Travel Guide to Finland

With high standards of life and peculiar peoples, Finland will enthral you.

Landscape
Gastronomy
Culture
Nature
Know Before You Go
Best Time To Visit
What To Expect
Latest Finland Articles

Landscape

Finland is a large Scandinavian country, its landscape filled with natural beauty at every turn. Contrary to popular belief not everything is laden with snow and ice, even though sometimes it feels like that to outsiders. From tall mountain peaks looming in the distance to fairytale-like forests, the landscape is as varied as it gets. With lakes, windy yet calming sea shores, Finnish scenery is a marvel to look at.

Gastronomy

Finnish cuisine is as unique as everything else in the country. With long culinary roots, Finnish food may have evolved but Finns are still hard to separate from their traditional food. And that’s no surprise as Finnish food is absolutely delicious. Finns have a knack for making peculiar dishes with seasonal produce, and their pastries are to die for. Fish is also a mainstay in their cuisine, but like everything else food-related, it’s unique and practically exclusive to Finland. While every type of food is readily accessible there, local food still has a kick that international food just does not.

Culture

Finland’s history is amazingly varied and local culture is its perfect reflection. There are few other nations like the Finnish, as they have a completely unique origin, and their actions are based on this. They’re calm and calculated people that put a strong emphasis on words, which is why Finland is known as a country that routinely avoids small talk.

Finns are also regarded as world-class athletes with numerous achievements in all sorts of sports, but art is also one of their strong suits, with excellent composers because of their natural affinity for music.

Nature

Much more than a snowy, silent wonderland, Finland’s nature is often misunderstood by foreigners. While it is a cold place, often and regularly to extremes, there’s a certain beauty that can barely be matched by any other country in the world.

Aurora Borealis is a common sight in Finland, one that’s always a wonder to look at, its many lakes, mountain peaks, and forests, are nothing else like many other similar places on the planet. But it’s not only the northern parts that are beautiful because the southern – and warmer regions – are locations filled with such gorgeousness that will make you not want to leave this country ever.

Know Before You Go

Helsinki is the capital of Finland, from here hopping across to other Nordic cities such as Tallinn is easy. A simple 2.5-hour cruise aboard the ferry. There’s also easy access to Europe with the Finnair Hub.

The people of Finland are warm, generous, and infectiously kind.

Finns love a good sauna. It’s not unusual to find a sauna in every household. Finnish people are experts in the art of relaxation and the work/life balance. If you’re feeling brave enough, embrace winter as much as the Finns and be sure to take the ultimate sauna experience, by jumping into a frozen lake afterwards.

Finland is the actual home of Santa Claus. Christmas is taken seriously, and all the worlds post addressed to Santa gets circumnavigated right here. Santa Claus’ Main Post Office has been dealing with lists of wishes around the world since 1985. Send your postcards from here complete with an authentic Santa Claus postmark.

Best Time To Visit

The best time to enjoy Finland is without a doubt the summer months (June to August). Days are long and warm reaching a toasty 17 degrees celsius and the whole landscape blooms to life. September brings fall and glorious golden hues across the scenery. But the temperature starts to drop. Bringing long, dark days and freezing temperatures.

Visiting Helsinki is best in May, early June and September. August is vacation time for Finns so some places can be crowded.

The art of enjoying nature is an institution in Finland. Despite the cold, Finns love to get out into the great outdoors as often as possible and enjoy activities. Skiing, snowmobiling, even ice diving. Finns are known as some of the happiest and healthiest in the world. So there’s something to be said for their connection to nature and outgoing way of life.

What To Expect

Planning a trip to Finland? Here are a few things to get you off to a flying start.

Currency – The official currency in Finland is the Euro

Language – The official languages in Finland are Finnish and Swedish. Many Finns also speak fluent English, German, or French.

ATMs – ATM’s are becoming a rare sight in Finland as they cut down on cash usage and embrace the plastic. Most places accept all debit and credit cards. There are still ATM’s in the main hubs. To find your nearest one, use the Otto locator tool.

Plugs & Sockets – Finland uses the Type C Europlug with two round pins. As well as the Type F plug with two pins and two earth clips. Standard voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz.

Safety – Finland is considered a very safe country with low crime rates. With such a pristine, beautiful landscape, it’s no surprise.

Climate – Finland has one of the coldest climates due to its Northern reach. It generally sees long, cold winters, and short, mild and moderately rainy summers.