Finland Travel Guide

I never thought before to go to the North Pole, but once i met a friend who went there and told me how amazing is. So, I decided to go with four friends and it have been one of the best experiences in my life. We went during January, therefore, when we arrive it was all complete white. We went from Copenhagen to Ivalo aiport and there we took a taxi until the bus station where we needed to take a bus to Jokitorma/Kaamanen. It was perfect because the bus stopped just in front of our hostel. A wood house between nothing, just snow and silence. Silence. It was the first time in my life that I heard the silence, and it was amazing.

In the hostel we contact with a very nice woman who rent her snowmobilings for us. We met some natural people from there, called Sami's and it was the best thing in our trip. They showed us a lot of things from there, their customs and works. They were farmers of rendieers, an really beutiful animal, more in their natural habitat.

Also this people showed us how they live and they explain us how is Kaamanen in other seasons. How common is to see the Northen Lights and wich is the perfect weather to see it.

In Inari, more or less near to Kaamanen by bus, you can find the Siida Museum, that it's so cheap and really nice. In this museum you can find all the information about Sami's culture as well as about the fauna, weather and all natural things in Lapland. Probably you will see as well expositions of Sami's artists (pictures, clothes, etc) and is really interesting.

Moreover, in Siida there is a open air ice theater! that is sooo cold but very nice. In this ice theater during January they celebrate a Cinema Festival, where they show films of Sami's directors and producers, but also some films from other countries like England, Norway, etc. So some of this films are in finish but also you can see some of them with english subtitles.

Definitly you should go there, but only if you love the nature, to know a really unknown and amazing culture, and if you want to meet a really kind and lovely people.

 

Kiitos!!

Liquor and Cigarettes, along with countless other things, are Tax free in neighboring Tallinn, Estonia. This leads people from Helsinki to make day trips here to stock up 'supplies'. The ferry ride is a comfortable 2 1/2 hours between Helsinki and Tallinn, and it gets you those cool stamps in your passport. How many of you're friends can say, "Oh, and this is the stamp from when we went to Estonia". So if your in either Tallinn or Helsinki, there absolutely NO excuse to not visit the other.

Oulu is a great place to visit around the year. I suggest summer. It's not that expensive either. The best place to stay is Hotel-spa Eden, which is right next to the sea. It's one of the best spas in Finland, in my opinion. If you have a low budjet, there's a hostel called Turisti opposite the train station. And of course you can go camping, there's a great area for that next to Eden.