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Private Santa visit in Ivalo: two farms, two kinds of meeting

A red-brown log cabin with a thick roof of snow among tall snowy pines, a warm light in one window and a red sledge by the door

Illustration photo: a log cabin in the snow, not a place described here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If the meeting itself is the event, book the reindeer farm: a sleigh ride to Santa, time alone with him and a gift for each child, priced per group rather than per person. If you are visiting the huskies anyway, or want Santa to come to your cabin, add him to a booking at the husky farm. Both ask about the children in advance, so book early.

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.

Reindeer farmHusky farm
Where you meet him At a secret spot, by sleigh The farm's cabin, or yours
Time with Santa About 20 min 15–30 min
Booked with On its own Another visit at the farm
Group 2–4, or 5–8 Per group, size not stated
Gift For each visitor Not stated
Season 1 Dec–31 Jan Not stated

Nothing is ranked: one is an outing and the other an addition to one. Prices are left to the Santa price page for Ivalo.

Where these figures come from
  • Reindeer farm: The meeting as an outing of its own: a sleigh pulled by a snowmobile to Santa's secret spot six kilometres from the village, and back.
  • Husky farm: Santa added to a visit with the huskies, in the farm's cabin, or sent to the cabin where you are staying.

Both Santa visits sold at Ivalo are for one family at a time, and the difference between them is what surrounds the meeting.

By sleigh, as an outing

The reindeer farm takes your family by sleigh behind a snowmobile to find Santa at a secret spot, ten minutes each way, and leaves you about twenty minutes with him, time for photographs and a gift for every visitor. It asks for a form about the visitors beforehand so that Santa can prepare, and it runs only from the first of December to the end of January.1

In a cabin, as an addition

The husky farm sells Santa as an addition to one of its own visits, to be booked together with it: fifteen to thirty minutes of conversation and stories in its cabin, by a Santa who speaks fluent English. It also offers to send Santa to your own cabin, which spares a small child the trip out after dark.2

What the two cost a family, and the farm visits Santa can be added to, is on Santa Claus prices from Ivalo.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can we cancel if a child is ill?

At the husky farm, not for a refund: its terms make every booking binding and non-refundable, and name illness among the reasons that do not count. The reindeer farm does not publish cancellation terms on its page, so ask before paying. With young children in December, travel insurance that covers cancelled activities is worth checking.

Can grandparents come too?

At the reindeer farm the price covers a group of two to four, or five to eight, so a family with grandparents moves into the larger group. The husky farm prices Santa per group without printing a limit, but the visit it is added to may have one, and its private sled tours take one to three people. Say how many of you there are when you book.

Do we see Santa's reindeer?

Not on either page. The reindeer farm's Santa is reached by a sleigh pulled by a snowmobile, not by reindeer, though the farm's reindeer are there and can be visited separately. The husky farm's Santa meets you in its cabin. If a reindeer sleigh matters to your children, the Saariselkä programme includes one.

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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