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Northern lights snowmobile tours in Saariselkä: drive or ride

A green aurora rising over snow-covered peaks and a rocky shore at night, the sky full of stars

Illustration photo: the aurora over snowy mountains, not in Saariselkä.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If nobody wants to drive, or you have young children, book Lapland Safaris' sleigh ride: you sit behind the guide's snowmobile, it is the cheapest, and it sells child fares from two. To drive yourselves, Safartica is cheaper than Lapland Welcome and says how long you actually drive. Lapland Welcome's evening is the longest and lets you pay extra to drive alone. Lapland Safaris' snowmobile evening runs on the other three nights, two to a machine taking turns, with riding alone for 50 euros extra.

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.

Lapland Safaris (SAWF017)SafarticaLapland Safaris (SAWF019)Lapland Welcome
Price €118 – the lowest price per person €149 €175 €219
Who drives The guide; you ride in a sleigh You, two to a machine You, two to a machine You, licence required
Length 3 h 3 h 3 h 4 h
The stop Berry juice at an open view Fire, sausages and pastry Fire, sausages and drinks Fire, light snacks and drinks
Nights Mon, Wed, Fri Not stated Tue, Thu, Sat Not stated
Children Child fares 2–3 and 4–14 Not under 4 Child fares 2–3 and 4–14 Passengers from 140 cm

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per person. All four price per person. Only price is marked: a sleigh ride and a driving evening are different purchases, and a longer evening is not a better one for every family.

Where these figures come from
  • Lapland Safaris (SAWF017): The cheapest evening and the only one where nobody drives: you sit in a sleigh towed by the guide to an open view of the northern sky, with warm berry juice. Child fares from two. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
  • Safartica: Cheaper than Lapland Welcome, and the only listing that says how much of it is driving: about an hour and a half to two hours. A fire with sausages and pastry, and hotel pick-up. Not for children under four.
  • Lapland Safaris (SAWF019): The same company's snowmobile safari, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with a stop by a fire for sausages and drinks. Child fares from two, with children in a sled behind the guide's snowmobile.
  • Lapland Welcome: The longest evening, at four hours, with a fire in the forest, pick-up from listed hotels and winter gear. It sells driving alone and a lower damage liability as add-ons. Children ride as passengers from 140 cm.

The aurora evenings sold by snowmobile from Saariselkä leave after dark, Lapland Safaris’ at eight in the evening, and last three or four hours with a stop along the way. None of them can promise the sky, so the choice is about the evening itself: whether you drive, where you stop and who in the family can come.

A sleigh or the handlebars

Lapland Safaris sells two evenings on different nights. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays its guide tows a sleigh up to the fells for an open view of the northern sky, with warm berry juice and nothing for you to drive. It is the cheapest evening here and sells child fares from two. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the same company runs a snowmobile safari that heads for the spots the guide judges best and stops by a fire for sausages; two guests share each machine and take turns driving, and the driver must be 18 with a licence valid in Finland. Which night you are in Saariselkä may decide it for you.

If you want to drive

Safartica costs less than Lapland Welcome and is the only listing that says how much of the three hours is spent driving: about an hour and a half to two hours, two people to a machine, with a fire, sausages and pastry halfway. Lapland Welcome takes four hours, stops at a fire in the forest and collects you from the hotels on its list. It sells driving alone, and a lower damage liability for 50 euros, as extras; Lapland Safaris’ snowmobile evening sells riding alone for 50 euros a person and a lower liability for 20.

For aurora tours by van, on snowshoes or with a photographer, see the best northern lights tours in Saariselkä. Daytime snowmobile tours are in snowmobile safaris in Saariselkä, and what an aurora snowmobile evening is like in general is in snowmobile northern lights tours in Rovaniemi. The rest of the village is on the Saariselkä destination page.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can I drive a snowmobile on my own?

On Lapland Welcome's evening you can, for a supplement per person that its listing sells as an add-on. Safartica puts two people on each machine and prints no single price, and Lapland Safaris' snowmobile evening sells riding alone for 50 euros a person. If you are travelling alone, book the tour that sells the supplement or ask before paying whether you will share a machine with a stranger.

What happens if the sky is cloudy?

You still go. Lapland Welcome says its tour will not be cancelled or rescheduled because of normal changes in the weather and that the aurora cannot be guaranteed, and none of the four listings mentions a refund for an empty sky. What you are buying is an evening out in the dark with a stop by a fire or at a viewpoint, and a chance of the lights.

Are we collected from our hotel?

Safartica and Lapland Welcome both list a pick-up from hotels. Lapland Welcome collects from the hotels on its list in Saariselkä and charges extra for a pick-up in Ivalo. Lapland Safaris names meeting points rather than a hotel pick-up on the parts of its pages that open without a date, so check the point nearest you when you book.

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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