The best time to visit Finland varies based on what activities you want to do there. The best time to see the northern lights are late August-April. In the spring, you’ll see smaller crowds. March is the best month for skiing and there’s also still a chance to see the northern lights. If you’re wanting to go for outdoor activities like canoeing, hiking and swimming, in the summer months you’ll have the midnight sun which is pretty cool to experience.
- Visa Info: If you are a U.S citizen, Finland allows visa on arrival that is good for 90 days. If you are not a U.S citizen, you’ll need to apply for a visa online before you go.
How to travel around Finland
Helsinki has amazing public transportation so you won’t need a car there, but to explore the rest of Finland renting a car is the best option. When you arrive at the airport and head down to the train, you can purchase tickets that will work for all public transit in the area you’re buying a ticket for at the ticket kiosk. If you don’t think you’ll go to a bunch of places outside of the main Helsinki city center, just get a single day pass. But make sure to research the different zones; A, B, C, etc., to see which pass is appropriate for you.
- Note: If you download the HSL app, you can purchase tickets on there instead of going to a kiosk.
- Rental Car Info: We rented a Hybrid Toyota Corolla Hatchback through Enterprise. We suggest that you use a credit card that has third-party collision coverage, this will save you money by not having to select their own insurance options.
- Address: Laivalahdenkatu 8 B, 00880 Helsinki, Finland
- Website: Helsinki Enterprise
- Driving in Finland: Drive on the right side of the road. Driving was easy and the signs are pretty simple to follow. Definitely watch out for reindeer as they were all over the road especially up north. Also there were speed cameras everywhere and the speed limit is strictly enforced.
15 Day Finland Road Trip
Our journey through Finland! We start with a few days in Helsinki and after a quick detour to Tallinn, Estonia, make our way north all the way to Northern Lapland, (Ivalo to be specific.) While on our road trip we partook in all things Finnish.
Day 1-4: Helsinki; Tallinn
Where we stayed:
Radisson Blu Aleksanteri Hotel
Our first 4 days in Finland we stayed in Helsinki. The hotel let us check in at 6am which was amazing. They served a great breakfast every morning. It was also in an excellent location and easy to walk around to the main city spots.
Top things to do in Helsinki:
-Walk and explore the city!
-Visit Esplanadi Park and have a drink at Cafe Kapelli (opened in 1867) while listening to some live music.
-Head to Market Square and try some traditional Finnish food.
-We also tried reindeer meat at Lappi Ravintola which was a very cozy and warm restaurant with delicious food, we highly recommend.
-Walk to Senate Square-the oldest section of Helsinki.
-Visit the Uspenski Cathedral.
-We also went to the Ateneum Art Museum. It was great to learn about Finnish culture through art, and was also a perfect rainy day activity.
-Take the ferry to Suomenlinna to see the fort built by the Swedes. Since it is public transportation, you can either use your transit pass or purchase a single day pass to use the ferry.
-We also took the ferry to visit Tallinn, Estonia for the day. The ferry tickets cost around $40 USD/person and it was about a 2 hour journey. It’s best to purchase your tickets ahead of time, we purchased ours on Klook.com.
- Note: Be sure to get to the ferry early when taking it back to Finland, the seats fill up fast.
-We highly recommend visiting Tallinn as it’s one of the best preserved medieval cities and is also a UNESCO world heritage site. It was amazing seeing the historic buildings and learning about their history.
Top Things to do in Tallinn:
-Check out the Viru gate, it was built in the 1300’s and is at the entrance to Tallinn’s old town.
-Grab a bite to eat at Cafe Maiasmokk, the oldest operational cafe in Estonia. The outdoor seating has a beautiful view of the old town, the inside is also super charming. The food was amazing, we highly recommend eating here.
-The town square looks like you’re in a storybook. It is lined with tons of cafes and is the perfect place to have a few Aperol spritzes and do some people watching.
-Visit the old KGB headquarters.
-Head to Kohtuotsa and Patkuli viewpoints for some excellent views of the city.
-Do a self-paced walking tour of the city-will tell you about the historic buildings. Rick Steves: Walking Tour
-Shop for some amber. **Make sure you do your research beforehand, as there are many stores selling fake amber.
We only stayed in Tallinn for the day but we regret not staying there longer. We’ve heard it looks so beautiful when lit up at night.
Day 5: Porvoo, Finland
Where we stayed: Emolahti Camping, Pyhajarvi (not in Porvoo)
We woke up early to pick up our rental car and headed north to explore Porvoo, a picturesque medieval town.
Porvoo is Finland’s second oldest city, it has a very well preserved old town and is a great place to walk around for a few hours.
Top things to do in Porvoo:
-Grab a bite at Cafe Fanny.
-See the traditional red wooden houses.
-Check out Porvoo Cathedral-the oldest parts are from the 13th century. It also offers free parking for a few hours.
-After Porvoo we continued our drive up north and stopped at the campground for the night. It was a last minute plan, but we were able to grab one of the last cabins. The campground also serves food and drinks which is a plus, not to mention the cute donkey and alpaca that will greet you upon arrival.
Day 6-10: Rovaniemi, Finland
Where we stayed: Ollero Eco Lodge
The next morning we woke up early and drove a few more hours to Rovaniemi. We stayed at the Ollero Eco Lodge. We had a glass igloo to sleep in, hot tub, sauna, paddleboat, and our own private lake.
- Note: There was a 100 Euro/day fee to use the hot tub and sauna, something we did not realize until we got there.
Things to do in Rovaniemi:
-Visit a reindeer farm. We went to Konttaniemi Porofarmi which is a family run reindeer farm that was also steps from our airbnb. **Make sure you book ahead of time.
-Meet Santa at the Santa Claus Village. Send letters from the village post office. ***There is a fake Santa at the welcome center by the road, make sure you see the real one in the main village!
-Go hiking- the arctic circle hiking area had numerous great hikes. We did the Vikakongas Trail.
-Pick fresh bilberries from the forest-have them for a traditional Finnish breakfast of bilberries and milk with a sprinkle of sugar!
-Grill some reindeer sausages and enjoy the outdoors.
-Pallas Yllastunturi National Park-After our stay, we continued our drive up north and stopped at Pallas Yllastunturi National Park and did the Taivaskero loop trail. This national park is known as having some of the cleanest air in the world. It was (literally) a breath of fresh air being there.
- Note: Watch out for reindeer on your drive north. We saw so many of them in the middle of the road.
Day 11-13: Ivalo, Finland
Where we stayed: Lovers Lake Retreat
We finally made it to our final destination of Ivalo. We stayed at this amazing off the grid Airbnb that had a sleeping cabin, a summer kitchen, hot tub, boat, and sauna. It had no running water and everything had to be done by hand. We even had to get our own water from a fresh spring in the ground. It was honestly the best experience just being able to have some solitude in nature. We looked for the northern lights each night as it’s the perfect place to see them, but unfortunately it was too cloudy.
Day 14: Drive South
Where we stayed: Ahvenlampi Camping, Saarijärvi
Time to head back down! We just spent this entire day driving. We did stop at a beautiful sunflower field on the way, and also spent the night at a campground.
Day 15: Helsinki!
Where we stayed: Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre
After finally reaching Helsinki and returning our rental car, we checked into our last stay in Finland. This hotel was great because it’s right by the train station where you can easily hop on the train that takes you directly to the airport.
Conclusion
Finland was such a unique and pleasant country to visit. Everybody was super kind and helpful, the food was fresh and delicious, and the nature was pristine. We truly had some unforgettable experiences here and created many memories that will last a lifetime. We highly recommend a visit to Finland!
If you’re interested in seeing more about Finland, feel free to check out our Youtube video posted below!