Book now

Private ice fishing in Ivalo: on request, or half an hour away

A yellow ice fishing tent glowing from inside on a wide frozen lake at dusk, two small figures beside it and a dark forest line behind

Illustration photo: a lit tent on a frozen lake, not on a trip described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Write to the Ivalo safari company and ask for its ice fishing trip for your group alone: it invites requests for private tours, and it collects from hotels in Ivalo. If you would rather have a price before you ask, the private full day with a fishing guide in Inari village is the richest trip on offer nearby, and the private trip in Saariselkä the cheaper one, but you will have to get yourselves to either.

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.

Ivalo Safaris, on requestGalddoaivi, InariArctic Tours, Saariselkä
Price On request €295 per person €175 per person
Pickup from Ivalo Yes – collects you in Ivalo No, Inari village only No, within 20 km of Saariselkä
From Ivalo by car In Ivalo 32 min 24 min
Length About 4 h A full day 4 h
Booking E-mail request Request form Online

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: collects you in Ivalo. Only a pickup in Ivalo is marked, because without a car it decides whether a trip is possible at all. Prices are not ranked: the three trips are not the same length.

Where these figures come from
  • Ivalo Safaris, on request: The Ivalo company's Lake Inari trip with reindeer and lunch, asked for as a private tour; it collects from hotels in Ivalo.
  • Galddoaivi, Inari: A private full day with a fishing guide in Inari village, with sonar, a tent, food by the fire and his photographs.
  • Arctic Tours, Saariselkä: Four hours sold as a private group near Saariselkä, with a barbecue lunch by an open fire.

Private ice fishing near Ivalo means either asking the local company for one, or travelling half an hour to a village where one is sold.

Asking in Ivalo

The Ivalo safari company invites groups of friends and family to e-mail for a private tour, and it is the one company here that collects from hotels in Ivalo.1 Its ice fishing trip, with reindeer and a hot lunch on its island, is the natural one to ask about.

The nearest private trips

In Inari village, a fishing guide sells a full private day with everything provided, and collects from hotels in Inari.2 Near Saariselkä, a company sells four hours as a private group with a barbecue lunch, collecting within twenty kilometres of Saariselkä village,3 which Ivalo is not. Either way, the drive there is yours to arrange.

The shared trips from Ivalo are compared on the best ice fishing in Ivalo.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What does the private day in Inari include?

A great deal: custom ice fishing gear, hotel pickup and drop-off in Inari village, food and drinks for the day by an open fire, clothing if needed, a sonar, a tent for cold weather and the guide's photographs of your trip. It is booked by a request form that asks your group size, from two to more than five. It does not print a length in hours.

How do we get to Inari or Saariselkä without a car?

By taxi, or by moving there for a night. The Inari guide collects from hotels in the village, so a night in Inari before the trip solves the problem, and the Saariselkä company collects around its own village. A taxi each way from Ivalo is a real addition to the price of either trip, so ask for a quote before comparing them.

Does a private trip change the age limit?

Not at Ivalo's fisherman trip, whose limit of ten is printed on its listing. The Ivalo safari company tells families with children under ten to ask for a private tour on its snowmobile safari, so asking the same for ice fishing is reasonable. The Inari guide's form asks group size, not ages, so mention any children when you write.

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.

More about Lapland Handbook →