Finland Tours & Vacations

About Finland

Finland has four distinct seasons, the midnight sun, long winter nights and a distinctive culture in the different regions of the country. Finnish people are warm and genuine and treat each other as equals. Democracy and equality are considered very important value for them.
Finland is a bilingual country: the main language is Finnish, and Swedish is spoken by some people. All population groups and regions of the country has equal educational opportunities regardless of their race, ethnicity, age, religion etc.
Finland is one of the safest and stable societies in the world. It is also one of the leading information societies in the world. Finland is in European Union and has strong ties with the other Scandinavian countries.
Nature is everywhere in Finland. Approximately 70 percent of the land is covered by forest, there are about 188 000 lakes, 1 100 km of coastline and around 81 000 islands off the coast. The archipelago that lies between mainland Finland and Sweden is the largest in Europe.

Weather, Climate and Geography

During the winter months, temperatures can drop as low as –35 degrees Celsius. Luckily, this is not the norm: regular winter temperatures fall somewhere between –5 and –15.
In the summer, it gets as hot as 30 degrees Celsius, sometimes even more. Normal summer temperature is a bit over 20 degrees. In Finland, it is common to have up to a 70-degree difference in temperature between January and July.
During January and February, there is almost always snow in northern and eastern Finland. Even if there’s little snow in Helsinki, there’s often up to a meter or more on the skiing slopes of Lapland. The snow season in northern Finland begins in November and lasts at least until April-May. In the inland regions of southern and central Finland, the first snow falls at the beginning of December and melts during March.
Geographically, Helsinki is situated on the southern peninsula by the Gulf of Finland. Facing Tallinn (Estonia) across the bay, a number of islands, which are part of Helsinki, can be reached via boats and ferries. North of Helsinki leads to other cities in Finland and connects to the borders of Sweden and Russia.

Required clothing

If you are planning a winter visit, get a warm, padded winter jacket. Thermal underwear, a warm hat, thick socks and gloves help a lot when temperatures drop below freezing.
If you have trouble finding winter gear where you come from, don’t worry – everything can be purchased in Finland. Warm clothing is included in guided safaris and other winter excursions.
In the autumn and spring, waterproof footwear comes in handy if you intend exploring the outdoors. In the summer, casual wear is pretty much the same as in other parts of northern and central Europe – light trousers, shorts, tee-shirts and so on.

Did you know?

• Almost half of Finland’s foreign population lives in Helsinki.
• World’s biggest coffee drinkers are neither Italians nor French. It is Finns.
• In Finland, there are more than 2 million saunas. %99 percent of Finns take a sauna at least once a week. There is a Burger King in Finland which actually has sauna in-store.
• There are 187,888 lakes in Finland.
• Northern Lights, Midnight Sun & Polar Night; these spectacular events can all be experienced in Finland.
• Whether it’s a few-minute ride you want or a safari, you can explore the Finnish Lapland via the transport of reindeer or huskies. Bundle up!
• Finland was the first country in Europe to give women the right to vote.
• Finland has more forest than any other European country. 74% of the country is forested.
• In the winter, the sun never reaches the horizon. In June and July, the sun stays above the horizon, casting a white light even in the middle of the night.
• One of the most endangered seal populations in the world live in Lake Saimaa, Finland. Only about 320 of the Saimaa Ringed Seals are estimated to remain.