, with snacks and warm drinks by the fire while you wait for the sky.
  • Muotkan Ruoktu: aurora sleigh: A wooden sleigh behind a quiet snowmobile to viewing spots chosen by the conditions, with coffee, photo tips and longer stops when the sky is good.
  • Muotkan Ruoktu: salmon and sky: Light a fire and smoke salmon in a kota, then eat it in a log cabin, with the sky watched if it clears. A good evening either way.

Aurora evenings in Inari start in two places, and are sold in two ways.

In the village

Two companies in Inari village sell most of its aurora evenings on their own sites: Visit Inari from its safari office,1 and Wilderness Hotel Inari from its reception.2 Between them they go out by car, sleigh, snowmobile and on snowshoes, and Visit Inari collects its guests from hotels in the village. Two of their evenings are sleigh rides. Visit Inari’s is the only one here pulled by reindeer, with about forty minutes behind them through the forest;3 the hotel’s heated sledge is towed by the guide’s snowmobile to a camp by a fire. Which of the village evenings suits which kind of night is set out on the best northern lights tour in Inari.

At the lodge on Route 92

The two evenings the booking platforms list under Inari are sold by Muotkan Ruoktu, a fell lodge on Route 92, the road towards Nordkapp, and you drive there. One puts you in a wooden sleigh behind a quiet snowmobile, with the guide choosing viewing spots by that night’s conditions.4 The other stays at the lodge: you smoke salmon over a fire in a kota and eat it at a long table in a log cabin, watching the sky if it clears.

Why timing matters more than place for the aurora is explained in the Rovaniemi northern lights guide. The rest of the village is on the Inari destination page.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Are animals used for the sleighs?

It depends on the sleigh. Visit Inari's evening puts you in a wooden sleigh pulled by reindeer, for about forty minutes. The lodge's sleigh and the hotel's heated sledge are both towed by a snowmobile; the lodge says outright that no animals are used. If reindeer matter to you, book the village evening; if you would rather they were left out of it, book either of the others.

What should we wear?

In the village the outer layer is lent: Visit Inari's price includes thermal equipment, and Wilderness Hotel Inari's winter prices include overalls, boots and gloves for the evening. The lodge on Route 92 asks you to come in warm ski clothing of your own. Everywhere, wear wool or synthetic layers underneath rather than cotton, with a hat and warm socks, because you will be sitting still in the cold.

How do we book the village evenings?

On each company's own site, which takes payment online, or at their receptions in the village: Visit Inari says activities can be booked at any of its receptions, and Wilderness Hotel Inari's reception is open from seven in the morning to eleven at night. The lodge's two evenings are sold on the booking platform, and you check in at its restaurant reception on arrival.

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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