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Northern lights tour prices in Ivalo

Green aurora over a wide snowy plain at night, with a low orange glow on the horizon

Illustration photo: the aurora over open snow, not on any of the evenings priced here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

The longest and cheapest hour is the same tour: the four-hour chase by car at 132 euros, 33 an hour, with a photography lesson thrown in. The minibus evening is the dearest hour of the three that chase clear sky. If you would rather stand still than drive around, the reindeer and dinner evening at 165 euros buys a sleigh ride, thermal clothing, a home-made dinner and a fixed place on Lake Inari, which none of the chases include.

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 Guides: by carTrafinari: chase with campfireHotelli Ivalo: minibusIvalo Safaris: reindeer and dinner
Price €132 – the lowest price per person €135 €145 €165
Duration 4 h 3.5 h 3 h 4 h
Price per hour €33.00 – the lowest price per hour €38.57 €48.33 €41.25
Food Warm drinks, light snack Finnish feast by a campfire Snacks Home-made dinner
Winter clothing Not stated Not stated Not stated Thermal clothing and shoes
Four people €528 €540 €580 €660

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per person and the lowest price per hour. All four price per person and none prints a child fare in our record, so the four-person row multiplies by four. The per-hour row divides the listed price by the listed duration, which includes the driving.

Where these figures come from
  • Arctic Guides: by car: Four hours driving to wherever the sky is clearest, with a short photography lesson. The lowest price and the lowest hour here.
  • Trafinari: chase with campfire: Three and a half hours in a hybrid van, with a campfire, a Finnish feast and photographs taken for you. Three euros more than the car chase, half an hour shorter.
  • Hotelli Ivalo: minibus: Three hours from the hotel with a guide and snacks, heading north or east as the guide decides. The dearest hour of the three chases.
  • Ivalo Safaris: reindeer and dinner: Four hours at one place near Lake Inari: a sleigh ride, reindeer to feed, a home-made dinner and thermal clothing. The highest ticket and the only one that lends an outfit.

Ivalo’s aurora evenings sit within 33 euros of each other, which looks like a narrow field until the hours come into it. Then the same 33 euros buys anything from an extra hour of driving to a dinner.

What an hour out costs

Arctic Guides’ chase by car is 132 euros for four hours: 33 an hour, the lowest here, with a short photography lesson included. Trafinari’s chase is 135 for three and a half hours, 38.57 an hour, and Hotelli Ivalo’s minibus 145 for three hours, 48.33. The reindeer and dinner evening is the highest ticket at 165 euros but runs four hours, so it lands at 41.25, cheaper by the hour than the minibus.

What the extra thirty euros buys

Between the cheapest chase and the dinner evening there are 33 euros. They do not buy more time, because both last four hours. They buy a different evening: a sleigh ride behind a snowmobile, reindeer to feed, a home-made dinner, thermal clothing and shoes, and a fixed place near Lake Inari instead of a drive to wherever the sky looks best. The chases keep their options open and feed you a snack.

What a group pays

Nobody here charges by the car. Each of the four prices per person, so two people pay 264 to 330 euros and four pay 528 to 660. Nor does any listing show a child fare or an age limit in our record, so a family of four should expect four adult prices and ask the operator before booking.

How each evening looks for clear sky, what it adds and where it starts are compared on the northern lights in Ivalo, the sleigh rides on snowmobile safaris in Ivalo, and the rest of the village on the Ivalo destination page.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Does anyone here charge less for a child?

Not in our record. All four listings show one price per person and none prints a child fare or an age limit, so a family of four pays four adult prices: 528 euros on the cheapest chase and 660 on the dinner evening. If you are travelling with children, ask each operator what it charges for them before you book, because a marketplace listing does not have to show every fare.

What is the shortest evening here?

The aurora and reindeer evening sold by Ivalo Experiences, at two hours for 120 euros. It is the lowest ticket in Ivalo and, at 60 euros an hour, among the dearest hours; it is built around a reindeer visit rather than a search for clear sky, which is why it is not in the table above.

Is a warm outfit included?

On the dinner evening, yes: it lists thermal clothing and shoes. The three chases do not mention clothing in our record, and one of them takes you out for four hours, much of it standing beside a car in the dark. Dress as if nothing is lent and ask when you book if you have nothing warm.

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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