Book now

Private reindeer tour in Sodankylä: how to arrange one

Two harnessed reindeer pulling a wooden sled at speed across a snowfield, with a driver in a knitted hat and blue hills behind

Illustration photo: a reindeer sled in the Russian Arctic, not in Sodankylä.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For a family or a small group, write to Arctic Wonders and ask for its farm visit, with or without the sleigh ride, for your party alone: it invites private groups to e-mail. For eight people or more, ask Arctic SISU for a group offer on its herding half day or its day with lunch. In both cases ask for a single total rather than a price per person.

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 WondersArctic SISU Experience
Private route Private groups on request Group offer from 8 people
Suits A family or a small group A party of eight or more
What could be shaped Farm visit, 1 or 3 km ride, lunch Herding half day, day with lunch

Nothing is ranked: neither company prices a private reindeer visit, so the table shows the route to one and what it could be built from.

Where these figures come from
  • Arctic Wonders: A farm sold in four sizes, from a feeding visit to a three-kilometre ride with lunch, with private group requests by e-mail.
  • Arctic SISU Experience: A herd of hundreds for half a day, or a long day with lunch, with tailored prices for groups of eight or more.

A private reindeer visit in Sodankylä has to be asked for, and each company has its own door.

For a small party

Arctic Wonders invites bespoke requests and private groups to e-mail it, and names reindeer encounters among the experiences it designs.1 Its farm is already sold with or without a sleigh ride and with coffee or lunch, so there is something to ask for: say which version you want for your party alone.

For a larger group

Arctic SISU Experience offers tailored pricing to groups of eight or more.2 A group that size fills its herding half day or its long day with lunch on its own.

The shared reindeer visits are compared on the best reindeer tour in Sodankylä.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Would a private visit mean a longer sleigh ride?

Not unless you ask for one. The rides sold at Arctic Wonders' farm are one and three kilometres, and nothing on its listings or its site offers a longer route. If a longer ride is the reason you want a private visit, say so in your first message, so the company can tell you whether the farm can do it.

Can we visit the reindeer in summer?

Arctic Wonders says it operates year round, with long summer days for hiking and nature trips, but it lists its reindeer encounters under winter activities, and neither company sells a summer reindeer visit. If you are travelling outside the snow season, ask by e-mail rather than assuming the farm is open to visitors.

Can a private visit include lunch?

Both companies already sell a reindeer visit with food: Arctic Wonders a soup lunch after its three-kilometre ride, and Arctic SISU a traditional Lapland lunch on its long day. Ask for the same meal on a private visit, and mention any dietary needs, which none of the listings addresses.

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 →