Snowmobile tours from Kiruna

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

None of the snowmobile tours here start in Kiruna itself. Jukkasjärvi Vildmarks Turer rides in the valley of the Torne river, Northernskyview sets off from Poikkijärvi, a village about 15 kilometres out of town, Explore Arctic makes its main evening stop there, and Kiruna Husky takes its machines out from the kennel at Kalixforsbron. Each tour in the comparison includes the transfer from Kiruna, and on several of them the van needs around 30 minutes each way. A tour listed at three hours therefore has less time on the snowmobile than the number suggests. Explore Arctic gives two hours of driving on its daytime ride, Kiruna Husky two stretches of about an hour and a half.

The licence rule

To drive, you need a valid licence for a car. Explore Arctic writes category B, the ordinary car licence, and Jukkasjärvi Vildmarks Turer asks for "a valid driver's licence for a car". Kiruna Husky points out that the licence is required by law, and that guests without one can only come along as passengers.

That still leaves room for non-drivers. On the Jukkasjärvi tours you sit behind the driver, and Northernskyview welcomes passengers on its route from Poikkijärvi. Explore Arctic offers a third format: a seat in a sled that the guide's snowmobile pulls behind it. You do not steer at all, and you need no licence for it. For a group where one person cannot or does not want to drive, this keeps everyone on the same tour.

One snowmobile, two people

Most tours put two guests on one machine. On the Kiruna Husky wilderness day each pair shares a snowmobile and changes places at the stops, and Adventure Lapland also plans one snowmobile for two on its evening ride. Explore Arctic lets you choose between a snowmobile of your own, a shared one and the sled seat.

Read the damage terms before you ride. Kiruna Husky states that you pay up to 8,000 Swedish kronor if you damage the snowmobile through your own fault. The other tour pages on this site say nothing about an excess either way.

Daylight rides and evening rides

Around Christmas the choice is narrower than it sounds. Between 11 December and 1 January the sun stays below the horizon in Kiruna, and on the shortest day the civil twilight lasts from 08:56 to 14:18. A daytime tour in that period runs in twilight, with the moon and the snow giving extra light. By 1 February the sun is up from 08:56 to 14:50, and on 1 March from 06:59 to 16:45, which gives a morning tour full daylight on the open river valley.

Evening tours are sold as northern lights rides. Kiruna Lapland names 21:00 to 23:00 as the hours when the aurora is usually most active, and any cloud cover hides it, because clouds sit lower in the sky. The tour pages make no promise of a sighting, and guests on the Jukkasjärvi evening tour mention nights when clouds closed in. Explore Arctic limits its evening ride to four snowmobiles and eight guests. The Adventure Lapland evening runs for five hours and includes photographs of the night.

Age limits for children

Jukkasjärvi Vildmarks Turer takes children from 6 years on its daytime and evening tours. Explore Arctic sets 9 years as the minimum age, and the Kiruna Husky day with ice fishing is not suitable for anyone under 15. Another operator in Kiruna goes further and accepts passengers only from 16. Families with younger children have more choice on a dog sled: several husky tours take children from 2 or 3 years, as our page on husky sledding in Kiruna explains.

Clothes are not always included

Nearly every snowmobile tour lends a warm overall, boots, gloves and a helmet. Kiruna Husky adds mittens and a balaclava, and Adventure Lapland hands out a down jacket, trousers and winter boots. The exception is the daytime tour with a coffee break by Jukkasjärvi Vildmarks Turer: its page lists warm clothing under what to bring, not under what is included. The evening tour by the same operator does include winter clothes and a helmet, so check which of the two you book.

Under any loaned outer layer you still need your own. The Icehotel advises wool next to the skin, a fleece over it and several pairs of thick wool socks. A guest on the Northernskyview tour summed it up as "LOTS of layers". The full packing list is on our page about what to wear in Kiruna.

Snowmobile with reindeer, fishing or dinner

Some tours use the snowmobile to reach something else. Northernskyview drives a route of about 32 kilometres from Poikkijärvi, stops for coffee, tea and chocolate, and lets you meet and feed reindeer. Kiruna Husky spends five hours out from Kalixforsbron with at most six guests: a drive, a break for ice fishing with a barbecue and a light lunch, then the ride back. One guest wished for more time at the ice hole.

Adventure Lapland ends its evening at Máttaráhkká, a northern lights lodge, with a two-course dinner around the fire. The menu changes from night to night. Of the evening formats this is the longest, and it suits a group that wants a meal included in the evening.

Which tour suits whom

For a first ride in good light, the daytime tours from February onwards give the clearest view of where you are going. Explore Arctic's daytime ride keeps the group to four machines and has the sled option, while the Jukkasjärvi tour with coffee break takes younger children from 6. Choose an evening tour when the northern lights matter more than the scenery, and plan a spare night in case of cloud; our guide to northern lights tours covers the alternatives. A snowmobile tour is a poor fit for anyone with back problems, which the Jukkasjärvi tour pages list as a reason not to join. More activities for the rest of your stay are on the page things to do in Kiruna in winter.