Northern Lights by Snowmobile, Sleigh or Lake Dinner in Lapland

If you want an evening that is worth it even when the sky stays shut, book an activity with the lights as a chance rather than a northern lights hunt. From Rovaniemi, Arctic GM Experiences OY’s Rovaniemi: Northern Lights Snowmobile Tour – New Snowmobiles, from US$159 on promotion, usually US$177 a person (checked November 2026), gives you about 2 hours on forest and tundra trails at night. The Northern Lights are a viewing opportunity, weather permitting, and not guaranteed.

Two guests share each snowmobile and switch drivers halfway, in groups of up to 4 snowmobiles per guide, with pickup from your Rovaniemi accommodation. The driver must be 18 or over with a valid car driving licence (Class B), and in an accident the driver is responsible for damages up to EUR 950 per person per snowmobile. Children under 6 cannot join, and children under 15 ride in a sled pulled by the guide.

The evenings compared

GetYourGuide listings, checked November 2026.

Driving a snowmobile

On a snowmobile you drive, and the rules are strict. On Arctic GM Experiences OY’s safari, drivers need a Class B car licence and sign a short waiver, and pregnant women and people with back problems should not join. NordicUnique Travels' drivers must be 18 with a valid licence, children of 140 cm or more ride on the snowmobile at the adult price and shorter ones in the guide’s sled, and the tour needs at least 2 people on weekdays and Saturdays and 4 on Sundays and public holidays. In Saariselkä, Lapland Welcome Ltd. needs a driving licence for the driver, a height of 140 cm for child passengers, and sells solo driving and a EUR 50 self-liability waiver as add-ons.

Riding in a sledge or sleigh

You do not drive, and you sit for longer. Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park's sledge ride includes winter clothes, a helmet and a balaclava, and transport from the city centre but not from your hotel. Children cannot join below −20 °C, and the operator does not cancel for the weather. In Saariselkä, Lapponia Tours uses reindeer instead; flash photography and torches are not allowed, because reindeer are highly sensitive to sudden flashes of light, and it does not take children under 7 or pregnant women.

A lake, a fire and a telescope

The slowest evenings wait in one place. Keo Wilderness drives 15 minutes from Levi to a remote lake, provides snowshoes, and keeps a shelter with a warm fire, hot drinks and roasted sausages; through the telescope you look at the moon, the stars and, on a clear night, nearby planets, and the guide sends photos within 2 days. In extreme cold, at −30 °C or colder, it may reschedule or refund.

Ivalo Safaris takes guests from Saariselkä by sleigh, pulled by a snowmobile, to Lake Inari for a home-made dinner of local fish or reindeer by an open fire in a teepee, with thermal clothing included. The same company runs the evening from Ivalo as its Lake Inari tour with reindeer and a three-course dinner.

Which evening to book

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.

If the lights are the whole point of the trip, a hunt that drives to the clearest sky and carries a refund term fits better; the homepage compares the Rovaniemi hunts. Ivalo Safaris’ Lake Inari dinner also sells on Viator as From Saariselkä: Northern lights tour to Lake Inari, incl. dinner for US$203 (checked November 2026); the operators price in euros, so what you pay in US dollars depends on the day’s conversion.