Finland Transportation

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!!

when in Finland and love cartoon about Muminki must go there! unique muminki world is there on an island ;-) besiedes the city is lovely, extremely colorful with nice cafes and harbour, small cluster on a hill, good access to Turku city and here just half a day which is certainly enough there

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.

A little bigger countryside city with nothing to do and no one of interest. Mainly you could use the place as a stopping point while going on a beach holiday in neighbouring Kalajoki... 'Cause you'd most likely have to stop here then anyway.

You can use a train or a bus to arrive and leave... and of course a ride in the locals' cars.

During your likely short stay, you can go and visit the local shopping centre Kärkkäinen. As a foreigner, you can observe the outstanding country side people's behaviour. For example, the people who've arrived from neighbouring towns will stop and stare at you if you speak 'a strange language' like English. Also they'll try to turn their head at least 180 degrees to follow you as long as they can see you... or that's what happened to me friend a couple of years ago. In the night time you could visit the local (not that high quality) bars and see people getting sh'tfaced. If you're a girl, some dirty old man will likely try to hit on you while so drunk that he can barely talk. If you're a boy, some guy will probably try to pick a fight with you. People are mostly rather silent and seem rude. Easiest way to find someone to talk with is to see someone who's working and HAS TO talk to you... but that doesn't always work either. Then you've but the high school age kids to try.

A true countryside city experience you'll never forget.

Woong and I spent a week in northern Finland summer 2005. It was so beautiful. Rovaniemi is a great place to begin with. We got an overnight train there and then rented a car to drive to our rented cottage in Kaaresuvanto on the border with Sweden. We spent the week trekking and enjoying the sights and nature. It was well worth it. Would definitely recommend finding a nice cottage as a base from which to explore. Coming back to a warm fire and sauna every evening sure made the trip that much better.