🇫🇮 Europe
The land of a thousand lakes, endless forests and magical Lapland: Finland combines northern lights, steaming saunas, Santa Claus's village and flawless Nordic design.
Finland is the land of a thousand lakes (about 188,000, in fact) and of endless forests: a quiet country in the far north of Europe where nature, silence and the sauna are close to a religion. It is the home of Santa Claus, of the northern lights, of the midnight sun and of flawless Nordic design. Helsinki, its maritime capital, is calm and elegant. For a Latin American traveller it is an extremely safe, orderly destination with a sense of calm that is hard to find anywhere else, though you should come with your budget ready because it is expensive.
The south holds the cities and the mildest weather: Helsinki, neighbouring Porvoo, Turku and its archipelago, and the lake region (Lakeland) around Saimaa, a land of wooden cabins. The north is Finnish Lapland, with Rovaniemi — on the Arctic Circle and Santa Claus's official home —, the glass igloos, the northern lights and Sami culture. Everything is well connected by train, including the night service up to the Arctic, so a typical trip pairs Helsinki with a getaway to Lapland or to the lakes.
The best of Finland is that mix of pure nature with a society where everything works and calm rules; what surprises you is how deeply the sauna is part of daily life (there are more saunas than cars) and how magical the contrast is between the dark, snowy winter and the summer of days that never seem to end.
The local currency is the euro (EUR). Finland is a virtually cashless country: you pay by card even for the smallest coffee, so you will hardly need banknotes. Even so, tell your bank before you travel and check the day's exchange rate.
Full converter for EUR →Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) is the way in, with a train to the centre in half an hour. From there VR trains connect the country and run all the way to Lapland: the night train to Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi is the classic way to head north, and it takes cars on board. Ferries cross to Tallinn in two hours and to Stockholm overnight. In winter, when the distances up north get long and daylight is short, it is worth flying: Finnair serves Ivalo, Kittilä and Kuusamo. Within Helsinki, a single ticket covers the tram, the metro, the bus and the ferry to Suomenlinna.
Finland has two very different seasons and both are worth it. Summer (June to August) is ideal for the south and the lakes: mild weather, nature at its best, festivals and very long days — up north, a midnight sun that never sets. It is high season and more expensive, with the Finns themselves on holiday at their cabins, especially in July, when many city businesses slow down. It is the best time for boating, hiking and enjoying the archipelago.
Winter (December to March) is Lapland's magical season: snow, husky safaris, Santa Claus's village and, above all, the northern lights, better the further north you go and with clear skies. That said, in the far north the sun barely rises and the cold is intense (well below zero). In the south, winter is dark but full of Christmas charm. Late spring and early autumn are quieter and cheaper options; autumn also brings the 'ruska', when the forests turn red and gold.
Finnish cooking is simple and built on what comes from the forest and the water. Try salmon (often cooked over an open fire, 'loimulohi', or in a creamy soup, 'lohikeitto'), meatballs, reindeer in Lapland, and dark rye bread. On the street, the classic is the 'lihapiirakka' (a fried filled pastry). On the sweet side, the 'korvapuusti' (a cinnamon and cardamom bun) that goes with coffee — Finns are among the world's biggest coffee drinkers — and, in summer, wild berries. One curious product is salty liquorice ('salmiakki'), which divides opinion.
Eating out is expensive: a dish at a mid-range restaurant runs about 18 to 35 USD and a beer, 8 to 10 USD (verified July 2026). The great trick for spending less is the midday buffet ('lounas'), which serves a generous meal for around 12 to 15 USD, far cheaper than dinner. Covered markets, fast food and cooking with supermarket shopping at K-Market, S-Market or Lidl also help. Tipping is not compulsory: service is already included and rounding up is enough.
Finland is one of the safest and calmest countries in the world, and travelling here is very easy and uneventful. Crimes against tourists are rare; at most, the odd pickpocket in busy parts of Helsinki in summer, so keeping an eye on your phone and your backpack is enough. The biggest 'threat' tends to be nature: extreme cold in winter (you need to dress very warmly) and, in summer, the mosquitoes up north. The general feeling is one of enormous trust and calm.
No vaccines are required to enter and the health system is first rate. Tap water is drinkable and among the best in the world, so refill your bottle without hesitating. In summer, in forested areas, watch out for ticks if you are going hiking. Always take out good travel insurance, because medical care for foreigners without cover is expensive. The single emergency number is 112 (police, ambulance and fire), free from any mobile; there is even an official '112 Suomi' app that sends your location (verified July 2026).
Finland is an expensive destination, in line with the rest of the Nordic countries. A backpacker sleeping in hostels and eating cheaply gets by on about 70 to 95 USD a day; a mid-range budget, with a simple hotel and meals out, runs around 130 to 180 USD; and a comfortable trip easily tops 200 USD a day (verified July 2026). Lapland in winter, with its activities (safaris, igloos), pushes the budget up considerably. These figures do not include the international flight from Latin America, which almost always means a stopover in Europe.
For reference (July 2026): a bed in a hostel dorm costs between 30 and 45 USD; the midday buffet (lounas), 12 to 15 USD; a meal at a mid-range restaurant, 18 to 35 USD; a transport ticket in Helsinki, around 3-4 USD; and a day pass, about 9 USD. The Helsinki Card helps if you plan to visit a lot of museums. You save by making the most of the midday buffet, museums and parks, cooking with supermarket shopping, and the 'everyman's right' that allows free camping in nature.
The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, but Finland is one of the countries where English is spoken best in the world: practically everyone is fluent, so a Latin American gets by without trouble even though Finnish (a language unlike any other you know) sounds impossible. Spanish is barely understood outside tourism. Finns are reserved, quiet and respectful of other people's space; they value punctuality, honesty and calm. Not talking for the sake of talking is not rudeness: it is part of their culture. Taking your shoes off when entering a home is the norm.
Sockets are type C and F, with 230 V and 50 Hz, so from much of Latin America you will need an adapter (and should check that your device is dual voltage if it runs on 110 V). Connectivity is excellent — Finland is the birthplace of Nokia — and an eSIM or a European prepaid SIM is worth it, much cheaper than roaming and, as this is the EU, valid across the whole bloc. A tip from someone who has been there: if you are invited to a sauna, say yes and follow the customs (it is usually without clothes and separated by sex); it is the most Finnish gesture of all and an experience you will not forget.
Finland is one of those countries that seem to have invented themselves against all odds. For centuries it was borderland between two empires: first the eastern province of the kingdom of Sweden, then an autonomous Grand Duchy under the tsar of Russia. Only in 1917, amid the collapse of the Russian Empire, did it declare independence, and it did so with a language that resembles none of its neighbours' and with a handful of inhabitants scattered among forests, lakes and a winter that lasts half the year. That this country ended up as one of the most prosperous, best educated and most equal on the planet is, in large part, the story this page tells.
Here you will find the full arc: from the first hunters who arrived as the ice retreated and the Sami who inhabited the north, through six hundred years of Swedish rule, the century of national awakening around the Kalevala, independence and the short but brutal civil war, the two wars against the Soviet Union that shaped the national character, the postwar years of so-called "Finlandisation", the welfare state and the Nokia phenomenon, up to joining NATO in 2023 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hard history told with precision, without bronze-statue epics or euphemisms.
Read the full history of Finland →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
