Prominent places to visit in Finland, the Scandinavian land of thousand lakes include Helsinki, Lapland, Rovaniemi-the city of Santa Claus. Finland is known for its quality of life, happiness of people, myriad lakes, saunas, reindeers and northern lights. I have been only to Helsinki in Finland, but twice. The first time, I went on an overnight cruise from Stockholm that halted at Helsinki during the day and got back the next night. The second time, it was a stopover on the way to Iceland
Best time to visit
Late spring and summer from April to September are the best times, not even autumn to an extent as it can rain anytime.
Visa
Schengen visa is valid for travel to Finland
The appointment times are pretty good in India. I got a call from the consulate validating my travel plan when I applied to Finnish consulate- the only time so far during Schengen visa application across countries. My guess was it is to avoid visa shopping, as many people have started applying to embassies where processing/ waiting times are faster without having an intent to visit the country
Ensure you travel to the country you applied for after getting a visa, to avoid being blacklisted for visa subsequent times
Getting In
Helsinki airport is the hub for Finnair that connects major cities. You can also take cruises from neighboring countries like Sweden, Estonia, Russia
What to expect from night cruises
We took a Viking Line cruise to enter from Stockholm the first time. We had taken cheaper bunk bed tickets for our group of 4 for less than EUR 20 per person. We felt it was a good deal covering transport and accommodation at the same time. The company was also accommodative of date change (although it was a non refundable option if I remember right) on the previous day as we missed our train from Sweden thanks to electricity breakdown
The room and beds were clean, comfortable. We also had a lot of entertainment options- some singers performing each night, karaoke. There were multiple shopping and dining options if you have the time and money
Silja line and Eckero line are other options offering similar night cruises.
Currency: Euro
Unlike other Scandinavian neighbors, Euro works in Finland. You can easily get EUR cash, prepaid cards from India, or use credit cards with low/ no fees. Cards are accepted everywhere
Getting around
You can use public transport which is pretty good within Helsinki city. Ferries connect the island pretty regularly. As you go further, expect loads of walking from nearest station
We took a Helsinki ABC day ticket which works on zones including airport.
You can buy tickets on HSL website or app. Foreign cards are accepted
Places to see in Helsinki
- Lutheran cathedral: The famous white cathedral with green dome
- Uspenski cathedral: Russian Orthodox church, the red building close to market square
- Kamppi cathedral: Wooden church worth visiting for unique architecture
- Rock church: Church with a natural vibe and lighting. It was one of the most memorable places for me in Helsinki
- Sibelius monument: Organ-pipe shaped monument dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius about 50 minutes walk away from city centre
- Suomenlinna island: Fortified island 30 minutes away by ferry, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has start shaped walls which might have typically see in photos. The area inside the fort is quite large with museum, church, cannons and houses
It is a nice walk to go around the island, much more peaceful than city centre. There are not many attractions inside to see in particular, but sea side views on a sunny day is spectacular
Where we stayed
We stayed in a Airbnb close to airport. The host was really nice, responsive and helpful
Ensure you have detailed and right instructions in reaching your location. Most apartments entrances are operated by key-codes. We have a tough time reaching the right building as google maps had wrong entrance location (nothing to do with the host). We were in the right apartment complex, but took about 30 minutes to find the right building as they were not numbered sequentially
It is tough to ask for help- you hardly find anyone on the road. We also had an instance where some of us got locked in. The key worked after trying multiple times. Keep buffer time so that you don’t need to panic before catching flights
Things to know
- Finland is known as land of thousand lakes. You will start seeing many lakes as you steps into places outside Helsinki
- Finnish really like their saunas. You have almost as many saunas as people there!
- Coffee breaks called “Kahvitauo“ are very important for Finnish, almost like birth rights. Offices have dedicated coffee breaks for social bonding
- You can head to Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi to witness snow white land and reindeers
- Kiruna is famous for northern lights. You can try your luck in winter
How much does it cost
Budget $1500-2000 for a week’s trip in Finland
- Flights: $600-700
- Food: $50 per day
- Hotel: $50-100 per day. You can find apartments slightly outside city centre for $50 per day
- Transport: $50-100 per day if visiting 1-2 further cities on train or flight