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Choosing The Best Husky Safari Experience in Rovaniemi Lapland

When we travelled to Rovaniemi with the boys in December, one of the things on our Lapland bucket list was to go on a husky safari Rovaniemi. Charlie had wanted to go on a Husky Safari for as long as I can remember. We were fortunate enough to visit Levi a few years ago however, due to the lack of snow it wasn’t possible for him to live his dream of husky sledding. So I knew that this time round that a husky tour was the one arctic experience that we did not want to compromise on.

Having recently returned from Rovaniemi in the arctic circle. I can tell you that our husky tour experience definitely lived up to expectations. I would probably go as far as to say it was the highlight of our Lapland holiday. Therefore I’m extremely confident that this is one of the best husky safari in Rovaniemi. Yet, although it met all of our criteria, it is important when choosing a husky Safari that you consider all the options. This blog post is intended to help you decide which husky ride is right for you.

Table of Contents

Finding the right husky tour for you

There are lots of things that you should consider when looking at the different husky safaris available. To help you identify which one would be right for you. However, they sell out quickly. As this is one of the most popular activities in Finnish Lapland. Meaning you do need to book well in advance if you have a particular tour in mind. I booked our fantastic dog-sledding experience in early September for a ride in late December.

Different distance options

There are lots of different options when it comes to the type of husky Safari or husky tour that you can go on. Most of it is revolve around the length of the ride. When identifying what is right for you, you need to consider how much time you have and your budget. Generally the longer the ride, the more expensive it is. Also, we found when travelling with the boys that due to the different climate. They could not manage as much as they could per day in the UK. This meant that we were really only doing one big activity a day. Depending on how long you have in Lapland it could be the other things that take priority.

In this case, if you are looking for something shorter in nature and just want to cuddle some huskies then my suggestion would be to head to Santa Claus village. As this is where the Arctic Circle Husky Park is located, they provide a husky experience but within the confines of time.

To enter the husky park costs 10€ for an adult and 5€ for a child which will allow you to take photos of the husky dogs. However, if you want to pet the huskies it costs of 20€ per person and you can stay for half an hour to an hour. They also offer husky rides of 500m (you still have to pay the entrance fee) which costs 30€ for an adult and 15€ for a child. This works out at 120€ for entrance and the 500m ride for 2 adults and 2 children.

However, if like us, you are looking for a longer experience because it is a bucket list item. Then I would suggest you need to look at a proper husky sleigh ride similar to ours to get that authentic experience.

Consider the time of day of your ride

Other than the distance, the other thing you may want to consider is the time of day that you take your trip on. Many people forget that there are very few hours of sunlight in Lapland during the winter months. In fact we were there over the winter solstice and had less than two hours of daylight on the 22nd.

Generally, we were finding that the safaris were at 10 am, 12 pm and 2 pm. If you get a bright day then 10 am in the winter should also give you the pinky skies. Fingers crossed at sunrise tends to be around 10 o’clock. the 2 pm ride will most likely take partly place in the dark, depending on the length of the ride. We found that almost all of our ride was in the dark which did not have an impact on the basis that you were given head torches.

But it did impact on the quality of the pictures that we could take using mobile phones. I also think it was probably colder that time of day. Although there is something special whizzing across the ice at dusk.

Consider combing your tours

When time is tight or funds a bit lower than you would like then you could consider combing your activities. Such as combining a husky tour in the snowy forests with hunting for the Northern Lights. Meaning if the auroras do not make an appearance at least you have had a dog sledding adventure in a Winter wonderland. Generally the later evening Northern Light tours are not suitable for children as they go late into the night which is when the temperatures are at their lowest.

Other things to think about

Kids ages

A shorter experience may be appropriate for younger children who would get bored or cold when on the sledge. Harry was six when we went on our ride and he absolutely loved it but towards the end was feeling the cold, even with a thermal suit and goggles that we bought from home. We wanted to make sure our experience was suitable for the whole family even in the sub-zero temperatures.

Thermal suits

Many of the toes or for thermal winter suits and winter shoes. It’s worth checking to make sure that these are included in the price. If they are not mentioned on the website. We were not going to use their warm winter suits on our trip. However, I am very glad we did on the basis that we got very wet as it was actually snowing and I also think that the thermal suits kept us warmer than our snow gear would’ve done. After all, huskies move quite quickly and therefore you can feel colder on the husky tour than if you were standing still.

Goggles

One key thing to think about is goggles. If you have some at home for skiing, then you may want to bring them with you. We definitely found them useful while we were on the husky safari. It gave my husband much better visibility when he was driving the sled and also kept the boys from getting too cold. They are not generally provided with husky safaris or rides that we could find.

Snoods & Hats

Although many places will offer thermal suits they are unlikely to offer hats and snoods. Once you have been on any length of journey with a snood, it is likely that it will get wet around the mouth area because of your breathing. Ours actually froze because it was that cold. Therefore I was just taking an extra one with you so you can change out after your activity. Especially if you’re going on to do something else or there is a wait for the transfer back to your accommodation. The same goes for hats. Although the thermal suits tend to have hits, the boys didn’t really want to wear them and say their hats did get very wet from the snow.

Transfers from your hotel to the activity

You may also want to consider transfers. Some of the tours we found included these in the price while others did not. Many will only pick up from centrally located hotels. We were outside of the city centre staying in SantaSport which meant that we had to negotiate in advance for pick up. Make sure you do this at booking and don’t assume that it is included and double check the departure time.

Time of year

Understandably, husky safaris cannot operate when there is no snow. We found this out when we visited Levi in November. In theory, should get snow from December through till April during the winter season and into the early springtime. If you’re travelling outside of these months then you will still be able to visit a husky farm and pet the sled dogs. But without the snow, they are not running husky tours. If going on a physical slide ride is important to you then you do need to think about this when planning the dates you’re travelling.

Our Experience

We went on a husky Safari with Apukka Resorts. They offered an eight-kilometre husky ride Rovaniemi, a professional guide, small groups, full driving instruction, meet and greet the huskies and warm drinks and snacks around the fire pit afterwards. With knowledgeable English-speaking guides.

Although it was one of the more expensive husky ride Rovaniemi I think compared to the shorter trips offered good value for money. As a whole experience lasted for a 2-hour tour. The boys were able to pet the dog team after our ride and we were not hurried in any way. They were very friendly dogs. It worked out enough time for the boys and us.

How did we get on?

The 8 km ride meant we were out on the ice for about an hour of self-drive dog sledding with our husky team. The majority of the ride was across the frozen lake which gave views across the snowy landscapes. It felt like you were in the wilderness in the stunning scenery. There was somebody on hand at every point of the journey to make sure the husky dogs are doing what they should do and ensure that you are comfortable with driving the sledge. We also stopped halfway to allow drivers to switch around if required.

once we had been on the ski safari, we went back to have a hot drink of Berry juice and cookies around and opened fire. Inside a tent. Here we were told about 150 Siberian huskies that made up the husky farm. As well as details about the team of huskies such as diet, lifespan, temperature requirements and the welfare of the animals. This gave the children a chance to warm up.

I think the highlight for Charlie was meet in the one-month-old husky puppy at the end. It was such an amazing couple of hours.

The only thing to be aware of if you’re considering booking with Apukka is that it’s a little chaotic. Although the tours are a smaller number of people. Many people don’t turn up on time or if they do they’re not wearing appropriate clothing. This means they need to get into thermal suits and this process takes about 20 minutes. Especially when you have two young children to put into the suits as well as yourself.

This did mean that we found that tours were delayed while we waited for people to turn up. It can be frustrating is one of the downsides of doing a smaller group safari over a private one.

Pricing and Booking

For two adults and two children, the Apukka husky safari Rovaniemi cost 556€. This is 159€ euros for an adult and 119€ for a child. But it does include everything we needed including a transfer to Apukka from the centre of Rovaniemi.

Booking cannot be more straightforward you just do it on the website. It gives you a calendar that shows the available dates and times and numbers. You can find out more on their website.

As mentioned a husky safari was definitely the highlight of our trip to Lapland. Our husky tour was such a fun experience and I am very pleased with the options we chose. I hope you find this post useful. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about going on a husky safari in Lapland. I will do my best to answer them.