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Reindeer safari prices in Inari, and what they cover

A dense mound of pale grey reindeer lichen on green moss, scattered with fallen needles and autumn leaves

Illustration photo: reindeer lichen on a forest floor, not in Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For a family of four, the village safari company's sleigh ride and the hotel's come to almost the same total, a little under 580 euros, so choose between them on what they include rather than on price. If your dates might change, the ranch feeding sold on the booking platform is the only outing here that can be cancelled free the day before; the safari company's own terms keep the whole price inside the last two weeks, and the hotel group's by-email terms inside the last month.

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.

Visit Inari: sleigh rideWilderness Hotel: sleigh rideVisit Inari: herder's morningGalddoaivi: ranch feeding
Adult €168 €170 €239 €125 – the lowest adult price
Two adults, two children €571.20 – the lowest total for two adults and two children aged four to eleven €578 €812.60 Not stated
Included Hotel pick-up, winter clothing, hot drink Transfer from the hotel, guide Hotel pick-up, winter clothing, hot drink, pastry Transfer from the meeting point, warm clothing, lichen
If you cancel €50 fee to 15 days out, then the full price Depends on booking channel and dates €50 fee to 15 days out, then the full price Free up to 24 hours before

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest adult price and the lowest total for two adults and two children aged four to eleven. Children are counted at each seller's own child fare. The platform listing for the ranch prints no child fare, so its family total is left as not stated rather than guessed.

Where these figures come from
  • Visit Inari: sleigh ride: The village safari company's forty-minute ride in a wooden reindeer sleigh, booked on its own site and paid in full when you book.
  • Wilderness Hotel: sleigh ride: The hotel's reindeer sleigh ride at a farm, with the transfer from the hotel, booked through the hotel group on its own terms.
  • Visit Inari: herder's morning: The safari company's longest reindeer outing, out by snowmobile sleigh to a herd that grazes freely in the forest near the village.
  • Galddoaivi: ranch feeding: Feeding reindeer at a ranch beside the village, as listed on the booking platform, from a meeting point you reach yourself.

The adult prices of Inari’s reindeer outings are close. What changes the bill is the child fare, what the price covers, and whether you can get the money back.

What the price covers

For a guest staying in the village, only the safari company’s figure is the whole cost, because the company puts the pick-up and the winter clothing into the price of every outing it runs.1 The hotel’s price names the transfer but not clothing, so ask whether it is lent. At the ranch, add whatever it costs you to reach the meeting point.

The family bill

The safari company takes 30 per cent off for children from four to eleven, and the hotel group takes the same off from three to fourteen.2 For a family with children in that middle band the totals barely differ: the hotel’s sleigh ride costs a family of four about 7 euros more than the safari company’s. With a twelve- or thirteen-year-old, the hotel’s wider band starts to count. At the bottom end the safari company prints nothing about children under four, and the hotel takes none under three.

If plans change

The safari company takes the whole price when you book a winter outing. Cancel fifteen days or more ahead and it keeps a 50-euro office fee; inside fourteen days it keeps everything.3 The hotel group’s terms depend on how and when you book: by email for a winter date outside the holidays, a 50-euro fee applies until six weeks before, half the price until thirty days, and all of it after that. For a Christmas or New Year date, any cancellation costs the full price from the fifteenth of September.4 The booking platform’s free cancellation up to a day ahead is the most forgiving of the three.

One visit, two prices

The afternoon with a family by Lake Muddus is sold by the safari company in winter and by the hotel in summer, and the summer price is 15 euros lower.5 It is the same family and the same reindeer; the season, not the seller, sets the price.

Which outing to choose is on the best reindeer tour in Inari, and the age limits on reindeer in Inari with children.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

How much more is the evening reindeer ride than the daytime one?

Thirteen euros a head. The safari company charges 181 euros for its evening ride against 168 for the daytime one, with about the same forty minutes in the sleigh, so the difference is what the chance of the northern lights costs. The company gives no refund if the aurora stays away, and the child fare works the same way on both.

Does collection from Ivalo or Saariselkä cost extra?

Yes. The safari company's prices include pick-up from hotels in Inari village only, and it says it can collect from further away, such as Saariselkä or Ivalo, for an additional cost. It does not print that cost, so ask for it when you book, because for a family it is added to every outing you take.

Which outing costs least for a family with a child who likes crafts?

The afternoon at a local family's home by Lake Muddus, at 140 euros for an adult and 98 for a child aged four to eleven, which makes 476 euros for two adults and two children. It is the cheapest of the safari company's reindeer outings, and it runs only on Tuesday and Friday afternoons, so book it before planning the rest of the week around it.

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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