Travelling Tips - Travelling to and within Finland!

The easiest and the quickest way to travel to Finland is to use one of the scheduled airlines that fly to Helsinki and have convenient connections onwards to smaller airports throughout Finland and Finnish Lapland. Ryanair also flies low-cost to Tampere in the borders of the Western Lakes and the Lakeland. 

The flight time to Finland from the UK and the mainland Europe is about 2 ½ hours, while connections from Helsinki onwards take about 90 minutes to Lapland and 60 minutes to the Western Lakes and the Lakeland.

Travelling to Finland

Finnair: 

Finnair flies to Helsinki and a long list of regional airports from London Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin. Finnair flights are ideal for you if you wish to continue your journey from Helsinki by air to the Western Lakes, Lakeland or Lapland. 

The flights to Helsinki start from around £175pp (return) including taxes, while connections to regional airports start from around £100pp to Ivalo, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kajaani, Kittilä, Kokkola, Kuopio, Kuusamo, Lappeenranta, Rovaniemi, Savonlinna, Seinäjoki, Tampere, Turku, Vaasa and Varkaus. 

Car hire is available at Helsinki Airport, as well as at most of the smaller regional airports throughout Finland and Finnish Lapland. We strongly recommend that you pre-book your car hire, so the vehicle will be ready for your collection on your arrival.

Helsinki Airport is located about 20km North of Helsinki. The airport is formed of two terminals (international and domestic, that are connected via an indoor walkway. Restaurants, cafes, duty free shops, Internet facilities, money exchange, pharmacy and play rooms for children are also available.

Ryanair:

Ryanair flies low-cost from London Stansted, Alicante, Bremen, Edinburgh, Frankfurt-Hahn, Kaunas, Malaga, Milan(Bergamo), Oslo (Rygge), Pisa and Riga to Tampere in the Western Lakes.

Ryanair also flies from Brussels (Charleroi), Dusseldorf (Weeze) and Milan (Bergamo) to Lappeenranta in the Lakeland.

Both Tampere and Lappeenranta airports can be used to reach all cabins in the Lakeland, Western Lakes and the South regions.     

Car hire is available at both airports, but you must pre-book your car prior to your arrival to ensure there will be a vehicle available for you.

Blue1:

Blue1 flies low-cost from London Stansted (Heathrow from 30 March!) and Dublin to Helsinki and onwards to Kuopio, Kittilä, Rovaniemi, Oulu, Turku and Vaasa. Blue1 fights are ideal if you plan to fly onwards from Helsinki to destinations in the Lakeland or Lapland. Flights to Helsinki start from £83 (one-way) including taxes, while connections from Helsinki onwards start from around £30 (one-way) including taxes. 

From mainland Europe, Blue1 flies to Helsinki and onwards from Athens, Madrid, Warsaw, Milan, Rome, Copenhagen, Oslo, Gothenburg, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Nice, Berlin and Hamburg. 

Finncomm Airlines:

NEW! Finncomm Airlines now flies from Turku and Tampere to Kittila during peak winter periods. The flights from Tampere to Kittila could be combined with Ryanair flights from Stansted to Tampere with an overnight stay in Tampere town. 

Flights from Tampere to Kittila operate from 19 December 2009-10 January 2010 and then again from 20 February-18 April 2010 on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Flights from Turku to Kittila operate from 20 February-18 April 2010 also on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Air Baltic:

Air Baltic flies from numerous cities in Central, Northern, Western and Southern Europe, England and Ireland, Russia as well as Israel and the Middle East to various airports in Finland and Finnish Lapland via Riga in Latvia.

Aer Lingus:

Aer Lingus flies from Dublin to Helsinki three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Connecting flights from Helsinki to all regional airports in Finland are then available from Finnair, if you wish to continue your journey by plane. Otherwise, you can also often reach your final destination in the Southern region, Western Lakes or Lakeland in a hire car driving there from Helsinki.

Charter Flights

Charter flights to Kittilä (for cabins in Enontekiö, Levi and Ylläs) and Kuusamo (for cabins in Ruka, Posio, Syote and Kuusamo) are available from London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol during the winter season from www.ski-flights.com. The flights are expected to start from around £290pp (return). Winter season 2010-11 rates and availability will be published around June/July 2010.

Travelling Within Finland

Car Hire

Hiring a car is by far the best way to get around in Finland and allows you to explore the area surrounding your cabin. The roads are quiet and traffic jams are pretty much an unknown concept, which makes driving in Finland a very pleasant experience. You can pick up a hire car at any of the main airports or larger towns and European Union driving licenses are accepted. Driving is on the right, speed limits must be obeyed and seat belts must be worn at all times. More advice on driving in Finland is available from Automobile Association. 

By Coach

Bus routes operate on 90% of Finland's public roads. However, if you are staying in the countryside, you will find that the bus service can be infrequent and only takes you between a few larger villages. If you wish to travel between large towns though, you will find good bus routes and frequent services that run on time. Coaches are modern and offer good value for money. For timetables and routes, visit Express Bus or Matkahuolto.

By Rail

Finland has an extensive, efficient and reliable rail network. Trains are clean and comfortable and a viable alternative to air and road travel if you will be travelling in mainly urban areas. Long distance trains running from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and Kolari in Lapland have sleeping carriages for overnight journeys and they also transport cars. 

Rovaniemi is located about 130km from Pyha, Luosto and Posio and 170km from Levi, Ylläs and Ruka. Kolari is located 88km  from Levi and about 40km from Yllas. There is a bus transfer from Kolari Railway Station to Levi, as well as Äkäslompolo and Yllasjarvi villages in Ylläs to connect with every train arriving. For timetables, prices and train routes throughout Finland, visit the Finnish Rail website.

By Boat or Ferry

A wide choice of ferry routes and cruises are available on Finland's extensive network of lakes, many of which are interlinked. Some of the most scenic routes include those from Tampere to Hämeenlinna and Kuopio to Savonlinna. Leisure cruises are popular particularly in the Western Lakes and the Lakeland, as well as the Southern coast.

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