Finland in ten days by car

1280px - 63.683333|25.983333|layer=OG|zoom=5}} For a full list of itineraries, please visit our Halal Food and Travel website.

Finland in ten days by car is a suggested route showing some of the most important sights in Finland. See the article on Finland for more information.

Finland in ten days by car Halal Travel Guide

Compared to other European countries in general, Finland is quite sparsely populated, especially in the north. There are bus and rail links between major cities, but if you want to see the nationside the best way is definitely driving. The best time to do this journey is in the summer. During the winter many attractions are closed and driving is more uncomfortable due to snow and ice.

Prepare

See also the Finland#By_car_2|main Halal Travel Guide As always when taking a longer vehicle trip, make sure your vehicle is in a decent condition; an engine breakdown is never a pleasant surprise and definitely not when you're far away from home. Be mentally prepared to sit in the vehicle for some 2500 kilometers in 10 days and do bring a good map.

Travel to Finland in ten days by car

The starting point for this itinerary is Helsinki, where most international travelers arrive. There are vehicle ferries from Stockholm and Tallinn and roro-ships from Travemünde, Rostock and Gdynia. Getting from Central Europe to Finland by vehicle takes some 3-4 days/way driving calmly but without any major stops. From Southern Europe, one week/way is a quite good rule of thumb. If arriving from Russia, drive along motorway 7 to Helsinki. If you are from the surrounding countries or Europe it is probable that you have your own car. If arriving by plane there are many possibilities to hire a vehicle at the airport or elsewhere as many of the major vehicle rental agencies such as Europcar and Hertz are present in Finland.

Drive

One useful word to know is keskusta which means downtown or downtown and can be found on most road junctions near the downtown. In some major cities the Swedish centrum or even the British English centre are occasionally to be seen - these are obviously easier to understand for international visitors.

Day 1 - Up the ridge

Savonlinna heinäkuu 2002 IMG 1635 - Olavinlinna Castle, Savonlinna Helsinki -Porvoo -Lappeenranta -Imatra -Punkaharju -Kerimäki -Savonlinna 392 km Start from

• Helsinki - 60.16671, 24.94377 in the morning. Drive along 7 E18 towards
• Porvoo - 60.39486, 25.66200, see Porvoo's Old Town and continue east along road 6 towards Kouvola and Lappeenranta. From
• Kouvola - 60.87216, 26.60236 the road will follow the Salpausselkä ridge dividing Finland's coastal and inland regions. In
• Imatra - 61.17007, 28.77182 there are the Imatra rapids and the very first "tourist attraction" in Finland, visited by the Russian Czar, among others. Continue towards Joensuu until Parikkala,
• turn left - 61.60313, 29.48318 and drive along road 14 towards Savonlinna. You will cross the
• Punkaharju - 61.76825, 29.36440ridges that are commonly called the "national landscape" of Finland. Before you arrive at Savonlinna you can take a short side trip to
• Kerimäki - 61.90615, 29.26655 and see the world's largest wooden church. The main sight of
• Savonlinna - 61.86943, 28.88237 is the medieval castle Olavinlinna hosting an opera festival each summer.

Day 2 - Land of a thousand lakes

Savonlinna -Heinävesi -Joensuu -Koli National Park -Lieksa -Nurmes 293 km On the morning you will drive on smaller roads, don't get lost! From the

• eastern edge of Savonlinna - 61.87558, 28.95327

, take road 471 north up to Enonkoski and continue towards Heinävesi. A 

• sound - 62.14875, 28.97318 is crossed by cable ferry. Continue along 471 until the road ends, and
• turn right - 62.36570, 28.87945 towards Joensuu along 476. After 12 kilometers
• turn left - 62.39011, 29.07090towards Sarvikumpu along 477. When you come to road 23,
• turn left - 62.52200, 29.04189 towards Varkaus. After 15 kilometers
• turn right - 62.52816, 28.75946 towards Uusi Valamo.
• New Valamo - 62.56045, 28.79242 is a beautiful orthodox monastery, built in the 1940s after the original Valamo monastery situated on an island in lake Ladoga after Karelia was conquested by the Soviet Union. After the visit to New Valamo, drive back to road 23 and drive to
• Joensuu - 62.60282, 29.76746 for lunch. If you are interested in Karelian culture, visit the Carelicum museum. Another point of interest is the bunker museum. Continue towards Kajaani along road 6 and turn right to
• Koli - 63.09460, 29.80797

. Drive to Koli and walk up to the top of Mt. Koli for great views. Take the ferry over Lake Pielinen to 

• Lieksa - 63.31715, 30.01877 and drive to
• Nurmes - 63.54243, 29.14398

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Day 3 - Crossing the true wiktionary.org/wiki/susiraja wolf border

Rovaniemi SantaclausVillage 01 - Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle just north of Rovaniemi Nurmes -Kajaani -Ranua -Rovaniemi 448 km The trip continues further north along road 6 to

• Kajaani - 64.21713, 27.72949

, where you can walk around the ruins of Kajaani fortress. Take road 5 E63 northbound towards Kuusamo, and 

• turn left - 64.32444, 28.05908 along national road 22 towards Oulu and Rovaniemi. At Paltamo,
• turn right - 64.40524, 27.84073 along 78 towards Rovaniemi. You will now drive through 300 kilometers of virtually nothing but forest. Do look out for reindeer - while they are not as heavy as elks, you still don't want to crash into them. Moreover they are not wild animals but livestock and therefore if you crash into a reindeer you may have to pay compensation to the owner.
• Ranua - 65.92855, 26.51001

and the last village before Rovaniemi has the northernmost zoo in the world where you can see Finnish and arctic wildlife like lynx, wolverines and ice bears. Arrive in 

• Rovaniemi - 66.50286, 25.72586 in the evening.

Day 4 - Here comes Santa Claus

Rovaniemi Spend the day in Rovaniemi and don't forget the Santa Claus village at the Arctic Circle. Rovaniemi is a good starting point for Finnish Lapland if you want to extend your trip.

Day 5 - Return to the coast

Rovaniemi -Tornio -Hailuoto -Oulu 360 km Take road 4 E75 southbound towards Kemi. 33 kilometers before Kemi,

• take road 927 - 66.00231, 24.69881 towards Vojakkala and Arpela. This road will end at
• Tornio river - 65.91840, 24.13490. Drive 5 kilometers north towards Kilpisjärvi and see the
• Kukkolankoski rapids - 65.96359, 24.04435

}}. Not comparable to Niagara Falls, and not steep at all but still quite wide and long. A great place for picnic if it isn't raining. You can eat some salmon soup in a little cafeteria. Drive down to

• Tornio - 65.84461, 24.16203 and make a quick visit to Haparanda, Sweden if you want. Arrive at
• Oulu 65.01158, 25.47798 in the early afternoon. You can walk around the city and look at the buildings from the late 19th century. Another option you can take a trip to Hailuoto and the largest island of the Gulf of Bothnia. Drive past the downtown along 4 E75 to
• exit no. 6 - 64.95888, 25.51746 and follow the signs to Hailuoto. The
• cable ferry 65.00853, 25.19680departs each half hour and is free.

Day 6 - Ostrobothnia

Replot bridge - Replot Bridge Oulu -Jakobstad -Kvarken Archipelago -Vaasa 376 km Continue down along the coast towards Kokkola along 8 E8. If it is summer and you feel like swimming, stop at

• Kalajoki - 64.25951, 23.94882 and drive to the sand beach (Hiekkasärkät). Sand beaches a little more than 200 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle! Drive past Kokkola and stop at the bilingual (Swedish/Finnish) city
• Jakobstad/Pietarsaari 63.66881, 22.70256 and see the Old Town and the sail ship Jacobstads Wapen. Continue south to Vasa, but before arriving in the city,
• turn off - 63.10202, 21.64118 towards Pori and Tampere, turn towards Replot/Raippaluoto in the roundabout and drive across Finland's largest bridge to the
• island - 63.23208, 21.41235

. The island is part of the Kvarken archipelago, which is a UNESCO world legacy site. Spend the evening in 

• Vaasa - 63.09662, 21.61835

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Day 7 - Plains and mustamakkara

Vaasa -Tampere 242 km Drive straight down along road 3 E12 to Finland's second most populous town,

• Tampere - 61.49911, 23.75793

}}. In Ostrobothnia the landscape is flat with large fields, and when arriving in the Pirkanmaa region the landscape turns back to the usual forest. Tampere boasts interesting museums, Tammerkoski rapids in the center of the town, Northern Europe's highest observation tower and one of the most popular amusement parks in Finland, Särkänniemi. Don't forget the infamous local delicacy mustamakkara (blood sausage).

Day 8 - Pieces of history

Rauma view 01 - Wooden houses in Old Rauma Tampere -Rauma -Naantali -Turku 261 km Continue west along road 12 to Rauma, whose Wooden Old Town is an UNESCO world legacy site. On the way to Rauma you will drive by

• Lake Köyliö - 61.16162, 22.30602 where, according to the legend, Bishop Henry who brought Christendom to Finland, was murdered in the year 1156. Then there is another UNESCO site and the bronze age burial site in
• Sammallahdenmäki - 61.119444, 21.775

. From 

• Rauma - 61.12683, 21.50608

, continue south along 8 E8. At Raisio, just before Turku, 

• turn off - 60.48818, 22.17419 to
• Naantali - 60.46856, 22.02930

(follow the signs) to see the president's summer residence and if there are kids traveling with you, go to Muumimaailma theme park. Spend the night in

• Turku - 60.45078, 22.25864

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Day 9 - Capital to capital

Helsinki Gothic Church in July 2004 - Helsinki cathedral Turku -Helsinki 166 km Turku, Finland's oldest city, capital until 1812, and today Finland's third largest city hosts at two of Finland's main sights; Turku Castle and Gothic Church. Three fourths of the city burned down in the Great Fire of 1827, so many of the buildings in today's Turku date from the 19th century. Close the circle by heading back to

• Helsinki - 60.16799, 24.93793 in the evening. Turku is also a good base if you wish to extend your trip and explore the remarkable archipelago around Turku.

Day 10 - The daughter of the Baltic

Helsinki Of course the capital shouldn't be forgotten. Take a A seaside stroll in Helsinki|seaside stroll, choose among the other Helsinki itineraries or just pick some interesting places from the Helsinki Halal Travel Guide.

Stay Safe

Finland road sign 155.svg|Moose warning road sign Finland is a very safe country even by GCC standards and even more so in rural areas and the basic precautions are always good to remember. When driving outside built-up areas look up for wild animals crossing the road. Crashing into a 500 kg heavy moose with highway speed can obtain fatal consequences!

Travel Next

From Helsinki one can get out the same ways as one arrived. If returning through Sweden you could take the ferry from Turku instead, saving some money and driving.