Thinking of organizing this for early July.
Has anyone done this combo?
Is Finland worth a trip on its own? I get the sense its just a lot of lakes and woodland.
Has anyone done the ferry between Helsinki and Tallin?
Is this too much for a 9 day trip?
Any advice appreciated.
If you were to visit Finland on a separate trip, then perhaps you could include Lithuania with Estonia and Latvia on this trip.
Many decades ago while in Leningrad, Russia (USSR times), I witnessed this first-hand as all foreign visitors had to stay in special hotels for foreigners only.
For some cultural background information Goggle this article from January 18, 2021:
On the rocks: how vodka tourism shaped and shattered decades of Soviet-Finnish relations.
Lucky for me, I donāt drink vodkaš
Neither do I, but it was an incredible sight. And not uncommon.
Thought it would be risky as one could be thrown in prison for making comments against the USSR as drunk folks are not known for their discretion.
Even in the bars for citizens of the Soviet Union, it was āacceptableā to drink until one passed out at his table.
We were in Tallinn and Helsinki years ago as part of a cruise (St. Petersburg too).
We loved Tallinn! Would recommend but itās small and I donāt think you would need too much time there. We met up with friends in Helsinki which was fantastic, but I have to say in terms of city, it was my least favorite of stop. Sweden on the other handā¦would highly recommend. There is an overnight ferry from Tallinn to Stockholm.
A big part of the reason for going to Helsinki is that we would fly there directly from the north of England. My daughter said there is an interesting āSovietā vibe to Helsinki, so we thought maybe a night or two, then get a ferry to Tallinn. But maybe Stockholm is going to be easier and more worthwhile.
OK. Yes, Stockholm. My son lives in Sweden for another 1.5 yearās. We were just there this past summer. Sweden is beautiful in July. If youāre there for Midsomsor itās really something fun to be park of. He went to Finland for some meetings and really enjoyed his time there.
Thatās the main reason I didnāt enjoy Helsinki ā itās dominated by big, Soviet-style concrete buildings. My husband wanted to visit the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, which hosted the games in 1952, so we checked that out along with a small outdoor market downtown. It was just a brief stop on a cruise. We also visited Tallinn which was very picturesque.
Yes! Iāve done this trip, although it was a number of years ago.
This is what I did. It was great! So many drunken Finsā¦(apparently, at the time, they would go to Estonia for cheap booze).
Depends on how much you want to see of each place. Are you just doing the capitals or interested in getting out more? If youāre just doing capitals, it can be done in 9 days.
I went to a conference in Finland in late June/early July in the early 1990s and took a week to tour the country. Helsinki was interesting but didnāt need more than a day and the better architecture was more modernist than ancient (think Dulles airport!), certainly nothing like the old Hanseatic towns around the Baltic (including Tallinn though Iāve not been there).
I enjoyed the Lake District (I went to Savonlinna), admittedly in good weather, for swimming and I imagine boating would be fun too.
But the main reason to go at that time of year was to head to the far north (Lapland) to see the midnight Sun. I did some hiking there, stayed in some remote huts in Pyha-Luosto and Urho-Kekkonen National Parks. I mostly hitched once I got beyond the end of the rail line. The landscape isnāt that exciting, it has nothing on Norway, though the remote vastness has a beauty of its own (especially as I was backpacking completely on my own). If Iād had the time (and a rental car!) to go all the way to the Arctic Ocean I expect it would have been more spectacular.
What were the highlights of each place? I do like to get out of the cities and see the countryside.
Thatās quite a journey! I get the sense that Finland is better for tourists in the winter. What highlights would you recommend? Can you actually drive right to the Arctic?
I definitely recommend visiting Tallinn (one day may be enough). Beautiful old town area with a mix of Swedish, German, and Russian influences. Tartu is also a charming historic university town if you have more time for Estonia. Havenāt been to Finland or Sweden.
Riga is beautiful, too.
I guess that nowadays Finland is geared up to ice and snow experiences in winter. The roads are fine to drive in summer, very quiet in the north. But distances are very long, itās over 900 miles from Helsinki to the North Cape.
If you were going to do that then the best option would be the night train to Kolari then pick up a rental car there (I took the night train to Kemijarvi and back from Rovaniemi but wasnāt heading on to Norway):
It looks like thereās a nice driving loop (3-4 days?) up into Norway and back through northern Finland. I would have loved to have gone to the Arctic Ocean. Most of the tourists I met were trying to do that trip
Finland absolutely is worth a trip on its own, but it is easy and fun to take the ferry for a jaunt to Tallinn! One small note that wonāt impact a July visit, but in the winter, that ferry serves its own icebreaker and the impact can cause the boat to roll considerably. Another fun place to visit and much shorter boat ride from Helsinki is Suomenlinna.
I just did a fairly quick tour of the capitals, so didnāt get out of the cities. I loved all three cities, though. Honestly, of the three Baltic states, Lithuania actually resonates the most with me (the one not on your list). But Riga and Tallinn are lovely cities in their own right. And the ferry is fun.