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Private reindeer tour in Saariselkä: how to have the reindeer to yourselves

A reindeer with large antlers eating at a farm, with other animals behind it

Illustration photo: a reindeer at a farm, not in Saariselkä.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

To keep strangers out of your sleigh, book the resort's ride and choose the fares for a party travelling together, or a sleigh for one if you are alone. To have the farm and the guide to yourselves as well, write to the safari house or the hotel, both of which run with small minimums, and ask for a departure only for your group, confirmed in writing.

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.

Resort sleigh rideFarm visitRide and feed
Route to private Book a sleigh for your party Ask for your group Ask for your group
Runs from 1 person 4 adults 2 people
Youngest All ages 2 4
Price From €94.34 per person Not stated From €165 per person

Nothing is marked: none of these is sold as a private outing, and a sleigh to yourselves at the resort is a different thing from a farm to yourselves, so the prices are not like for like.

Where these figures come from
  • Resort sleigh ride: A two-hour sleigh ride from the resort, sold by the sleigh as well as by the seat.
  • Farm visit: An hour and a half feeding reindeer at a farm, run for a minimum of four adults.
  • Ride and feed: Two hours of feeding and a short sleigh ride, run for a minimum of two people.

No reindeer operator in Saariselkä sells an outing for one party alone. There are two ways round it.

A sleigh of your own

Kakslauttanen, the resort south of the village, sells its sleigh ride by the seat and also by the sleigh. A single adult can book a sleigh alone, and a party travelling together books fares that keep its members in the same sleigh, so strangers share the ride but not the seat.1

A departure of your own

Lapponia Tours runs its farm visit for a minimum of four adults, and Wilderness Hotel Saariselkä its feeding outing for a minimum of two. Neither says it will run a departure for one group, but with numbers that small a group can reasonably ask.23

The outings themselves are compared on the best reindeer tour in Saariselkä.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Price not stated

Questions people ask

Can a family share one sleigh?

At the resort, yes: its booking has a two-person fare for people aged twelve and over travelling together, a fare for one adult with one child, and an extra fare for each further child from three to eleven, so a family books its own sleigh rather than places that could be filled by others. The resort does not print what the child fares cost.

What should the request say?

Give the date, the number of adults and children with their ages, and where you are staying. Ask whether the departure can run for your group alone, what it costs if it can, and whether transport is included from your address. Offer two dates, and ask for the answer in writing so the booking confirms that no one else will join.

When in the season can we go?

The safari house runs its farm visit from December to March. The hotel that runs the feeding outing is open from early November to early April. The resort's page gives no season, though its booking calendar lists departures in late December and January. Check the calendar for your dates before you write, and offer the operator a date it already runs.

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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