This coming Friday is Good Friday, and that means Holiday!
Next week at around this time, I should be on my way to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and spending some time there before I head North to Rovaniemi.
So this past week I had been planning quite considerably for my travelling during the Holiday week, from 31 March to 6 April, and it is definitely not easy to try to plan where to go, where to stay, and budgeting of possible expenses.
just see how many tabs I had to open, not easy to plan...
So, in this post, I would like to introduce a 'draft' of my itinerary for that week, and introduce some aspects of travelling in Finland, and my thought processes behind why I made those decisions. 2 weeks later at this time, this post will also serve as sort of a reflection for me to see in hindsight, if I made the right choices, and I will update again when that day comes!
1. Train Ride to Helsinki (31 March)
First to give a reference point, I am currently in Mikkeli, which is about 3 hours from Helsinki. Here is a map reference!
47-49 hours on walking, why not?
I initially wanted to take a train from Mikkeli up north, straight to Lapland, Rovaniemi. I asked around and it seemed that this was a possible route, but there needs to be a few transfers, and it takes about more than 10 hours. I guess if it was Shinkansen level comfort, I would be happy to take it. But after checking out prices, it seems that it wasn't really the better choice.
maybe if i walk faster, i can reach earlier
For train tickets I used the VR website (https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage).
They are the main operators of the inter-city trains in Finland, and tickets are able to be bought online. It is advisable to purchase the tickets early for lower prices.
The price I got for the return ticket was 31.40 Euros (SGD$51)
This price is inclusive of a basic seat, where you are able to choose which cabin and seat you prefer. There are additional seat options on different cabins, and within the trains there are also 'food cabins' where you are able to purchase snacks or drinks from the in carriage cafe.
Some of the private cabins look quite Harry-Potter-esque, so it was quite cool.
something like this
2. Overnight stay in Helsinki
I actually just, literally, booked this hotel.
My train reaches Helsinki on 1 april at 1pm and the flight to Rovaniemi is at 2pm so I decided not to risk it and come to Helsinki one day earlier.
So I left this portion to the last because I had some difficulty finding a good deal for just an overnight stay. Especially since I am booking this rather late, and it happens to be just one day after Good Friday, prices are at its peak.
you can hardly get anything decent lower than $100
I chose somewhere near the HEL Vantaa airport so that I could relax and go to the airport just a stone's throw away for my flight the next day.
Do note that this was out of my budget range, as it cost even more than my next accommodation in Helsinki for 2 nights at the end of the trip. I compared prices for quite awhile, and booked using Expedia.
For 2 people, with free breakfast, it set me about SGD$140.
Definitely on the higher end.
3. Flight to Rovaniemi
On the 1 April I will be jetting off on a 1 hour-ish flight from HEL (Helsinki Airport) to RVN (Rovaniemi airport). This is the first time I have taken this route, and flying domestic actually, in any country.
faster on plane, of course
There were not many choices for flight brands for this route, so I went with Finnair, the national carrier I took from Singapore to Helsinki. Other brands included Norwegian, but when comparing prices online, Finnair still came out on top. For the less popular, non peak periods, you could expect lower prices.
I paid 118.72 Euros (SGD$193) for the round trip ticket, for 1 person.
4. Rovaniemi Experience
When visiting Lapland, after some research, some places of interest to visit would be the Santa Claus Village, possibly the Zoo, or the Angry Bird park. And some things to do would include Husky, Reindeer Sleighs, Snow Mobiles, Walking along the arctic circle, and of course, the Northern Lights sight. I would be visiting in April, a little towards the end of the winter period so I hope it would still be cold enough to do certain activities. I checked that the snow mobile experience might be over by March so that one is out.
High SES activities
One experience I have already decided upon and would most likely be purchasing is the Northern Lights tour. All these cost quite a bit, so you have to be prepared to fork out quite alot of money. Reading reviews on TripAdvisor would also garner results such as 'tourist trap', 'I found something cheaper after going there', so for this segment I did a more deliberate research to see if I could find the best deals.
please let me see the Lights OTL
Off the surface you would be able to find Northern Lights tours (3 hours duration) for about 100 euros per person. I asked around, and did more checking and found a pretty reputable company to purchase a 55 euro package from. I haven't actually bought it yet, but i would most likely be using their services
NortsaV Tours
https://nortsavfiadmin.checkfront.com/reserve/#D20180401
There are other companies I heard that you could purchase directly from after reaching Rovaniemi, so I can't be sure of that yet. There are also packages on Viator (TripAdvisor is their parent company) that seem to be quite reasonable as well, such as this:
https://www.viator.com/tours/Rovaniemi/Northern-Lights-Aurora-borealis-picnic-by-car-in-Rovaniemi/d22130-32988P16
I chose an Airbnb for my 3 nights accommodation as I had credits that would be expiring this June. I chose to stay near the Central, and the price was quite decent as well. I hope the apartment looks as good as in the photos.
The cost for this was SGD$275.18 before i used my $100 credits.
It's an apartment for 2 people so the price is still rather affordable.
5. Return to Helsinki
After having a 3 night stay in Rovaniemi, I will be heading back to Helsinki for a 2 Night capital sightseeing trip. I had some credits left on Expedia as well so I booked my apartment for this leg of the trip through them.
I can't really tell which part of Helsinki is the most convenient to stay at, so I looked at the map and reviews and chose something that looked okay. There were a few options to choose from, one of the interesting ones I saw was Hotel Katajanokka, which is actually a hotel remodeled from what was once a Prison. However the location looked rather off, something like Sentosa island in Singapore. So i opted for another apartment to stay at. I might book this on my next visit to Helsinki.
i really might give it a try!
The cost for this 2 nights is SGD$168, before my $68 discount on Expedia.
I managed to scrap back some % through my booking on Shopback as well.
Basically if you buy things, book trips, through Shopback, you're able to claim back some % of the booking.
Only for Singapore/Malaysian friends, sorry!
In Helsinki, I haven't researched much, but we would most probably be visiting a museum, walking around the city, and taking a boat to Suomenlinna, where there is a fortress there, maybe ice skating and taking photos of cathedrals. Not really set on this yet, so we'll see as we get there! If anyone has suggestions for one thing to do in Helsinki, please write it below! Thank you! :D
6. Return to Mikkeli
At the end of next week, I would be taking a train ride back home to Mikkeli, and that will conclude my week holiday!
Breakdown of costs for 2 People (excluding discounts):
Train tickets: $51
Return Flight: $386
Helsinki 1 Night: $140
Rovaniemi 3 Nights: $276
Northern Lights tour: $180
Helsinki 2 Nights: $168
Total: SGD$1201
I believe that I would have been able to further lower these costs if I booked some things earlier, and avoid the peak travelling period, after the Good Friday Holidays. But sometimes these can't really be helped due to time constraints. Even so, I think that you can use these costs as a reference point, when you are planning a trip to Helsinki or Lapland!
I have yet to visit the places as well, so in hindsight, I might have over spent or under spent on certain aspects. But travelling isn't always fully predictable, so I will just let myself be (pleasantly) surprised as I embark on my adventure next week!
Please let me know of any recommendations on places/food/MUST DO STUFF in these places.
I hope this post has been informational and helpful in a way!
note: I am an Amateur at Finland Travels, I can budget and plan way better for Japan trips!
For my introduction post please check here!
Where else have I travelled to?
Check Seanytan's SteemitWorldMap!