Reindeer in Oulu: what the one visit is like
Illustration photo: a Christmas tree farm in the snow, not the farm near Oulu.
The short answer
Book it for small children or anyone who wants calm, close time with reindeer without leaving Oulu: transport is included, the animals are few and used to people, and there is a warm hut with glögi afterwards. Do not book it expecting a working herd or a sleigh ride; for that, the reindeer farm in Kemi is the nearest this handbook covers.
Nallikari Safaris sells a three-hour morning at a small family-run Christmas tree farm near Oulu that keeps three reindeer. After transport from the city and a change into thermal clothing, you meet the reindeer one by one, learn their names, and feed, pet and photograph them at your own pace; then there is glögi and a pastry by the fire in a wooden hut, and a walk round the Christmas trees.1 The city’s winter programme lists it every morning from ten to one, from 22 December to 31 March.2
What it is not
Three reindeer at a tree farm is a gentle morning, especially with children, but it is not a reindeer herding farm, and the listing mentions no sleigh ride. If a herd and a ride behind a reindeer are what you are after, the reindeer farm in Kemi is the nearest this handbook covers, and the Oulu page gives the drive.
Tours you can book
Three reindeer at a Christmas tree farm, with transport from Oulu
Run by Nallikari Safaris
From €169per person
Length3 h
Book now on GetYourGuide(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Where are we picked up, and when?
The listing says the transfer leaves Nallikari 30 minutes before the start and Oulu market square, at the Toripolliisi statue, 20 minutes before. It is a shared tour, so the bus will not wait: be at the stop a few minutes early, and pick the stop that is easier from where you are staying.
How big is the group?
The listing calls it a public tour and prints no group size or minimum. With three reindeer, a busy morning means sharing them with everyone else on the tour, so if unhurried time with the animals is the point of the visit, ask when you book how many people are expected on your date.
What if a child is ill on the day?
The listing allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, with a full refund, and not after. Because the morning starts with a transfer at a fixed time, a child who wakes up ill means a lost booking, so if someone is coming down with something the evening before, cancel then rather than hoping.