We will be in Finland Aug 8-16. Our groups consists of 2 families - one with 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 5 and 2) and the other with 2 adults and 1 kid (age 3). Our flights are in and out of Helsinki.
I have been browsing the forums and various sites and here%26#39;s a list of places that look interesting:
1) Helsinki
2) Tallinn
3) Lapland (Rovaniemi)
4) Lake region
5) Aland Islands
6) St. Petersburg
Now I know we can%26#39;t do all of that in the days we have - so what are the must sees? Which should we definitely try to include?
Now I have a few practical questions:
1) Do we need to rent a car if we want to go to Lapland? We were thinking of taking the train up there - will we need a car there or is public transport/tours available?
2) How do we get to Lake region from Helsinki? DO we need car? How do we get about in the lake region for sightseeing? Is it possible to go from Lapland straight to Lake region?
3) Do hotels accommodate families of 4 in 1 room?
4) Are there any sites for apartment rentals?
5) Is it possible to go from Helsinki to Tallinn to Aland Islands?
I will really appreciate any help!
Thanks!
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Hi,
You had many questions and I will try to answer some of them. Helsinki is a child friendly city. An adult travels free on the public transportation with a kid in a pram or stroller. The kids are so small that they can stay free of charge in the hotels or pay a little extra for extra beds. The hotel rooms are small in Finland but I hope that you are coming to see the country and not to sleep.
The kids will love the Sea Fortress in Helsinki, maybe also the Zoo and the amusement park Linnanmäki.
Father Christmas lives in Lapland, close to Rovaniemi. You can visit him in his village. That is something you have to do while the kids are still small. You can take the night train up to Lapland. That would be the best travelling with small kids. Three adults or more will get a group discount on trains. Kids travel free of charge. I hope that someone in Lapland will give you more info about their region. Pls check www.visitrovaniemi.fi
You can go to Tallinn by ferries from Helsinki (2.5 hours) or by express boats (1.5 hours). Check the homepages of Linda lines or Tallink. Tallinn is a great city to visit.
There is conection to Aland Islands from Helsinki by Viking line and Silja line. Arrival time to Aland Island is in the middle of night. You could consider to go to the Aland Islands from Turku, the oldest town in Finland. The train trip from Helsinki to Turku is about two hours. You will arrive Aland Islands in the afternoon.
It is easy to go to St. Petersburg from Helsinki. It takes 5.5 hours by train. BUT you need a visa and that takes time. You have to get it in US so you have to start the procedure at once.
Good luck with your trip!
Christina
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Christina - Thanks for your helpful response.
A couple more questions:
1)Do we need a car to get from Helsinki to the Lake region? And to move around and sight see in the lake region?
2) Can we get to the Lake region directly from Rovaniemi via public transport?
3) What is the best way to get from Helsinki to Turku?
4) Is there a ferry link from Tallinn to Aland Islands?
Thanks!
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The kids may get bored with lake scenery. Åland has a castle (Kastelholm) and ruined fortifications (Bomarsund) that they may find more fun.
Tallink sails from Tallinn to Stockholm, calling (very briefly) at Mariehamn on Åland. Their times are pretty inconvenient, though, as the main reason for calling there is for the island province%26#39;s duty-free rights rather than actual traffic. Check it out: www.tallinksilja.com/en/tab2/schedules/stta/
The distances to and within Lapland are pretty great, which you will need to figure in. Rovaniemi is a rather dull little city, but the kids should enjoy the Disneyoid (i.e., fake) Santa Claus sights.
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1)Do we need a car to get from Helsinki to the Lake region? And to move around and sight see in the lake region?
Yes, highly recommended anyway.
2) Can we get to the Lake region directly from Rovaniemi via public transport?
Not really, please reconsider Rovaniemi.
3) What is the best way to get from Helsinki to Turku?
Car if you already have one. Train is fine, too.
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Thanks for all your helpful replies. Rovaniemi is in the itinerary because the 5 year old wants to visit the Arctic circle - not that much interested in Santa stuff - more in the natural sights in Lapland.
If you had to pick two from the following list which two would you pick?
Tallinn, St.Petersburg, Lake Region, Aland Islands, Lapland.
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I would leave out St. Petersburg. That%26#39;s a destination for another trip (not to mention the visa issue unless you somehow get there on a cruise ship).
Public transport from Rovaniemi to the Lake district is doable by train via Oulu, but a rather long journey...
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I eould choose:
Helsinki 3 nights
Tallinn 1 night
St. Petersburg 3 nights
For Tallinn you don%26#39;t need visa, you can take a morning boat there and come back next day. It is a small but quite charming (old) town. St. Petersburg is wunderful summertime. You can get a visa easily and it is easy to travel there from Helsinki (by train). Aland islands and Rovaniemi are too far in my mind. The lake district is wonderful but I think that you should know someone who has a cottage there to be able to enjoy it.
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The visa issue is slightly exaggerated. We can arrange your stay in St.Petersburg (accommodation, transportation and sightseeing) and also provide you with a visa support letter required by the Russian Consulate. Then you fill out application forms, mail it together with passports to the Cnsulate and pay the fee to them. So it%26#39;s not necessary to be a cruise passenger to visit our city. Besides, cruise passengers have only 1.5 days here, and our city has much more to offer!
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I%26#39;d pick Tallinn and Lake Region.
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Thanks everyone - I%26#39;ll discuss all this with the other people in the group - this helps me to give them pros and cons of each choice.
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