Private northern lights tour in Tornio: the nearest thing
Illustration photo: an aurora over a frozen lake in Finland, not in Tornio.
The short answer
Nothing labelled a private aurora tour is sold here, so choose between three routes. For a private evening that is already priced, book the evening husky ride on the Swedish side, where every ride is private and the sky is part of the offer. For an aurora evening to yourselves, ask the Tornio snowmobile company to build one. For a ready-made private aurora tour, Rovaniemi is an hour and a half away.
Every aurora evening sold around Tornio and Haparanda is a shared one. The closest thing to a private evening under the sky is sold by a kennel.
The private evening that exists
The kennel on the Swedish side sells only private rides, for two to four people, and its seated sled ride runs by day or in the evening. Its own description of the evening is the stars, the quiet forest and, with luck, the northern lights, with a snack instead of lunch.1 It is a husky ride first and an aurora watch second, and it is the only private evening in the twin towns with a price on it.
Asking for one
The snowmobile and ice-fishing company in Tornio describes itself as running full-service programmes for individuals as well as groups, which is an invitation to ask.2 It already sells a late fire in the woods for aurora watching, so a private version is the obvious thing to ask about. Nothing on its pages says what that would cost.
Ready-made private tours
Rovaniemi sells several, priced per group, and they are compared on private northern lights tour in Rovaniemi. The shared evenings closer to home are on northern lights in Tornio.
Tours you can book
A late aurora watch by a fire outside Tornio, 22:00 to midnight
Run by Nordic Safaris
From €110per person
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)A private husky sled ride on the Swedish side, seated behind the team
Run by Tornedalen Husky & Adventure
From SEK 2,095per person
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
What does a private husky evening cost for two?
The seated ride on the Swedish side is priced from 2,095 Swedish kronor a person, so two adults pay from 4,190 kronor, and a child aged seven to twelve adds 995. The transfer to the kennel is not included and is arranged on request, and the page names no separate evening price, so confirm the figure for the hour you want when you ask.
If four of us book the late fire in the woods, is it ours alone?
The page does not say. It needs at least four people to run and prints no maximum, so four friends booking together will make it go ahead but may not be the only guests. Ask the company, when you book, whether it will add anyone else to your date, and whether it would run the evening for your group only at the same price.
What do the Rovaniemi private tours offer that Tornio does not?
A choice of them, with published prices per group, which is the thing missing here. The Rovaniemi page on this site compares them and explains when a private price beats buying seats. The drive to Rovaniemi is about an hour and a half each way, so it makes sense only if you are going there anyway, and it is worth asking each operator where it collects from before assuming a Tornio hotel is on its route.