Book now

Snowmobile safari in Utsjoki: driving or being driven

A snowmobile parked on a tracked snowfield in a valley between bare snowy fells at dusk

Illustration photo: a snowmobile in a fell valley, not in Paistunturi.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If you hold a driving licence and want the wilderness, book the village company's two hours in Paistunturi: small groups, helmets and clothing lent and the wilderness permit included. For a first lesson with a printed per-person price, 225 euros each when two share a machine, take the holiday village's safari. Anyone who cannot or would rather not drive, children included, should book one of the sled trips behind the guide.

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.

Travel Utsjoki: PaistunturiHoliday Village Valle: safariTravel Utsjoki: snow safariHoliday Village Valle: fells
Price €230 €225 sharing, €300 alone €180 €170 adult, €90 child
Priced per Not stated Person Not stated Person
Who drives You, taking turns You The guide The guide
Length 2 h 2 h 2 h 3 h
Clothing and helmet Lent Thermal equipment Lent Lent
Pick-up Within 5 km of the village Not stated Within 8 km of the village Not stated

The price row is not ranked: the holiday village prints its prices per person, while the village company prints one figure per trip with no basis. A half-day sled safari with lunch is also sold by the village company, at 250 euros.

Where these figures come from
  • Travel Utsjoki: Paistunturi: Two hours driving into the Paistunturi wilderness area, at most four guests at the handlebars, sharing and taking turns.
  • Holiday Village Valle: safari: Two hours learning the basics over snowy fells and frozen lakes, with drinks, a snack, fuel and insurance in the price.
  • Travel Utsjoki: snow safari: Two hours sitting in a sled behind the guide's snowmobile into Paistunturi, with hot drinks and snacks.
  • Holiday Village Valle: fells: Three hours in a sleigh behind the guide's snowmobile, up to views over the Teno valley and the Norwegian fells.

Two companies sell snowmobile trips from Utsjoki, and each sells both kinds: a trip where you drive and one where you are towed.

Driving

The village company’s self-drive trip heads into the Paistunturi wilderness area, and the permit to enter it is part of the price.1 Drivers must be eighteen with a valid licence, which is the rule the Explore Utsjoki site gives for the whole area.2 The holiday village’s safari is sold as a lesson in the basics, and its price covers fuel, taxes and insurance as well as the guide.3

Being driven

Under the same local rule, children under fifteen ride in a sledge behind the guide’s machine, and anyone else can choose to. Both sellers run sled trips built for that: two hours into Paistunturi with the village company, or three hours up to the fell views over the Teno with the holiday village.

Choosing

Choose the wilderness trip if the landscape is the point and you have a licence, the holiday village’s safari if you want a lesson with a clear price per head, and a sled trip for a family or for anyone who would rather watch than steer. The nearest other snowmobile trips are compared on snowmobile safari in Inari, an hour and a half south.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Price not stated

Questions people ask

Are we insured if we damage the snowmobile?

The holiday village's price includes insurance with a personal liability of at most 1,400 euros, which is the most you would pay towards damage. The village company's snowmobiling page says nothing about insurance or an excess, so ask it what you would owe before you drive, and check whether your travel insurance covers driving a snowmobile at all.

When is the season?

The village company runs its self-drive trips from early January to late April and its sled safaris from December to April. The holiday village does not print a season on its snowmobile pages. So in December, before the self-drive season opens, the village company's sled safaris are the only snowmobile trips it runs.

Can we ride on marked trails on our own afterwards?

The Explore Utsjoki site says there are many kilometres of well-marked snowmobile routes around Utsjoki, but the trips here are guided, and neither seller's snowmobile pages offer a machine for you to take out alone. If you want to explore on your own after a lesson, ask the holiday village or the village company whether they know of a rental, and what licence and permit the routes need.

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 →