Finland: General information and journey there

Travel to Finland

Travelling to South Finland is probably easiest by taking the airplane to Helsinki Airport (HEL) and from there taking the train to Lappeenranta or Imatra, depending on the start point of your tour. Train tickets can be obtained online on the website of the Finnish state railway company, VR. Finnair, Finland’s national airline, offers reasonably priced flights from numerous European countries to Helsinki. Flights can be booked directly at Finnair.fi. From April 2019 there will also be a flight connection between Berlin and Lappeenranta (start point of some Best Guest Holidays) operated by Ryanair. Flights are available on Mondays and Thursdays, are very affordable and are most easily booked directly on Ryanair.com.

Access to Finland is easy when you are EU-citizen. A valid passport or identity card is needed to enter the country.

As our travel destinations in Southern Finland are all close to the Russian border you may consider crossing this border before or after your bicycle holiday. In case you plan on visiting Russia, bear in mind that you need a passport valid at least six months after accessing the country plus a visa for Russia. These can be obtained at Russian embassies and consulates.

Weather & Packing

When travelling to Finland during the summer months (June to August) you should pack some summer clothes for your cycling tour in addition to one or two warm pullovers for the evening, when it can get a bit chilly. Usual temperatures in South Finland from June to August are around 17°C during the day (often these rise to 25 or even 30°C!) and around 10°C during the night. In spring and autumn it can already/still be warm, but you should perhaps pack one pullover more than in summer. You might want to take mosquito repellent spray with you so as to avoid unpleasant encounters..

For cycling, we recommend comfortable and bright sports clothes for visibility on the road. Sport shoes, special cushioned bike trousers and bicycle gloves can provide extra comfort. No matter when you travel to Finland, you should always take a wind and/or rain jacket with you, just in case the weather is not as sunny as usual. Sun glasses and sun screen are also recommendable as well as a hat or cap to prevent you from sunstroke. And don’t forget your swim suit or shorts, remember that you travel to the land of a thousand lakes!