Lake Inari northern lights tour with reindeer & dinner

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.58 (64 reviews) 80% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/16

Duration4h

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Ride a sleigh from Ivalo to Lake Inari for northern lights, reindeer, and a fireside meal

You’ll travel by snowmobile-pulled sleigh from Ivalo into Lapland’s wild silence, meet local reindeer on an island, sip hot berry juice by a campfire, and share dinner in a traditional teepee—all with a local guide who knows every story behind these woods. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch those northern lights dancing overhead—something you’ll remember long after you leave.

Step-by-step itinerary

Northern Lights Safari and Dinner

Hotel pickup and transfer to office
Receive warm thermal clothes and shoes
Travel by snowmobile-pulled sleigh to Koppelo village
Ride deeper into wilderness to frozen lakeside
Break and watch for Northern Lights at Lake Inari
Visit local family island and meet reindeers
Relax with hot blackberry juice by open fire
Dinner in Lappish teepee with local fish or reindeer

The Experience

We were already bundled up in those thick thermal suits when our guide, Sanni, handed me gloves that felt like oven mitts. She grinned and said, “You’ll thank me later.” The minibus had dropped us in Koppelo—tiny place, just snow and quiet—and then we climbed into this sleigh lined with reindeer hides. There’s something about the way the cold air stings your nose out here near Lake Inari. The snowmobile started up and we slid off into the dark, headlights bouncing over drifts. I kept thinking: this is really happening.

The ride was quieter than I expected—just the engine hum and the crunch of ice under us. Sanni pointed out faint animal tracks crossing the trail (she guessed fox), and at one point she stopped so we could listen to nothing but wind in the trees. It’s weirdly peaceful. When we reached the island, her family waved us over—her dad was already poking at a fire outside their teepee. We got hot blackberry juice that tasted almost smoky from the cup, and I tried saying kiitos properly; Sanni laughed at my accent but didn’t correct me too hard.

I’d never fed a reindeer before. Their noses are softer than you’d think—one nuzzled my glove for more lichen while Sanni told us how her family’s lived here for generations. Dinner was salmon soup (I heard sometimes it’s reindeer), bread still warm from somewhere inside that teepee, and blueberry cake that left my fingers purple. We all kept glancing up at the sky between bites—hoping for those northern lights everyone talks about on these tours from Ivalo to Lake Inari. They showed up late: green ribbons flickering above the trees just as we were packing up. Hard to describe how quiet everyone got for that.

What’s included

Your evening includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Ivalo, all necessary warm clothing and boots for Lapland’s chill, a guided sleigh ride to Lake Inari pulled by snowmobile, time with friendly reindeer on an island with locals who actually live there, plus a three-course Lappish dinner with hot drinks around an open fire before heading back through the snowy dark.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Ivalo Safaris / Lenje Avoin YhtiÃ¶