Reindeer in Saariselkä: sleigh ride or farm visit?
Updated October 29, 2026 · 4 min read
If the picture in your head is you under a blanket behind a reindeer, book the sleigh ride; if you would rather spend time with the animals over a meal, book a farm visit. The only reindeer sleigh ride listed for Saariselkä is the Reindeer Sledding Tour on a Northern Lights Hunt: from €189, 2.5 hours, 4.6 stars from 154 reviews. It crosses a forest at night, with reindeer feeding and a hot drink at the break. For most visitors that is the right choice. If the animals and a homemade lunch matter more than the ride, look at the Ivalo trip to a family island on Lake Inari below.
The reindeer options side by side
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Included according to the listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reindeer Sledding Tour on a Northern Lights Hunt | 2.5 hours | €189 | 4.6 (154) | Sleigh ride through a forest at night, feeding the reindeer, hot drink during the break |
| Ivalo: Snowmobile Safari, Meet and Feed Reindeers with Lunch | 195 minutes | €179 | 4.8 (99) | Small group, local guide, island on Lake Inari where the owners live, homemade lunch, reindeer |
| Lake Inari Northern Lights Tour with Dinner | 5 hours | €185 | 4.5 (32) | Local guide, reindeer, homemade dinner in a Lappish teepee |
| Ice Fishing Tour on Lake Inari, Reindeer & Lunch | 5 hours | €189 | 4.8 (31) | Ice fishing with a local guide, lunch by an open fire in a teepee, reindeer |
| Inari: Sámi Reindeer Herding Family Workshop & Visit + Lunch | 4 hours | €239 | no reviews yet | Handicraft workshop with reindeer materials, feeding reindeer, homemade lunch |
Only the first row puts you in a sleigh; in the rest, reindeer share the day with a snowmobile, a fishing hole or a craft table.
What the night sleigh ride does and does not tell you
The 2.5 hours cover the whole outing, feeding and break included, not only the time in the sleigh. Any northern lights are a bonus from the sky; what the listing promises is the ride, the feeding and the drink.
The listing presents the ride as a Sámi tradition but does not say whether the hosts are Sámi. In Finland that is not a given: the Reindeer Herders’ Association notes that Finnish settlers were quick to take up herding. If meeting a Sámi family is the point, the Inari workshop is the one listing that says so.
Metsähallitus gives Saariselkä’s polar night as 3 December to 11 January, when the sun does not rise at all. Outside those weeks, a lunch programme is your chance to photograph reindeer in daylight.
The herds behind the tours
Saariselkä lies inside the Ivalo reindeer herding cooperative: about 2,826 square kilometres, a ceiling of 6,000 reindeer and 87 herders, who live in nearly all of its villages. The Reindeer Herders’ Association says every reindeer belongs to someone, marked on the ear, with around 12,000 earmarks in use. Autumn round-ups run from late September into January, so winter visitors arrive in the herders’ busy season. Tourism, the association notes, gives many full-time herders an important extra income.
Who should book what
The sleigh suits couples and first-timers who want the classic Lapland scene in one free evening. It is a poor fit if you feel the cold badly: in the sleigh you sit still.
The Ivalo island trip suits those who want reindeer and a homemade lunch where the family running it lives. It is a snowmobile safari whose title places it in Ivalo; the listing says neither whether you drive nor whether transport from Saariselkä is included. Finavia puts Ivalo airport 25 km from Saariselkä and 11 km from Ivalo centre, so ask about the transfer when booking.
The workshop is the dearest option and has no reviews yet.
Our recommendation
Book the Reindeer Sledding Tour on a Northern Lights Hunt if the sleigh is why you came: it is the only one on the list, and it leaves your day free. For reindeer over lunch instead, the Ivalo: Snowmobile Safari, Meet and Feed Reindeers with Lunch costs from €179 and carries the higher rating, 4.8 from 99 reviews.
