Reindeer Sledding or Feeding at a Sami Camp with Camp Photos

At $133 per person this is the lowest-priced listing in our catalog, and the rating suggests it does not feel like a stripped-down product: 4.8 from 2,943 reviews, with 91% of English-speaking travellers awarding a perfect score. The ticket includes the guided tour of the Sámi camp, either the sled ride or the hand-feeding depending on your choice at booking, the 30-minute storytelling session, food at the camp, warm clothes, transport to the camp and back, and a professional photography service. Reserve now, pay later, and cancel free up to 24 hours before the start.

What is included

• Guided tour of a Sami camp
• Opportunity to feed Arctic reindeer or sledding, your pick at booking
• Professional photography service
• Storytelling by Sami people, 30 minutes in the lavvu
• Transportation to the camp and back
• Food
• Clothes

What is not included

• Hotel pickup, you meet at Skansegata 9
• Baby seats for the transport, bring your own
• A second activity, the choice is sledding or feeding, not both

This is the one decision that shapes the whole outing. At booking you commit to either a sled ride through a forest trail or hand-feeding the herd. You cannot switch on site, and you cannot do both on this ticket.

The listing gives no length for the sled ride, so treat it as a taste of the caravan rather than a long journey. What you do get either way is a walk through the camp and time with the reindeer.

If you cannot choose, look at what the alternatives cost. Reindeer Sledding, Feeding and Sami Storytelling from Tromsø runs 4 hours, does both activities and includes a warm lunch for $201, $68 more. That is the honest trade-off behind the cheap price: one activity instead of two. One reviewer also noted there is not much feed to hand out on the feeding option, so pick feeding for the closeness to the animals rather than a long feeding session.

Outside the snow season the choice answers itself. Sledding needs snow, and the season runs roughly November to early April. In summer the camps keep running feeding visits and storytelling, so from about May to October the feeding option is the one that makes sense.

The camp sits about 1 hour by road from central Tromsø. Access is organised: you travel with the tour from the meeting point at Skansegata 9, and the operator states plainly that you cannot drive to the camp yourself. Up to 45 guests are at the camp at the same time, which the operator presents as its main difference from mass-market visits, and a personal guide stays with you for the whole tour.

Stories in the lavvu

A lavvu is the Sámi tent with a fire in the middle. For 30 minutes inside it, Sámi people tell stories about their culture, traditions and way of life. The Sámi are the Indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia's Kola peninsula, and reindeer herding in this area is by law reserved for Sámi families with herding in the family.

Photos without a price tag

A professional photographer walks the camp and takes high-quality photos of you with the reindeer and around the camp, and the service is included in the $133. On several dearer catalog tours the photos are either absent or limited, for example on Sami Reindeer Camp Visit and Northern Lights Night in the Wilderness the guide photographs only under the aurora. If photos matter to you, this is one of the strongest reasons to pick this listing.

Dress for the outdoors. Warm clothing is lent on the tour, but the listing still asks you to bring your own warm layers and water. The camp is outdoors for the feeding and sledding parts, so winter boots, a hat and gloves are wise even with the loan of clothes.

Background on Sámi reindeer herding in Norway is at the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry.

The tour is easy in difficulty, open to all ages and runs in 3.5 hours, which leaves most of a day free. It fits travellers on a budget, families who want a short outing rather than a full-day bus trip, and anyone who values included photos. The camp cap of 45 guests at a time keeps the numbers below the largest shared visits, though it is not a small-group tour.

If you want a group of 16 or fewer, Small-Group Visit to a Sami Family Reindeer Camp with Lasso Throwing costs $195.91 and trades the sled ride for lasso throwing with one Sámi family.

Who should think twice

• Travellers who want sledding and feeding together should book a combined tour instead
• Anyone travelling with an infant must bring their own baby seat, none are provided
• Guests who hope for a long sled ride: the listing gives no ride length, so expectations should stay modest
• Travellers who need hotel pickup, the meeting point is Skansegata 9 only

Families should note the meeting logistics. There is no hotel pickup, so plan the walk to Skansegata 9 in the city centre. Start times appear at checkout, and you are back in central Tromsø about 3.5 hours after the start.

Travelling with young children? See reindeer sledding in Tromsø with kids for the age rules on every tour.

The choice you make at booking depends partly on the month. Reindeer sledding near Tromsø needs snow on the ground, which in practice means roughly November to early April, with December to March the most reliable stretch at the camps. On thin or icy snow, operators shorten or cancel sled rides, so a sledding booking in November or April carries more risk than one in February.

When feeding is the better pick

Feeding works in any month the camp is open. Recent reviewers booked feeding visits in June and August, when there is no snow for sledding anywhere around Tromsø. Feeding is also the easier choice with small children, because the reindeer come to you and the activity takes place at the camp rather than out on a trail.

One reviewer noted that the amount of feed handed out is small, so think of it as a close meeting with the animals rather than a long session.

When sledding is worth it

If your trip falls between December and March and you have never sat behind a reindeer, the sled ride is the experience most visitors come for. The listing does not give the length of the ride. For a stated ride of up to 30 minutes, the Sami Reindeer Sledding and Feeding with a Traditional Lunch costs $238.90 and includes feeding and lunch as well.

Photos either way

Whichever option you pick, the professional photographer works the camp, and the photos are part of the $133 price. That makes the feeding option a good choice for travellers who mainly want pictures with the reindeer.

This listing earns its place as the cheap reindeer tour Tromso offers without losing the camp experience. The table below puts it against the closest alternatives in the catalog on price, sledding and length. Figures current for Q4 2026.