Finland Hotels and Resorts

OVERVIEW

Visiting Finland is like stepping into a refreshing shower on a hot day. Even in the cultured capital, Helsinki, the air is clean, and the countryside has a cool but seductive beauty. The western coast is fringed with countless islands, while the southern Saimaa district is drenched by myriad sapphire lakes. Here you can sail, fish, or take a relaxing sauna – followed, of course, by a dip in the lake.

In Kuusamo, there are ancient forests where bears and wolves roam, where succulent berries grow, and where lichens glisten on the trees lining the waymarked walking trails. And in Lapland, far to the north, the indigenous Sami people still tend their reindeer herds – when they’re not surfing the Internet, that is: Finland is one of the most technologically switched-on countries in the world.

Finland’s rich, sometimes turbulent, history is revealed in its buildings: onion-domed Orthodox churches speak of the days when it was part of Russia (Finland has the world’s only Lenin Museum), while fortresses like Suomenlinna Castle recall centuries of Swedish rule.

During winter, luscious snows create a sporting wonderland crisscrossed by ski trails, while in warmer weather you can watch an opera at Savonlinna, go canoeing, river rafting or gold panning, or simply join the Finns as they dance the tango under the midnight sun.

Social Conventions
Handshaking is customary. Normal courtesies should be observed. It is customary for the guest to refrain from drinking until the host or hostess toasts their health with a ‘kippis’ or a ‘skol’. Casual dress is acceptable. Black tie will usually be specified when required. Finns appear sometimes to be rather reserved and visitors should not feel alarmed if there is a lack of small talk during the first half hour or so. Shoes must usually be removed when entering someone’s home.

Tipping
A 15 per cent service charge is included in the bill in hotels. Restaurants and bars have a 14 per cent service charge weekdays and a 15 per cent weekends and holidays. The obligatory cloakroom or doorman fee is usually clearly indicated. Taxi drivers, washroom attendants and hairdressers are also tipped.

International Travel:

Air
The national airline of Finland is Finnair (AY). Finland is served by many international airlines including Air Canada, Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, IBERIA, IcelandAir, KLM, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, SWISS and United Airlines.

Approximate flight times
From Helsinki to London is two hours 55 minutes, to New York is eight hours, to San Francisco is 10 hours 10 minutes, to Singapore is 14 hours, to Toronto is eight hours 45 minutes and to Zurich is two hours 55 minutes.

International airports
Helsinki (HEL) (Helsinki-Vantaa) is Finland’s principal international airport, 18km (11 miles) north of the city (travel time – 25 minutes). Finnair City Bus and other services operate to the city regularly (travel time – 35 minutes). Taxi services are available. Some Helsinki hotels run courtesy coaches. Airport facilities include banks/bureaux de change, duty free shops, car hire (Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz), hotel reservation service, VIP lounge, a 24-hour electronic information system with four channels, conference rooms, restaurants, cafes and bars.
The other international airports are Turku (TKU), 7km (5 miles) north of the city; Tampere (TMP), 15km (9 miles) from the city; and Rovaniemi (RVN), 10km (6 miles) from the city.

Departure tax
None.

Sea
Car ferries sail daily from Stockholm and other Swedish ports with Anedin, Birka, Eckerö, Finnlines, Silja and Viking Lines. Other major Finnish ports are Naantali , Turku and Vaasa. There are also ferry services to Finland from Rostock and Travemünde (Germany) and Tallinn (Estonia). Cruise lines with ships docking in Finnish ports include Birka Line, Costa, Crystal, Cunard, Eckerö Line, Fred Olsen, Kristina Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, P&O, Princess, Radisson, Seabourn and Silversea.

Rail
Rail-sea links exist from Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm to Helsinki or Turku. There is a rail connection between Haparanda/Tornio in the north from Sweden, and daily trains to Moscow and St Petersburg.

Road
Most direct road routes include sea ferry links from Sweden or Germany, though there is a northern land link via northern Norway or Sweden to Finnish Lapland, which involves travel within the Arctic Circle. Coach: There are coach services from many European cities, including direct services from London to Helsinki or Turku and Gothenburg with a sea link from Sweden.

The following items may be imported into Finland from non-EU countries without incurring customs duty:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco or 100 cigarillos; 2l of alcoholic beverages of less than 22 per cent by volume or 1l of alcoholic beverages of more than 22 per cent by volume or 2l of wine or 16l of beer; 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette; non-commercial goods to a value of &Euro;185.
The following items may be imported into Finland from EU countries without incurring customs duty: 300 cigarettes or 150 cigarillos or 75 cigars or 400g of tobacco; 1l of alcoholic beverages of more than 22 per cent by volume and 3l of alcoholic beverages of less than 22 per cent by volume and 5l of wines and 64l of beer.

Note
The import of alcoholic beverages over 22 per cent is only allowed by persons aged 20 years or over; alcoholic beverages up to 22 per cent may be imported by persons aged 18 years or over.

Restricted items
The import and export of certain foods, plants, medicines, firearms and works of art are subject to certain restrictions and formalities. The import of drinks containing more than 60 per cent alcohol by volume is prohibited. Contact the Finnish Tourist Board for further details (see General Info section).

Abolition of duty free goods within the EU
On June 30 1999, the sale of duty free alcohol and tobacco at airports and at sea was abolished in all of the original 15 EU member states. Of the 10 new member states that joined the EU on May 1 2004, these rules already apply to Cyprus and Malta. There are transitional rules in place for visitors returning to one of the original 15 EU countries from one of the other new EU countries. But for the original 15, plus Cyprus and Malta, there are now no limits imposed on importing tobacco and alcohol products from one EU country to another (with the exceptions of Denmark, Finland and Sweden, where limits are imposed). Travelers should note that they may be required to prove at customs that the goods purchased are for personal use only.

Internal Travel:

Air
There are 22 domestic airports in Finland. Finnair runs an excellent network of domestic services. For further information, contact their UK Head Office, 14 Clifford Street, London W1S 4BX, UK (tel: (0870) 241 4411; fax: (020) 7629 7289 or (0870) 787 4988; Other domestic airlines include Blue 1 and Golden Air.

Cheap fares
There are some money-saving offers available. These include: Group discounts which vary between 15 per cent and 35 per cent, depending on the size of the group; Senior Citizens’ fares giving special rates (with some restrictions) for persons over 65; Junior fares giving special rates for children aged 12 to 16; and Youth fares giving special rates (with some restrictions) for persons aged 17 to 25. There are special ‘Midnight Sun’ packages to Rovaniemi (Lapland) in June and July. For further information, contact Norvista, 31-5 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TE, UK (tel: (0870) 744 7315; fax: (0870) 744 7310; or the Finnish Tourist Board (see General Info section).

River/Lake
Traffic on the inland waterways is serviced by regular water buses and ferries. There is a wide choice of routes and distances. Popular routes are the ‘Silver Line’ between Hämeenlinna and Tampere and the ‘Poet’s Way’ between Tampere and Virrat. Saimaa Ferries operate lake routes from Lieksa, Koli and Joensuu. There are also regular services on Lake Päijänne and Lake Inari. Lake Päijänne Cruises run services from Lahti, Heinola and Jyväskylä and Roll Cruises operate from Kuopio and Savonlinna. On Lake Pielinen, there are regular services, also by car ferry. Overnight accommodation in small cabins and meals and refreshments are available on lake cruises. For more detailed information on schedules and routes, contact the Finnish Tourist Board (see General Info section).

Rail
There are 6000km (3700 miles) of rail network with modern rolling stock. VR Ltd operates an extensive rail service around Finland. The ‘Pendolino’ fast train runs at a maximum speed of 220km (132 miles) per hour and is designed to operate on all main routes by the end of 2006. Current lines include Helsinki–Turku, Helsinki–Tampere–Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä–Kuopio and Helsinki–Seinäjoki–Oulu. Other trains include express trains (for which seats must be booked in advance), night and car-carrier trains, regional trains and InterCity trains (InterCity2 trains have double-decker cars). Rail travel is cheap and efficient. Children under six years of age travel free of charge, children aged six to 16 pay half price.

Cheap fares
Special tickets offering discounts are available including: Group tickets (minimum of three people), giving 20 per cent discount, valid for one month; Finnrail pass, giving unlimited travel for three, five or 10 days within a period of one month, first- or second-class; Finnish Senior Citizens Rail Card for persons over 65 years of age, entitling the holder to a 50 per cent discount (passport has to be shown); Student Rail Discounts, entitling the student to 50 per cent discounts with a valid student card; Scanrail Pass, valid for 21 days for travel in the Scandinavian countries with reductions of 25 to 50 per cent for young people according to age; Inter-Rail Ticket, valid in Finland as well as the rest of Europe; Eurail Passes and Euro Domino passes are also accepted.
For further details and reservations, contact the Finnish Tourist Board (see General Info section) or Finnish Railways, PO Box 488, 00101 Helsinki (tel: 3072 0902; fax: 3072 0111.

Road
There are 77,000km (47,000 miles) of road. The main roads are passable at all times and are surfaced with asphalt or oil and sand. There are weight restrictions on traffic from April to May in southern Finland, and from May to early June in northern Finland. Traffic drives on the right. Horn-blowing is frowned upon. In some areas, warnings of elk, deer and reindeer crossing will be posted. Drivers involved in an elk or reindeer collision should report the event to the Police immediately. Bus: This is an excellent means of transport. Coach services are run by ExpressBus and there are more than 300 services daily from Helsinki and connections can be made to the most remote and isolated parts of the country. In Lapland, buses are the major means of surface travel. Bus stations have restaurants and shops. Baggage left at one station is dispatched to its destination, even when bus transfers and different bus companies are involved. One child under four is carried free (children aged four to 11 years pay half fare). Seats for coaches can be reserved in advance by paying the full fare and reservation fee. Timetables are widely available. Cheap fares: Group tickets are sold for groups traveling at least 80km (50 miles) and including at least three persons (at least one of whom is aged over 12 years). There is a 50 per cent discount for students when traveling a minimum of 80km. The state post office also runs a bus service with routes that serve the rural areas. Up-to-date details of bus services may be obtained from Matkahuolto . Taxi: Available in every city and from airports or major hotels. Taxi drivers are not tipped. Taxis have a yellow taksi sign which is lit when the taxi is vacant. They can be booked at taxi ranks or signalled from the street. Fares are more expensive at nights (Sun-Fri 2000-0600, Sat 1600-0600). Car hire: Cars can be rented in Helsinki and other places. The minimum age varies from 19 to 25 years of age depending on the company and all must have a minimum of one year’s driving experience. The rates usually include oil, maintenance, liability and insurance, but no petrol. A few caravans are for hire. Regulations: Seat belts must be worn by the driver and all passengers (front and back seat). Car headlights must be kept on at all times. Cars towing caravans may not exceed 80kph (50mph). Cars and caravans must have the same tires. Studded tires are allowed from 1 October to 30 April or when weather conditions are appropriate. From 1 December until 28 February, snow tires are a legal requirement for vehicles under 3.5 tons. It is possible to hire tires. Further information can be obtained from Autoliitto (Automobile and Touring Club of Finland), Hämeentie 105A, 00550 Helsinki (tel: (9) 7258 4400; fax: (9) 7258 4460;. If involved in an accident, immediately contact the Finnish Motor Insurer’s Bureau (Liikennevakuutuskeskus), Bulevardi 28, 00120 Helsinki (tel: (9) 6804 0611; fax: (9) 6804 0474; . Documentation: National driving license or International Driving Permit and insurance required.

Urban
Efficient and integrated bus, metro and tramway services, suburban rail lines and ferry services to Suomenlinna Islands are operated in Helsinki. A common fares system applies to all the modes (including the ferries) with a zonal flat fare and free transfer between services. Multi-trip tickets are sold in advance, as are various passes. The peninsular location of the city has led to an emphasis on public transport. Tram no. 3 passes most of the main tourist attractions – a free brochure in English is available for those who wish to take the trip. Helsinki Card: This is available for one, two or three days. Once purchased, it gives free travel on public transport and free entry to about 50 museums and other sights in the city. The card comes with a guidebook giving details of the museums, sights and other discounts on offer. Enquire at the Tourist Board for prices and further details.

Travel times
The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Helsinki to other major cities/towns in Finland.

Geography
Finland is situated in the far north of Europe. Bordered to the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, to the north by Norway, to the east by the Russian Federation and to the south by the Gulf of Finland, it is the fifth-largest country in Europe. There are about 30,000 islands off the Finnish coast, mainly in the south and southwest, and inland lakes containing a further 98,000 islands. The Saimaa lake area is the largest inland water system in Europe. Of the total land area, 10 per cent is under water, and 65 per cent is forest, the country being situated almost entirely in the northern coniferous zone. In the south and southwest, the forest is mainly pine, fir and birch. In Lapland, in the far north, trees become more sparse and are mainly dwarf birch. 8 per cent of the land is cultivated.