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Private snowmobile tour in Ivalo: on request, or half an hour away

A narrow river running between frost-covered birches and dark spruces, seen from above on a pale winter day

Illustration photo: a river through a frosted forest, not the Ivalo River.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Write to the Ivalo safari company with your group, dates and the ages of any children, and ask for a private version of its Lake Inari safari: it offers one on request, and it is the only way to take children under ten on a snowmobile outing here. If you want a price before you write, the private trip from Nellim is sold on a booking platform with a transfer from Ivalo for an extra charge.

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 requestIvalo Safaris, own machineInari Onnela, Nellim
Other guests None Up to eight in the group None
Price On request €65 supplement per person €180 per person
Children under 10 The route the company suggests No Not stated
Getting there Pickup in Ivalo Pickup in Ivalo Transfer from Ivalo, extra charge
Booking E-mail request Online or by e-mail Online, free cancellation 24 h

Nothing is ranked: the three buy different things. Only the Nellim trip has a published price for a private group.

Where these figures come from
  • Ivalo Safaris, on request: A private version of the village company's Lake Inari safari, offered to groups and to families with children under ten who write and ask.
  • Ivalo Safaris, own machine: The shared safari with a snowmobile to yourself for a supplement, still in the company's group of up to eight.
  • Inari Onnela, Nellim: Four hours on Lake Inari sold as a private group, two to a machine unless you pay extra, starting across the lake in Nellim.

At Ivalo, private on a snowmobile means one of two things: a tour for your group alone, which you have to ask for, or a machine to yourself inside the shared group, which you can book.

Asking for a private tour

The village’s safari company says in so many words that groups of friends or family can e-mail for a private tour, and it sends families with children under ten the same way, since its shared safari starts at ten.1 Its page gives the rules a private group would start from: children taller than 140 centimetres may ride behind an adult, and a driver pays up to 700 euros of any damage.

The nearest private trip with a price

Across Lake Inari in Nellim, a company sells four hours on the lake as a private group, two to a machine unless you pay for your own, and offers a car transfer from Ivalo for an extra charge.2 It is the one private snowmobile trip near Ivalo you can book without writing first.

The shared outings are compared on the best snowmobile tour in Ivalo.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is a machine to ourselves the same as a private tour?

No. On the shared safari two people normally share each snowmobile, and a supplement per person buys a machine of your own, but you still ride in the company's group of up to eight. That suits a couple who both want to drive the whole way. A private tour is about who else is in the group, not how many are on each machine.

How do we get to Nellim?

Nellim is a small village on the eastern shore of Lake Inari, and the private trip there starts from its meeting point in the village. The listing offers a transfer by car from Ivalo, Inari and Saariselkä for an extra charge, so you do not need your own car. Ask for the transfer price when you book, because the listing does not print it.

What does the driver need to bring?

A driving licence. The Ivalo company requires every driver to be at least eighteen with a licence valid in Finland, in one of the categories A1, T, A or B, and asks you to carry it on the safari; the Nellim listing also tells drivers to bring one. Without one you cannot drive, so check the category on your card before you travel.

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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