Hi we went with thomsons to saariselka last December and they were fab! (Ive written lots of reviews on them). The tasters are about 7 mins long. The reindeer taster is enough as they are gentle and go fairly slow. I would have been bored I think on a full excursion!
The snowmobiles were great and we really enjoyed them. However, on the taster, the adults sit in pairs and drive the snowmobiles whereas the kids go in a sleigh driven by a guide. The excursion is similar so we didnt bother as I'm not sure the kids would have enjoyed it for that long being without us. Plus we'd done snow mobiles years ago on a ski trip. So we opted for the huskys which were the highlight of the trip. The kids didnt enjoy it as much as they were so cold but for me and my husband it was the best part of the whole holiday. Like Narnia, so amazing!! I'll remember it my whole life it was so good!
We booked with top safaris in resort and did their 2.5 hour trip (they weren't running the 4 hour one when we were there though its the same driving time only you get lunch instead of snack). It was €420 for 2 adults and 2 kids aged 5&7 and worth every penny! The thomsons trip was similar price but their 2 hour trip had only 40 mins driving time (rest of the time was learning about the animals etc) whereas ours had almost 2 hour driving so it depends what you're after. It was only -9 when we did this and I have to say the kids were crying with the cold and mine are not that young really so I'd avoid any excursion if low temps (wind chill etc). We had hand warmers etc and everything!
Lapland safaris refused to take us on any trips as we were with thomsons and said we had to go through them!
The elf adventure went down ok with families we spoke to but said its very cold for the adults as the kids move between all the activities etc but there's nothing for adults to do so stand around being cold!
We went for 3 nights and the one excursion was enough to be honest.
Day 1 travel, welcome meeting and getting gear etc takes til about 3pm
Day 2 is the activity day so out from 8-3pm so we just sledged after that
Day 3 was our excursion 10;30 til 2 ish by time we got back to hotel then sledging. The gala meal started early too at 7pm
Day 4 you leave after breakfast
So unless you are four nights, one trip would be enough at most. 2 in one day would be hard work... My kids refused to sledge for 2 hours after the huskies as they were just too cold!we had to take then for a swim in the end !
It's fab you'll love it. Any questions just ask.