Overview
Finland has more trees than people and more lakes than any other country in the world. Finns live in harmony with nature – endless wilderness and 188,000 lakes – on their doorstep, and even die-hard city dwellers spend the short, warm summers in the countryside, swimming and fishing in the lakes and gathering berries and mushrooms in the forests. before ending the day with a sauna and a glass of Kossu (Finnish vodka). In Lapland, in the far north, the millennia-old culture of the Sámi dominates, a hardy semi-nomadic people of reindeer herders. The language of the Finns is extraordinary and, of all things, has more in common with Hungarian than with any other language on earth. Finland’s most famous contribution to world culture is the sauna, of which there are 1.6 million here alone. Adventure and outdoor sports such as trekking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, dog sledding, hiking or fishing, as well as a variety of water sports, are particularly attractive in Finland. The Finnish summers are special because the sun hardly ever sets, and the winters are a dream come true. Adventure and outdoor sports such as trekking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, dog sledding, hiking or fishing, as well as a variety of water sports, are particularly attractive in Finland. The Finnish summers are special because the sun hardly ever sets, and the winters are a dream come true. Finland is a member of European Union defined by computergees.
Getting there
Arriving by plane
The national airline Finnair (AY) offers several weekly direct flights from Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover and Munich as well as Zurich, Geneva, Salzburg and Vienna to Helsinki. Lufthansa (LH) offers direct flights from Frankfurt/M. and Munich to Helsinki. Ryanair (FR) flies from Bremen to Tampere. There are also numerous connections with SAS (SK) from Frankfurt/M. and Hamburg via Copenhagen or Stockholm to Helsinki. Eurowings (EW) flies from Dusseldorf to Rovaniemi.
Flight times
Berlin – Helsinki: 1 hour 50 minutes; Frankfurt – Helsinki: 2 hours 20 minutes; Hamburg – Helsinki: 1 hour 50 minutes; Munich – Helsinki: 2 hours 25 minutes; Vienna – Helsinki: 2 hours 20 minutes; Geneva – Helsinki: 3 hours; Zurich – Helsinki: 2 hours 40 minutes
Arrival by car
If you are traveling by car, you can travel to Finland via Denmark via the Great Belt Bridge and Sweden via the Oresund Bridge. Or you can choose the route via Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia (visa required). There are also roads from Norway and Sweden to the Finnish part of Lapland via the Arctic Circle. Car ferries run from Travemünde and Rostock to Helsinki. Long-distance bus: Flixbus offers trips from numerous European cities to Stockholm via Denmark. From there you have connection by ferry to Turku and Helsinki. Toll: There are no toll roads in Finland. Documents: The national driving license is sufficient.
Arrival by train
There are no direct train connections between Finland and its neighboring countries. However, ferries operate to and from Germany, Sweden and Estonia. Finnlines Ferries, Tallink Silja Lines and Viking Lines operate ferry routes on the following routes: Helsinki – Stockholm (Sweden) Helsinki – Tallinn (Estonia) Helsinki – Travemünde (Lübeck, Germany) Turku – Stockholm (Sweden) Finland can be reached by train from Germany, The easiest way from Austria and Switzerland is via Denmark and Sweden. From Vienna and Zurich there are ICE connections via Berlin or Hamburg to Copenhagen. Copenhagen – Malmö is served by the Öresund train, Malmö – Stockholm by the Swedish railway company SJ. In Stockholm you can take the ferry to Turku, where you can change to express trains to Helsinki and Tampere directly at the port. However, high-speed and intercity trains only go through Turku Central Station, 3 km away. You can use the ÖBB Nightjet from Vienna, Zurich or Munich to Hamburg. The holiday express car train runs between Lörrach, Munich and Hamburg, operated by Train4you. To travel directly to Lapland, there is an option in Stockholm to take a connecting train to Boden in northern Sweden and then a bus to Haparanda in Lapland.
rail passes
The Interrail One Country Pass and the Interrail Global Pass are also valid in Finland.
Arrival by ship
After Helsinki, Turku, Rauma, Kotka and Vaasa are the largest port cities in Finland. Finnlines offers a connection between Travemünde and Helsinki (journey time approx. 29 hours). Information on tel. +49 451 1507 443. Or you can travel via Sweden and from there take a ferry to Finland. TT-Line, Tel. +49 4502 801-81, offers connections from Travemünde or Rostock to Trelleborg several times a day. Tallink, tel. +49 40 547 541-222 and Viking Line, tel. +49 451 38 46 30 operate car ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki and Turku (journey time: 12-16 hours). If you drive to Denmark by car, you can take the ferry from there to the Swedish west coast (eg
Cruise ships
The following cruise lines call at Finnish ports: Costa, Cunard, Kristina Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Regent Seven Sea Cruises, Seabourn and Silversea.
