Reindeer Feeding and Sami Culture with Lunch in a Turf Hut

Included in the price

The $180 price is per person and covers the whole outing: the bus from central Tromsø to the camp north of the city and back, the guiding in English, time with the reindeer herd, and the meal. You reserve now and pay later, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before the start. The listing is flagged as likely to sell out, so do not leave it to the last day.

• Reindeer feeding
• Guide
• Warm meal with a vegan option available
• Warm drinks: coffee, tea and hot chocolate
• Transportation to the camp and back

Not included

• A sled ride, because none is offered on this trip
• Custom pickup and drop-off, so you make your own way to the meeting point

There is no hotel pickup. You meet the guide at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Sjøgata 7 in central Tromsø, and the bus brings you back there about 4.5 hours after departure. The exact departure time appears at checkout.

Dress for standing outside in Arctic weather, and leave strong fragrances behind, because they are not allowed near the herd.

After the scenic drive north from Tromsø, you step off the bus and straight into the herd. Feeding is by hand, which is the closest contact you can get with a reindeer, and you can also pet their thick winter coats. There is time to take photos with the animals while you feed them.

One reviewer travelling with an 11-year-old wrote that children could feed the reindeer as long as food was available, so the amount of feed on the day sets the pace.

How the herd behaves

The listing describes the reindeer as gentle. They come to you for the feed, so you do not need any experience with animals. Keep in mind that strong fragrances are not allowed near the herd, so skip perfume and scented lotion on the day.

Minimum age and difficulty

The tour takes all ages and is rated easy. There is no long walk and no physical challenge, which is why it works well for families with young children and for older travellers. The limit is mobility: the trip is not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments.

When fingers get cold, the group moves inside a gamme, a wooden turf hut, for the lunch part of the tour. Hot drinks come first: coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The main dish is a traditional Sámi stew, and a vegan option is available if you ask when you book.

What the guide covers

The guide talks about the Sámi way of life with reindeer, which is not a performance but a living livelihood in northern Norway. Herding inside the Sámi reindeer-herding area is reserved for people with a reindeer earmark, which in practice means Sámi families with herding in the family. You also see Sámi artefacts up close and hear some of the secrets of surviving in an extreme Arctic environment.

Allergies and the 48-hour rule

If you have food allergies or sensitivities, contact the operator after booking and no later than 48 hours before the start. If you leave it later, the kitchen may not be able to adapt the meal for you. This applies to the vegan option too, so state any dietary need when you reserve rather than on the bus.

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

This is a feeding and culture trip, and the listing states plainly that no sled ride is included. That is the main trade-off against tours that cost a little more. If you only want close contact with the herd, a warm lunch and Sámi stories, you lose nothing.

If the sled is the reason you came to Tromsø, book a tour that carries one.

Tours that do include sledding

Several listings in this catalog combine feeding with a ride. On Reindeer Sledding, Feeding and Sami Storytelling from Tromsø you ride first, then feed a herd of about 300 reindeer, then eat in a lavvu, all for $201 over 4 hours. Sami Reindeer Sledding and Feeding with a Traditional Lunch costs $238.90 and includes a sled ride of up to 30 minutes in a caravan behind a lead reindeer. If you would rather go after dark, Night Reindeer Sledding with a 3-Course Sami Dinner and a Chance of Northern Lights runs the same length as this tour, 4.5 hours, for $222, with the ride in the dark and dinner in a candlelit gamme.

Sledding depends on snow anyway

Reindeer sledding near Tromsø needs snow on the ground, so it is realistic roughly from November to early April. On thin or icy snow, operators shorten the ride or cancel it. Feeding visits like this one run outside the snow season too, and reviewers have booked feeding trips in June and August, when the camps still welcome visitors but no sledding happens anywhere.

This tour fits travellers who want the reindeer encounter without the sled, and who prefer daylight to an evening departure. It works well for families, since all ages are welcome and the difficulty is easy. It also suits anyone who puts culture first: the gamme session with artefacts and Sámi stories is a substantial part of the trip, not a filler between activities.

Skip it if

You should look elsewhere if you use a wheelchair or have a mobility impairment. Skip it too if you need a hotel pickup or a custom drop-off, since neither is offered. And if the sled ride is your main goal, choose one of the sledding listings instead of paying for this one and missing the ride.

Practical rules to know

• Meet at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Sjøgata 7, Tromsø. Custom pickup and drop-off are not available.
• Bring warm clothing, a hat, gloves, a scarf and warm shoes.
• Pets are not allowed.
• Strong fragrances are not allowed near the herd.
• Tell the operator about food allergies at least 48 hours before the start.
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.

Wondering how the camps treat their herds? Our guide asks whether reindeer sledding is ethical and what to check.

Because there is no sled ride, this tour does not depend on snow in the way the sledding tours do. In winter it still runs through the cold and dark months, and the gamme, with its hot drinks and stew, is the warm centre of the visit. From about 26 November to 15 January the sun does not rise in Tromsø, but a few hours of blue twilight around midday give enough light to see the herd and take photos.

Outside the snow season

Reindeer camps near Tromsø keep running feeding and culture visits when the snow has gone, and recent reviewers booked feeding trips in June and August. If your trip falls in late spring, summer or autumn, a feeding visit like this one is the way to meet reindeer at a camp, because no operator runs sled rides without snow.

Four other listings from this catalog sit closest to this one in price, length or content. The table shows how they differ at a glance, and every alternative links to its own page for the full detail. Figures current for Q4 2026.

If a small group matters more to you than a sled, Small-Group Visit to a Sami Family Reindeer Camp with Lasso Throwing takes up to 16 guests for $195.91, with no sledding, just like this tour. For a full day inland, Camp Tamok Reindeer Sledding Day in the Tamok Valley Wilderness runs 7 hours for $339, with thermal suits included.