Photos: Visit Finland Media Bank

Each year, an independent market research company Taloustutkimus carries out a study revealing the best travel destinations in Finland. In 2017, almost 4,000 Finnish people took part in the research expressing their opinion of which cities, towns and municipalities they think to have the most impressive brand regarding travel and tourism.

You might think the Finnish capital city Helsinki would overpower the list year after year. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Helsinki is included in the top 4, but what would you think; Which 3 Finnish towns rank better than the capital?

Let’s find out which destinations are included in the top 10 and what they have to offer for travellers! Perhaps you’ll find your next travel destination in this list. Almost 4,000 Finns can’t be wrong, can they?

Cover photo by Visit Finland

Easter in Finland is an exciting mix of flavours, history and traditions. The religious roots of the Christian feast are still visible today. Besides celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, Easter in Finland is all about welcoming the long-awaited spring after the dark and cold winter months. It’s often considered as planting the seeds for happiness and health for the approaching summer season.

In some countries you need to drive for hours to reach roads surrounded by forests, fields and lakes. In Finland, it’s exactly the opposite. Nature is around you everywhere, even in urban areas. Yet, for some weird reason, Finland is hardly ever the first option for travelers planning their next road trip.

This article is created not only to encourage you choosing Finland as your next road trip destination, but to give you a comprehensive guide for the things to take into consideration prior to the trip. Your guide for planning a successful road trip in Finland is filled with practical tips, rules of the road, explaining how the rules vary between seasons and, last but not least, some great suggestions for routes to take.

Are you ready? Let’s hit the road!

Did you know that there are more than 500,000 holiday homes, villas and cottages in Finland? Most cottages are perfectly habitable all year round, even through winter, and filled with modern comfort and conveniences. Not all cottage owners want or need to use their holiday homes at all times. Instead of keeping the cottages empty, they’re renting them out to travelers who want to experience real Finnish lifestyle.

But have YOU, as a traveler, ever considered choosing a rental cottage over a hotel room for your holiday? In case you now find yourself shaking your head and thinking ‘hell no’, this article is worth reading.

As the largest rental cottage marketplace in the country, Gofinland currently has more than 7,000 cottages to choose from. This article provides you with 7 proven reasons why renting a cottage beats staying in a hotel any time of the year.

In Finland it’s very easy to arrange adventurous excursions and experiences, even for a short visit. Wild nature is near everywhere you go, even in the capital city Helsinki.

Helsinki is also a popular stopover destination especially when flying between Asia and Europe. As you might guess, the capital offers plenty of things to do, even if you had only a few hours in the city.

Planning a trip with a stopover in Helsinki is getting so popular these days that Finland’s leading airline Finnair created its own stopover program for international travelers. You can spend up to 5 days in Finland before your connecting flight, but how to decide how to spend those stopover days?

The easy way is to book tailored tours, when your tour operator will take care of the transport between the airport and your stopover destinations as well. Adventurous travelers might want to plan an unforgettable stopover in Helsinki all by themselves.

Are you one of them? Read on, because we have some suggestions how to plan an unforgettable stopover in Helsinki with 4 interesting itineraries for adventurous and outdoorsy travelers.

2017 is an important and eventful year in Finland. To celebrate 100 years of independence, hundreds and hundreds of interesting events related to history, culture, sports and nature are being organized all over the country, every month throughout the year.

Listing all of the top events in Finland in 2017 would make an impossible task, but to give you an idea, we chose some of the most fascinating events that you should add to your calendar in case you’re planning to visit Finland during the year of celebration. If Finland still remains unticked on your bucket list, 2017 is definitely the year to make your travel dream come true.

The last few months of 2016 were pure celebration for Finland; Many international hot stream medias highlighted Finland in their headlines trying to convince travelers all over the world that Finland truly is the top destination for 2017.

It all started when Lonely Planet listed Finland as the 3rd best travel destination in the whole world. Soon after also National Geographic and Financial Times, among others, followed Lonely Planet’s example.

There’s no doubt we wouldn’t agree with the headlines, but at the same time a rumor started to go around stating Finland, and especially Lapland, being fully booked in 2017. While the hotels are busy with tourists, there are thousands and thousands of empty cottages available for holiday rental throughout the country.

Therefore we want to present 6 outstanding beach cabins in Finland where to stay during your visit. After all, you’ll get the best feeling for the Finnish way of living if you choose a cottage over a hotel.

Finland is often referred to as a true Winter Wonderland – for a good reason. In Finnish Lapland the winter lasts 7 months on average. For the majority of international travelers, snow itself is an attraction and a reason to travel to Finland.

For decades many winter destinations in Finland have lifted the snowy experiences up a notch: Each winter, dozens of unique structures are built out of snow and ice all over the country, from the world’s largest snow castle to wedding chapels, ice restaurants and even saunas.

This winter, to celebrate Finland’s 100th birthday, the very first Cave Ice Carving World Championships will be organized in the municipality of Leppävirta in the Finnish lakeland. The contest will bring along even more unique ice sculptures for travelers to admire.

Let’s have a closer look at the unique winter destinations in Finland, with the most amazing structures built of snow and ice, shall we!

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you that Finland is the land of unique landscapes, pure nature, thousands and thousands of lakes and the cleanest air in the world. Besides this, every keen traveller knows Helsinki, the beautiful capital of Finland, and of course Lapland—The home of Santa Claus, white winters, reindeers and Northern Lights.

But how about the rest of Finland? With so many unique destinations, it would be a crime to be satisfied with Helsinki and Lapland only. Therefore we asked 4 travel professionals to share their best travel tips: Where to go in Finland in 2017?

Freedom to roam is something extremely unique to Nordic countries, including Finland. Also known as ‘Everyman’s Rights’, freedom to roam allows everyone to enjoy the forests, lakes, fields and parks anywhere in Finland and, most importantly, completely free of charge.

You might have heard about freedom to roam before, but were you aware that Finns—or even Nordics—are not the only ones who are privileged to benefit from it? We want to reveal the best 5 ways how also you can enjoy the Finnish freedom to roam, no matter where are you from.

When charging your batteries in Finnish nature, it’s good to remember that great freedom comes with great responsibilities. At first it might feel too amazing to be true, when thinking of all the wonderful things freedom to roam allows you to do on the beaches, lakes and forests. But you’ll get used to it very quickly.

And when you get used to it, it’s very easy to forget that not everything is allowed—not even in Finland!

Let’s have a closer look how to enjoy the freedom to roam in Finland. And how not to.