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Northern lights snowmobile tours in Ruka: which evening to book

A dog in a coat sitting on a parked snowmobile at dusk, frosted trees and a low moon behind

Illustration photo: a snowmobile at dusk, not on the Ruka evening safaris.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For the lowest price and the least fuss, book the two-hour starlight safari that collects you from the Ruka hotels. For a fire and sausages at a hut the company keeps for itself, the evening ride to a private hut, which also welcomes beginners and solo riders. Take the 30 km taiga evening only with some driving experience, and the wilderness camp trip if darkness away from the resort matters most.

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.

Ruka Adventures: starlightKuusamo Safaris: private hutRuka Safaris: taiga eveningRukapalvelu: wilderness camp
Two sharing, each €120 – Lowest price per person when two share a machine. €125 €170 €168
Riding alone €165 – Lowest price for one person on their own machine. €175 €210 €228
Child €55 (4 to 11, in a sled) €75 (5 to 12) €99 (from 8) No child fare
Length 2–2.5 h 3 h 3 h 3 h
The stop Hot drink Sausages at a private hut Sausages and coffee by a fire Hot juice at a camp
Runs Five evenings, 19:30 On request, from 17:00 When 4 book Not stated

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: Lowest price per person when two share a machine. and Lowest price for one person on their own machine.. Rukapalvelu prints its shared price as €336 for the pair; the table halves it. Child fares are not ranked, because the ages and seats differ.

Where these figures come from
  • Ruka Adventures: starlight: Two hours from the Ruka hotels on five evenings a week, with a hot drink on the way.
  • Kuusamo Safaris: private hut: Three hours and 25 km to a hut used only by the company, with sausages by the fire.
  • Ruka Safaris: taiga evening: About 30 km through the forest with a fire stop, for riders with some experience.
  • Rukapalvelu: wilderness camp: About two hours of driving out to a camp away from the resort's lights, with hot juice.

The evening snowmobile safaris around Ruka share the sky and the chance of the lights, so they are chosen by the rest of the evening.

From the hotels

Ruka Adventures collects you from the Ruka hotels at half past seven on five evenings a week for two hours on the machine, with a hot drink on the way. It is the lowest price here, shared or alone.1

To a private hut

Kuusamo Safaris rides 25 km to a wilderness hut the company keeps for itself, grills sausages at the fire and serves hot juice or tea. It leaves at five on request, welcomes beginners and takes solo bookings.2

Through the taiga

Ruka Safaris’ evening covers about 30 km through the forest with a fire stop, and the company strongly recommends some snowmobile experience first.3

To a wilderness camp

Rukapalvelu drives out to a wilderness camp away from the resort’s lights for about two hours on the machine, the dearest of the four.4

The daytime safaris are compared on the best snowmobile tour in Ruka, and the aurora evenings without a snowmobile on the best northern lights tour in Ruka.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can children come on an evening safari?

On three of the four. Ruka Adventures seats children under 145 cm in a sledge behind the guide from four, and Kuusamo Safaris pulls children under 135 cm in a heated sled, at €75 for ages five to twelve. Ruka Safaris takes children from eight, on the back behind a guardian and at least 140 cm tall. Rukapalvelu's evening sells adult places only.

Which driving licence do we need?

A car licence for the driver on three of the four: Ruka Adventures asks for the physical category B card and breath-tests drivers, and Kuusamo Safaris for a licence accepted in Finland. Rukapalvelu lets a driver of fifteen take a machine with at least a Finnish class T licence. Without a licence you can still ride as a passenger.

What happens to the price if we cancel?

Kuusamo Safaris keeps the whole price inside six days and 5% inside thirty, Ruka Adventures all of it inside a week and half inside two weeks, and Ruka Safaris all of it inside fourteen days. Rukapalvelu keeps the whole price inside two days and half inside a week, the most forgiving here if your evening plans may change.

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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