The word you will see everywhere in Rovaniemi is safari. It simply means a guided outing into the snow — by dog sled, reindeer sleigh, snowmobile or on foot — and these outings are the heart of a winter trip. This guide explains how each works, so that you can pick the right ones and the right length.
How safaris work
- Season: snow activities generally run from early December to early April, depending on the snow. January to March is the reliable period.
- Pickup: most include transfers from hotels in the centre and often from Santa Claus Village; others start at a safari office in town.
- Clothing: operators lend thermal overalls, winter boots, mittens, wool socks and helmets where needed. Wear your own base and mid layers underneath.
- Length: a “two-hour” safari usually means two hours door to door, including dressing and the briefing. Check how long the ride itself is.
- Price: roughly €100–200 per adult for a half-day, with children’s rates at about half to two-thirds. December costs most.
Husky safaris
The noise hits you first: a yard of sixty dogs howling to be chosen. Then the guide lifts the snow anchor, the howling stops as if switched off, and the only sounds are runners on snow and panting. Most people rate it the best thing they do in Lapland.
- Two per sled: one person sits in the sled, one stands on the runners and drives. You swap at the halfway point.
- Driving is simple — lean into bends, brake with your foot, help by pushing uphill — but physical. Never let go of the sled.
- Distances: from a ten-minute loop at Santa Claus Village to 5, 10 or 20 kilometres at kennels in the forest. Five kilometres is the least that gives you a real turn at driving; ten is better.
- Children ride as passengers. Small children usually travel in a sled driven by a guide.
- The dogs are Alaskan and Siberian huskies. Kennel visits, with time to meet the dogs and hear how they are raised and trained, are part of nearly every safari.
Reindeer sleigh rides and farms
Where the huskies are all speed, a reindeer sleigh ride is slow, quiet and oddly calming: wrapped in blankets and hides, you glide through the forest at walking pace behind an animal that has pulled sleighs here for centuries.
- Rides range from a few hundred metres at Santa Claus Village to an hour or more in the forest. Sleighs travel in a line led by a herder.
- Farm visits are as much about people as animals. Reindeer herding is a living livelihood across Lapland, and a good farm visit explains the year’s cycle of calving, marking and round-ups.
- Feeding the reindeer with lichen is usually included, as is coffee by the fire in a kota hut.
- Etiquette: do not ask a herder how many reindeer they own — it is like asking someone’s bank balance.
Husky safari from €142 Rovaniemi: Husky Safari with 1, 5, 10 & 20 km Options
A flexible safari at a kennel outside town. The shortest option is a ride as a passenger; the longer ones put two of you on a sled, taking turns to stand on the runners and steer. Pick at least five kilometres if you want to feel the rhythm of the dogs.
- Choose your distance when booking
- Longer options let you drive the team
- Kennel visit and hot drinks
Self-drive husky safari from €239 Rovaniemi: Drive Your Own Husky Team & BBQ
For those who want to mush rather than be a passenger. After a briefing you drive a team in pairs along forest trails, swapping driver halfway, then warm up over a campfire lunch. It is more physical than it looks: you help the dogs uphill and brake hard on the way down.
- Several kilometres driving your own team
- Barbecue by the fire
- Small groups
Short husky sled ride from €63 Rovaniemi: Santa Claus Village Husky Ride
The simplest way to try a husky sled: a short ride on a forest loop at the kennel inside Santa Claus Village. It is over quickly, but it suits small children and anyone fitting a ride around a village visit. Slots sell out in December, so reserve ahead.
- No transfer needed — it is at the village
- A musher drives; you sit in the sled
- Meet the dogs afterwards
Reindeer farm visit from €87 Rovaniemi: Reindeer Experience with Sleigh Ride
The best-value reindeer outing and one of the most reviewed. You are driven to a farm, meet the herd and ride in a sleigh at a reindeer’s unhurried walking pace — a calm contrast to the huskies. Ride length varies with the option you choose.
- Sleigh ride through the forest
- Feed the reindeer
- Learn about herding from the farmers
Reindeer farm visit from €150 Rovaniemi: Authentic Reindeer Farm Visit & Short Sleigh Ride
A smaller-scale visit that puts the herders’ way of life ahead of the ride. You hear how reindeer are raised and marked, feed them lichen and take a brief sleigh ride before sitting down by the fire with something hot.
- A working, family-run farm
- Short sleigh ride
- Stories by the fire in a traditional hut
Snowmobile safari from €101 Rovaniemi: Snowmobile Safari Adventure with Combo Options
The city’s most-booked snowmobile safari. After a safety briefing you follow the guide in single file out of town and onto the trail network. Drivers must hold a valid driving licence; passengers and children ride behind or in a sleigh towed by the guide.
- Full instruction — no experience needed
- Frozen rivers and forest trails
- Options to add reindeer, huskies or ice fishing
Snowmobile safari from €119 Rovaniemi: Arctic Snowmobile Safari on New Machines
A well-reviewed alternative using up-to-date machines. The route heads into the forest for a campfire stop before looping back. As everywhere, the price assumes two people per snowmobile; riding alone costs extra.
- Recent-model snowmobiles
- Campfire break with a snack
- Highly rated guides
Snowmobile safari + ice fishing from €189 Rovaniemi: Snowmobile and Ice Fishing Adventure with Lunch
A longer day that gets further from town. You ride to a frozen lake, bore holes with a hand auger and try for perch while the guide cooks lunch over an open fire. Rated 4.8 by more than 900 guests.
- Longer ride to a wilderness lake
- Drill a hole and fish through the ice
- Lunch cooked over the fire
Ice fishing trip from €89 Rovaniemi: Ice Fishing Experience
A gentle, sociable way to spend a morning, and one of the cheaper guided activities. The guide drives you to a lake, shows you how the locals fish in winter and keeps a fire going. Catching something is a bonus rather than a promise.
- Learn to use an ice auger
- Quiet time on a frozen lake
- Campfire and hot drinks
Guided snowshoe walk from €105 Rovaniemi: Hiking and Snowshoeing Adventure in Lapland
A quiet, engine-free outing into the forest on snowshoes, which take a couple of minutes to learn. The guide reads the tracks of hare, fox and reindeer and stops for a hot drink. A good counterweight to a day on a snowmobile.
- Walk through untouched snow
- Look for animal tracks
- Snack by the fire
Full-day combo safari from €198 Rovaniemi: Husky & Reindeer Experience with Snowmobile Ride
All three of Lapland’s headline activities in a single day: you ride snowmobiles to a reindeer farm and a husky kennel, with short rides at each. It is the efficient choice on a three-night trip, and usually costs less than booking the three separately.
- Three signature activities in one day
- Snowmobile between the farms
- Lunch or snack (see listing)
Sauna experience from €80 Rovaniemi: Traditional Sauna and Ice Swimming Experience
The most Finnish thing you can do. You heat up in a traditional sauna, then — if you dare — lower yourself into the water through a hole in the ice, and repeat. Hosts explain the etiquette. Nobody is obliged to swim, and most people who do are glad they did.
- Traditional Finnish sauna
- Optional dip in a hole in the ice
- Rated 4.9
Snowmobile safaris
A snowmobile is the working vehicle of the north, and the only way to cover real distance in winter. Safaris follow marked trails along the frozen Kemijoki and Ounasjoki and through the forest, in single file behind a guide.
- Who can drive: adults aged 18 or over holding a valid driving licence. Bring it with you. Driving under the influence of alcohol is forbidden, exactly as with a car.
- Sharing: prices are per person with two people on each machine, taking turns to drive. A solo-rider supplement, often substantial, lets you have one to yourself.
- Children ride in a covered sleigh towed by the guide; taller children may be allowed to ride pillion. Many operators set a minimum age or height.
- Liability: the driver is responsible for damage to the machine up to an excess, typically several hundred euros; a waiver to reduce it is usually offered.
- Which length? Two hours is a taste. Three to four hours with a campfire stop is the sweet spot. Full-day safaris reach wilderness lakes and are superb in March.
- Night safaris go out after dark in search of the aurora.
Ice fishing
Finns fish all winter through holes drilled in the ice. On a guided trip you bore your own hole with a hand auger, sit on a reindeer hide with a short rod, and jig for perch while the guide lights a fire. It is quiet, sociable and suits all ages and abilities. Trips go by car, on snowshoes or by snowmobile; combining it with a snowmobile safari is popular.
Ice floating
A Lapland original. Sealed into a thick, waterproof, buoyant rescue suit worn over your clothes, you lie back in a hole cut in a frozen lake and float — warm, weightless and staring at the sky. No swimming is involved. In the evening it becomes an aurora watch.
Snowshoeing and skiing
- Snowshoeing needs no skill and takes you into untracked forest. Guided walks include a campfire break; you can also rent snowshoes and follow the marked winter trail on Ounasvaara.
- Cross-country skiing: Rovaniemi has an extensive network of groomed tracks, many of them lit, and they are free to use. Rent skis in town or at Ounasvaara; lessons are available.
- Downhill: the Ounasvaara ski centre, three kilometres from the centre, has slopes for beginners and intermediates and is floodlit in the dark months.
- Fat biking on packed winter trails, on electric fat bikes, is a newer way to explore the forest.
Sauna and ice swimming
No winter day in Finland is complete without a sauna. Beyond the one in your hotel, look for a lakeside sauna experience: you heat up in a wood-fired or smoke sauna, walk out along a jetty and lower yourself into a hole in the ice — for a few seconds, or as long as you can bear — then go back in. The afterglow is extraordinary. Swimwear is worn at mixed public sessions.
Which should you choose?
- If you only do one: a husky safari of at least five kilometres.
- With toddlers: a reindeer sleigh ride and the short husky ride at Santa Claus Village.
- For thrills: a three-hour or longer snowmobile safari.
- For calm: ice fishing, snowshoeing or a reindeer farm.
- On a budget: rent cross-country skis or snowshoes, walk the Ounasvaara winter trail, and spend on one husky safari.
- Short of time: a combination tour with snowmobile, huskies and reindeer in one day.
Staying warm on a safari
- Wear the overall over a fleece and thermals, not over your big jacket — you need room for air.
- Hands and feet go first. Use the mittens provided, add liner gloves, and wiggle your toes.
- Cover your face on a snowmobile or a sled: the wind of your own speed is what bites.
- Eat properly beforehand, and accept every hot drink offered.
For a full packing list see the travel guide.
