Are you looking to go dog sledding in Rovaniemi? This guide details everything you need to know about my favorite dog sledding tour from Rovaniemi, including how to book and what to bring along with you!
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This tour is a self-guided experience that is suitable for people who have never been dog sledding before.
If you have any questions about taking a Rovaniemi dog sledding tour, let me know in the comments!
Why I Booked a Rovaniemi Dog Sledding Tour At Apukka Resort
I love dog sledding. There is something about the joy that being around chaotic dogs brings me that just makes me smile. At the kennels, the dogs bark, display their dominance, and act like a mess.
However, the second the sleigh is ready to go, they switch to complete silence, knowing exactly what their job is. A quiet dog suddenly turns into a lean running machine, while the louder, more vocal dogs guide the pack in steely determination as you cruise through the snowy landscapes.
While I enjoy dog sledding, I am very particular about choosing the company to take a tour with. As with all animal tourism, it is imperative that the tour provider fully takes care of the dogs throughout their lives and does not just see them as money earners.
After extensive research, my partner and I decided to join a husky excursion at Apukka Resort. The dogs here are well looked after, the routes are not too short, and the dogs are rehomed once they retire.
Key Tour Information
Below you will find the key tour information for an Apukka husky adventure
Provider: Apukka Resort
Tour Length: 2 Hours
Pick-up: Yes, from the city center and Santa Claus Village
Booking Period: December – April
How to Book a Rovaniemi Husky Tour
I tend to book all my tours through GetYourGuide.com. The platform is simple to use and is a great one-stop shop for all your tours, regardless of the provider.
To book your tour, you just need to select the number of participants, the desired date of the tour (fully booked or unavailable dates will be crossed out), and then check which hours are available on that day. You can then add the tour to your cart or book it immediately.
Your spot will be held on the tour for 30 minutes while you complete the booking process. At the start of the process, you can choose between the city center pick-up location or Santa Claus Village.
Alternatively, you can opt to drive yourself to Apukka, which is how I got there, as it allowed me to get to the resort early and without the stress of needing to get on a bus.
You will then be directed to choose your cancellation policy, with two options provided. The standard policy allows you to cancel the top-up up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, while the flexibility upgrade means you can cancel your tour up to 1 hour before it starts.
You will then need to fill in your details and any dietary restrictions you and your travel buddies may have. The final step is to choose if you wish to pay now or pay later for your tour.
If you opt to pay now, you will be able to purchase the tour using your credit/debit card, PayPal, Google Pay, or Klarna. If you wish to space out the purchasing of your tours, you can also opt for the “reserve now, pay later” option, which allows you to defer payment until closer to the tour date. If you wish to pay later, you will need to enter your credit/debit card details or pay via Klarna.
Once your payment has been confirmed, you will be sent a booking confirmation from GetYourGuide, and Apukka will send you information about your pick-up options separately.
Where to Meet For Your Dog Sledding Tour From Rovaniemi
Where to meet for your tour will depend on whether you choose to be picked up or not. There are two pick-up options, one in the city center and one at Santa Claus Village.
You can find the bus stop in the city at Korkalonkatu 36, while the one at Santa Claus Village is on the main road in the northbound direction (Napapiiri I). The bus will pick you up from the city 50 minutes before the start time of the tour and from Santa Claus Village 35 minutes before the tour.
I would be at the stop waiting for the bus with time to spare, as it is a larger coach and will not wait for you. If you miss the bus, you will need to make your way to Apukka on your own or lose your spot on the tour.
We opted to drive there as it was easier for us, and it meant we could spend some time at the resort afterward. If you are staying at Apukka, you just need to go to the Apukka Adventure building to get your clothing before heading to the meeting point out front.
My Experience of Dog Sledding in Rovaniemi
At the start of your tour, you will be kitted out with a snow suit, gloves, boots, and socks if you require them. You can leave your belongings in the locker room and just keep anything you want to have with you on the sleigh.
After you have changed, you will need to make your way to the waiting point out front, where your guides will meet you.
After you meet your guide, you will walk to the husky kennels, which are about a 5-10 minute walk from the main resort and across the main road.
When I took the tour, we were quite a large group of people that was split into three smaller groups. Before meeting your sleigh team, you are given in-depth instructions about how to be the musher and what your role is if you are in the passenger position.
Once the training is complete, you will then go to your sled team and wait for the tour to start.
The route itself is gentle and easy going with only a few gentle gradients. The dogs follow the snowmobile fairly well, and there is no need to shout commands at your dogs.
The most important thing to do is to make sure that you keep a good distance from the people in front of you to give your dogs time to stop without abruptly slamming the brakes on the sled.
The sleigh ride lasts for around 45 minutes, and halfway through the route, you can switch roles with the musher taking a turn to be the passenger, although you do not have to do this if you do not want to.
I found the route to be really peaceful as you make your way through a snow-covered forest. There was only one challenging part right at the end when there is a sharp corner, which is the only time I felt not 100% in control of the sled, but thankfully, we nor anyone else on the tour flipped there.
On my tour, I spent the whole route as musher as my partner was recovering from the flu. Unfortunately, she found the experience of being a passenger fairly uncomfortable.
The sleigh is basic, and they do not line the bottom of the sleigh with a reindeer hide or blanket. This means you end up sitting on a hard, cold piece of plastic for the journey, with your back leaning on wood.
While the sled does have a canvas covering you sit under, it isn’t the warmest, but it is perfect for storing your belongings in! I think if you are switching halfway around, it wouldn’t be as bad. The passenger otherwise has little to do but be the photographer of the trip!
Once you are back at the starting point, you will get a chance to greet your dogs and thank them for their hard work. However, one thing you should be vigilant of is that not all the dogs want to be greeted, and several on our team were definitely not wanting to be near humans.
I wish our guides had informed us which ones were like that, but being dog lovers, my partner and I quickly picked up on the signals being given off by the dogs and gave the more timid ones space.
After you have played with your dog team, you will get to warm up in a Kota with some hot glögi (a traditional Nordic drink made from berries and spices) and cookies. During this time, you will get to sit around a campfire and chat with the other people on your tour.
Once you have had your fill of glögi and cookies, you will go to meet the puppies!
Next to the Kota, there is a large fenced-in area where the latest group of puppies is playing! Almost instantly after walking through the fence, the puppies will come to greet you!
They can be a little feisty and playful, they will also try and chew on your gloves, snowsuit, and hair if it is exposed, so be warned! Curiously, when I took the tour, there were also two black Labrador puppies in with the huskies, which I later discovered belonged to the owner.
The personalities couldn’t have been more different, and one of the labs just wanted to play fetch nonstop. He must have known I was the weak link, as he would often bring his toy to me and bark until I threw it!
After playing with the puppies, your guide will take you back to the main resort area, and the tour will end. After returning your winter suits, you can opt to take the bus back or hang out at the resort longer.
I personally love the onsite restaurant and highly recommend their sautéed reindeer with mashed potatoes!
FAQ
Who Can’t Take This Rovaniemi Dog Sledding Tour?
This tour is not suitable for those with mobility issues, wheelchair users, or heavily pregnant women. You must also be physically fit enough to be able to operate the sled, as at least one person on your sled will need to operate it at all times.
While the dogs do a lot of the work, you will need to help push the sled to get it started and push the sled while running up inclines. If you have consumed alcohol before taking the tour, you will not be allowed to participate.
Can I Take The Apukka Dog Sledding Tour as a Solo Traveler?
Yes! As a solo traveler, you will either be placed with another person or you will get your own team of dogs.
However, it is important to note a guide will not ride with you and if you are alone you will need to be able to take control of the sled for the entire excursion.
Is Dog Sledding in Rovaniemi Ethical?
Yes they are when you choose to go with correct company. Finnish Lapland, does not have the best reputation when it comes to dog sledding and there are plenty of companies that do not offer the right experiences for the dogs.
When booking I would consider the prices you are paying, the cheaper the experience I feel the more questionable it becomes.
The cheap tours tend to be short 5 minute experiences where you sit in the sled and get pulled along. However, these short journeys are not the best of the dog.
While the prices for the longer self guided experience are pricer, I fully believe that the experience will stay with you forever.
As part of my pledge on this website, I try my best to research tour operators to ensure they are sustainable and have good welfare standards when it comes to animal tourism.
If this tour is fully booked on your desired dates, then I recommend booking through Bearhill Husky as an alternative.
Is This Tour Good for Those With Dog Sledding Experience?
If you have been dog sledding before, this is probably not the tour for you. I have previously been in Norway and Sweden, and found this tour to be a little too slow. The course is also incredibly easy, compared to my experience in Norway, especially.
This is a great tour for those who have never been before and want an easy introduction to dog sledding.
What to Bring When Dog Sledding In Rovaniemi
Appuka Adventures will provide you with winter suits, boots, gloves, socks, and pretty much anything else you could need! However, I have to honestly say the boots and socks were worse than my own, and I found that my feet got very cold!
I do recommend using their gloves, even though they are also not the warmest, as the puppies will try to chew them!
Under the snowsuit, you can wear your normal clothes. If you are not great in the cold, it is also worth keeping your jacket on under the snowsuit for extra warmth.
On the actual tour, you need little else apart from a camera to take photographs with! We just used our phones and a GoPro on the tour! As the musher, you are not allowed to take photographs, but I did clip my GoPro onto my snowsuit and filmed the whole route!
Do you have any questions about going dog sledding in Rovaniemi? Let me know in the comments!