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Snowmobile safaris in Enontekiö: which day tour to book

Four riders in helmets and dark suits on snowmobiles lined up on a frozen lake, flat white ice and low hills behind them

Illustration photo: snowmobiles on a frozen lake, not necessarily in Enontekiö.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

For a first go, or a short stay, book the 20-kilometre Hetta Trails tour: it runs on most winter days and is the cheapest by a distance. If you have driven before and want a real journey into the wilderness, the 40-kilometre Palojoki tour is the one to plan your week around. Save the long Näkkälä circuit for a spring visit, when it runs. Share a machine to keep the price down.

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.

Hetta Huskies: Hetta TrailsHetta Huskies: PalojokiHetta Huskies: Näkkälä circuit
Price per adult, sharing €80 – the lowest price per adult €140 €225
Snowmobile to yourself €140 high, €125 low season €240 high, €210 low season €300 high, €275 low season
Distance 20 km 40 km 70–90 km
Length 1.5 h 2–3 h 4–6 h
Riding in the sleigh, adult or child €40 €100 €150
When it runs Nearly every winter day About once a week Mainly March and April

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per adult. Shared prices assume two adults taking turns on one snowmobile. Only price is marked: a longer tour is not a better one for someone driving for the first time.

Where these figures come from
  • Hetta Huskies: Hetta Trails: Twenty kilometres on the trails around the village, offered on nearly every winter day. The shortest and cheapest of the three.
  • Hetta Huskies: Palojoki: Forty kilometres into the wilderness, run about once a week, so it needs planning around rather than booking on the day.
  • Hetta Huskies: Näkkälä circuit: A circuit of 70 to 90 kilometres taking four to six hours, offered mainly in March and April.

Snowmobile day tours in Hetta come from Hetta Huskies, the village kennel, which also runs a snowmobile programme and publishes it as a price table. There are three tours you drive yourself, and the choice is mostly about how far you want to go and when you are there.

Distance and price

The Hetta Trails tour covers twenty kilometres for 80 euros per adult sharing a machine. The Palojoki tour doubles the distance for 140 euros, and the Näkkälä circuit goes out to 70 to 90 kilometres for 225. A snowmobile to yourself costs more on each, and more again in high season. Anyone who would rather not drive can ride pillion behind someone who does, or ride in a sleigh pulled by the guide, which is also how children come along.

When each one runs

The shortest tour is the only one you can count on finding on most winter days; the kennel says it can usually add the short tours even when its online system shows nothing free. The Palojoki tour runs about once a week, and the Näkkälä circuit mainly in March and April, so a midwinter visitor who wants the long ride will probably not find it.

Before you book

The kennel asks drivers to bring their driving licence, since it is needed to drive. Plan the tour for a day when whoever drives has it with them.

The same kennel’s evening tours under the aurora, by snowmobile and in a heated sleigh, are compared in northern lights in Hetta, and the rest of what is sold in the village is on the Enontekiö destination page.

The daytime outings from the same company are set out separately: husky safari in Hetta and the reindeer farm visit.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Is clothing included?

Not in the price table, which does not mention clothing. On its aurora snowmobile page the kennel hires snowmobile clothing and boots for 5 euros a piece and gloves, hats and buffs for 2.50 each, and asks you to check it has enough if you are relying on it, since most of its guests arrive already dressed for the Arctic. A jacket, trousers and boots for two people comes to 30 euros before gloves, which is worth knowing before comparing the price with a resort safari that includes an overall.

When is high season?

The price table charges more for a snowmobile to yourself in high season than in low season, but the page does not say which weeks count as which. Ask when you book. The difference is 15 euros on the Hetta Trails tour, 30 on the Palojoki tour and 25 on the Näkkälä circuit; the table gives a single shared price and a single sleigh fare for each tour.

Can we stay out overnight?

Yes. The same page lists overnight snowmobile journeys to wilderness cabins, from about 20 to 90 kilometres, at 300 to 460 euros per adult on a shared snowmobile. The kennel says it offers them mainly in spring, when it is less busy with the dogs, though specific dates can be requested, particularly as part of a longer package with other activities.

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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