Finland itinerary, day by day

From Helsinki to Rovaniemi, by way of the wooden old town of Porvoo and the lakes of Saimaa: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: June to August (summer) and December to March (northern lights)

Helsinki · Photo Alvesgaspar / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Finland in 3 days

2 stops · 11 things to do · ≈ 50 km

1Helsinki

Days 1-2

A capital on the Baltic, laid out in the nineteenth century around the white cathedral of Senate Square. Public saunas, design shops, and the island fortress of Suomenlinna a short ferry ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Suomenlinna fortress (ferry and visit)Half day · from €15
A sea fortress built across a group of islands from 1748, UNESCO-listed, reached by the city ferry in about fifteen minutes.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Public sauna and a cold dip2h · from €20
The Finnish ritual: heat, a plunge into the sea or a cold pool, then back in. Löyly and Allas Sea Pool are the best known in Helsinki.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Helsinki Cathedral · The Market Square by the harbour · The Design District

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: The Yard Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Katajanokka (€130 a night) · Luxury: Hotel St. George (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Restaurant Skörd ↗ ★ 4.9 · 364 reviews
Restaurant Spis ↗ ★ 4.8 · 310 reviews
Restaurant Bona Fide ↗ ★ 4.8 · 267 reviews
Hills Dumplings ↗ ★ 4.7 · 2290 reviews · €€
Restaurant Olo ↗ ★ 4.7 · 671 reviews · €€€€

Photo Max Avans / Pexels

🚌 Bus · 1h · 50 km

2Porvoo

Day 3

One of the oldest towns in Finland, fifty kilometres east of Helsinki. Red wooden storehouses line the river, and the cobbled lanes of the old town climb behind them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk of the wooden old town1h30 · from €12
The red riverside storehouses and the wooden houses behind them, with someone to tell you who lived there.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise from Helsinki3h · from €35
Along the archipelago to Porvoo by boat, a few hours each way. It runs in summer only.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The red storehouses along the river · Porvoo Cathedral · The cobbled lanes · Craft and chocolate shops

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Sparre (€95 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Onni (€120 a night) · Luxury: Haikko Manor (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Tropa's Hub ↗ ★ 4.9 · 193 reviews
Bistro Mestari ↗ ★ 4.8 · 177 reviews
Taste Times ↗ ★ 4.8 · 142 reviews
Via Armonia ↗ ★ 4.7 · 486 reviews · €€
Alexander Grill House ↗ ★ 4.6 · 435 reviews · €€

Photo Paul Theodor Oja / Pexels

Finland in 7 days

4 stops · 23 things to do · train & flight

1Helsinki

Days 1-2

A capital on the Baltic, laid out in the nineteenth century around the white cathedral of Senate Square. Public saunas, design shops, and the island fortress of Suomenlinna a short ferry ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Suomenlinna fortress (ferry and visit)Half day · from €15
A sea fortress built across a group of islands from 1748, UNESCO-listed, reached by the city ferry in about fifteen minutes.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Public sauna and a cold dip2h · from €20
The Finnish ritual: heat, a plunge into the sea or a cold pool, then back in. Löyly and Allas Sea Pool are the best known in Helsinki.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Helsinki Cathedral · The Market Square by the harbour · The Design District

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: The Yard Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Katajanokka (€130 a night) · Luxury: Hotel St. George (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Max Avans / Pexels

🚌 Bus · 1h · 50 km

2Porvoo

Day 3

One of the oldest towns in Finland, fifty kilometres east of Helsinki. Red wooden storehouses line the river, and the cobbled lanes of the old town climb behind them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk of the wooden old town1h30 · from €12
The red riverside storehouses and the wooden houses behind them, with someone to tell you who lived there.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise from Helsinki3h · from €35
Along the archipelago to Porvoo by boat, a few hours each way. It runs in summer only.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The red storehouses along the river · Porvoo Cathedral · The cobbled lanes · Craft and chocolate shops

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Sparre (€95 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Onni (€120 a night) · Luxury: Haikko Manor (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Paul Theodor Oja / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h · 250 km

3Lake Saimaa

Days 4-5

The largest lake in Finland, a maze of islands and forest. It is home to the Saimaa ringed seal, found nowhere else, with only a few hundred left.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake cruise and locksHalf day · from €30
Half a day on the water between the islands. Some routes pass through the locks that join the lake basins.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayak or floating sauna2h · from €35
Paddle between the islands, or take a sauna on a raft and swim straight off the edge.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Islands and forest as far as you can see · Saimaa ringed seals · Lake swimming in summer · Lakeside nature trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Original Sokos Hotel Lappee (€120 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Kulttuurikellari & Kellarin ravintola ↗ ★ 4.7 · 179 reviews · €€
Kalastajan Koju ↗ ★ 4.5 · 977 reviews · €€
Kahvila - Ravintola & Hotelli Saima ↗ ★ 4.5 · 605 reviews · €€
Beer Restaurant Sillansuu ↗ ★ 4.4 · 722 reviews · €€
Ravintola Majakka ↗ ★ 4.3 · 1255 reviews · €€

Photo Raul Ling / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h20 · heading north

4Rovaniemi (Lapland)

Days 6-7

The capital of Finnish Lapland, rebuilt after 1944. The Arctic Circle crosses at Santa Claus Village, a few kilometres north, and the northern lights show on clear nights from late August to early April.

🎟️ Worth booking

Snowmobile safari and northern lightsEvening · from €120
An evening out on the snow, away from the town lights, to give the aurora its best chance. Sightings are never guaranteed.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Santa Claus Village and reindeerHalf day · from €45
Santa's village on the Arctic Circle, then a sleigh ride or a visit to a reindeer farm.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Arctic Circle line · Snow-covered forests · The northern lights (winter) · The midnight sun (summer)

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostel Café Koti (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Arctic City Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Arctic TreeHouse Hotel (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Namu ↗ ★ 5 · 186 reviews
Hanki ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1100 reviews · €€
Restaurant Glena ↗ ★ 4.9 · 573 reviews · €
Lappish Restaurant Taiga ↗ ★ 4.8 · 328 reviews
Arctic Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1009 reviews · €€€

Photo Fatih Turan / Pexels

Finland in 14 days

5 stops · 28 things to do · train & flight

1Helsinki

Days 1-3

A capital on the Baltic, laid out in the nineteenth century around the white cathedral of Senate Square. Public saunas, design shops, and the island fortress of Suomenlinna a short ferry ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Suomenlinna fortress (ferry and visit)Half day · from €15
A sea fortress built across a group of islands from 1748, UNESCO-listed, reached by the city ferry in about fifteen minutes.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Public sauna and a cold dip2h · from €20
The Finnish ritual: heat, a plunge into the sea or a cold pool, then back in. Löyly and Allas Sea Pool are the best known in Helsinki.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Helsinki Cathedral · The Market Square by the harbour · The Design District

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: The Yard Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Katajanokka (€130 a night) · Luxury: Hotel St. George (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Max Avans / Pexels

🚌 Bus · 1h · 50 km

2Porvoo

Days 4-5

One of the oldest towns in Finland, fifty kilometres east of Helsinki. Red wooden storehouses line the river, and the cobbled lanes of the old town climb behind them.

🎟️ Worth booking

Guided walk of the wooden old town1h30 · from €12
The red riverside storehouses and the wooden houses behind them, with someone to tell you who lived there.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise from Helsinki3h · from €35
Along the archipelago to Porvoo by boat, a few hours each way. It runs in summer only.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The red storehouses along the river · Porvoo Cathedral · The cobbled lanes · Craft and chocolate shops

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Sparre (€95 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Onni (€120 a night) · Luxury: Haikko Manor (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Paul Theodor Oja / Pexels

🚆 Train · 3h · 250 km

3Lake Saimaa

Days 6-8

The largest lake in Finland, a maze of islands and forest. It is home to the Saimaa ringed seal, found nowhere else, with only a few hundred left.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lake cruise and locksHalf day · from €30
Half a day on the water between the islands. Some routes pass through the locks that join the lake basins.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayak or floating sauna2h · from €35
Paddle between the islands, or take a sauna on a raft and swim straight off the edge.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Islands and forest as far as you can see · Saimaa ringed seals · Lake swimming in summer · Lakeside nature trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range: Original Sokos Hotel Lappee (€120 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Raul Ling / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h20 · heading north

4Rovaniemi (Lapland)

Days 9-13

🎟️ Worth booking

Snowmobile safari and northern lightsEvening · from €120
An evening out on the snow, away from the town lights, to give the aurora its best chance. Sightings are never guaranteed.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Santa Claus Village and reindeerHalf day · from €45
Santa's village on the Arctic Circle, then a sleigh ride or a visit to a reindeer farm.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Arctic Circle line · Snow-covered forests · The northern lights (winter) · The midnight sun (summer)

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hostel Café Koti (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Arctic City Hotel (€140 a night) · Luxury: Arctic TreeHouse Hotel (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fatih Turan / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h20 · return

5Helsinki

Day 14 · return

A capital on the Baltic, laid out in the nineteenth century around the white cathedral of Senate Square. Public saunas, design shops, and the island fortress of Suomenlinna a short ferry ride away.

🎟️ Worth booking

Suomenlinna fortress (ferry and visit)Half day · from €15
A sea fortress built across a group of islands from 1748, UNESCO-listed, reached by the city ferry in about fifteen minutes.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Public sauna and a cold dip2h · from €20
The Finnish ritual: heat, a plunge into the sea or a cold pool, then back in. Löyly and Allas Sea Pool are the best known in Helsinki.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Helsinki Cathedral · The Market Square by the harbour · The Design District

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: The Yard Hostel (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Katajanokka (€130 a night) · Luxury: Hotel St. George (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Max Avans / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Salmon and lake fish: perch, whitefish and vendace, smoked, fried or cured.
Karjalanpiirakka: Karelian pasties, a thin rye crust around rice porridge, eaten with egg butter.
Lohikeitto: a creamy salmon soup with potatoes and dill.
Rye bread and forest berries: bilberries, lingonberries and cloudberries, picked in late summer.
Coffee and korvapuusti: Finns drink more coffee per head than anyone, with a cardamom and cinnamon bun alongside.

⚠️ What to avoid

Budget ahead: eating out and drinking cost a lot, and most wine and all spirits are sold only in the state Alko shops.
Mosquitoes are thick in Lapland in summer, above all in July: bring a strong repellent.
Sauna has its customs: shower first, sit on a towel or paper seat, and expect nudity in single-sex saunas.
Winter means deep cold and short days: dress in layers and plan time outdoors around the light.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Finland guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Finland, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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