Book now

Snowmobile safari price in Ruka: who pays what

A rider standing on a blue snowmobile on a sunny fell top above a sea of cloud

Illustration photo: a snowmobile on a fell, not on the Ruka safaris.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Share a machine if you can: every seller prices two on one snowmobile well below one person riding alone. For the lowest bill on a short first ride, book the two-hour safari from the safari house in the resort. Pay more for pick-up at your hotel or a longer stretch in the forest, and check the excess before you drive.

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.

Kuusamo Safaris: around RukaLammintupa: 2 hoursRuka Adventures: sceneryRukapalvelu: family safari
Two sharing, each €85 – Lowest price per person when two share one snowmobile. €105 €120 €158
Riding alone €125 – Lowest price for one person on their own snowmobile. €130 €165 €198
Child €60 (5 to 12, in a sled) €75 (under 18, on the back) €55 (4 to 11, in a sled) €110 (5 to 11, in a sled)
Length 2 h 2.5 h 2.5 h 3 h
Excess €1,000 €1,000 Not stated €1,500

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: Lowest price per person when two share one snowmobile. and Lowest price for one person on their own snowmobile.. The child prices are not ranked, because the age bands and seats differ. The excess is not ranked either, since one seller prints none. Rukapalvelu prices two sharing as €316 for the pair.

Where these figures come from
  • Kuusamo Safaris: around Ruka: Two hours and about 30 km from the company's safari house in Ruka, with no food in the price.
  • Lammintupa: 2 hours: About an hour and a half on the machine from the winter village, with a snack in a hut.
  • Ruka Adventures: scenery: A two-and-a-half-hour safari with a warm drink midway and a transfer from Ruka centre.
  • Rukapalvelu: family safari: About an hour on the machine from a wilderness camp, with the transfer there included.

A snowmobile safari around Ruka is priced by how many people sit on each machine, so the same outing can cost a couple very different sums.

Sharing a machine or riding alone

Two people on one snowmobile, taking turns at the handlebars, pay much less each than one person with a machine to themselves. At Kuusamo Safaris a couple pays €170 sharing and €250 on two machines.1 Rukapalvelu prints its shared price for the pair rather than per person, which makes it look higher than it is.2

Children

The cheapest place for a child is a sled pulled by the guide’s snowmobile, and three of the four sellers price it that way. Lammintupa has no sled; a child under eighteen rides on the back behind a driving adult and must be at least 140 cm tall.2

What else the price covers

Ruka Adventures’ price includes the transfer from Ruka centre, and Rukapalvelu’s the drive out to its camp; at the other two you make your own way to the start.3 The excess is what you pay towards damage to the machine, and it runs from €1,000 to €1,500 per snowmobile where it is printed.

The same safari elsewhere

Lammintupa’s two-hour safari costs less booked in the resort shop than the price in the snowmobile safari comparison, which is read from a booking platform. To choose a safari by route rather than price, see the best snowmobile tour in Ruka.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

How late can we cancel a snowmobile safari?

It depends on the seller. Lammintupa and Rukapalvelu keep the whole price inside two days and half inside a week. Kuusamo Safaris keeps the whole price inside six days and 5% inside thirty. Ruka Adventures keeps all of it inside a week, half inside two weeks and a quarter inside a month, so book it only once your dates are firm.

Do we pay more if only two of us book?

No, but the safari has to fill. Kuusamo Safaris runs a departure once four people in total have booked and says your own booking need not reach four. Lammintupa and Rukapalvelu print a minimum of four adults. If a departure does not fill, ask the seller whether it moves you to another one or refunds the price.

Is the four-hour safari better value than the two-hour one?

Per hour on the machine, yes. Lammintupa's two-hour safari costs €105 each for two sharing and gives about an hour and a half of driving; its four-hour safari costs €159 each and gives about three hours. You pay half as much again for twice the time on the snowmobile, with a snack in a hut on both.

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.

More about Lapland Handbook →