Driving to Finland

NE-Where

Hi

I'm hoping someone will be able to help. Has anyone any experience of driving to Finland? What is the best route to take - through Sweden or through Poland and the Baltic states? Does anyone know what the Swedish/Baltic equivalent of Travelodge or Premier Inn would be?

It all seems a logistical nightmare .....

Thanks for any help.....

N

PolishBigSpender

My recommendation would be as follows -

From Southern England - DFDS Seaways from Harwich to Esbjerg. From there, it's a straight motorway run across Denmark, then a mostly motorway run through Sweden to Stockholm, from where you can catch very cheap ferries to Finland. If your destination is in Northern Finland, you can just drive north from Stockholm.

From Northern England - this is a bit more difficult. It's hard to recommend going all the way down to Harwich only to come back up, and I would recommnend seeing if you can get any of the freight ferries to carry you. They might very well do so - and this could get you to Sweden easily.

There's also a ferry from Germany to Finland, but I think the service may have ceased - I'm not sure. I don't recommend driving through Poland - the only motoway section on the drive is about 100 miles long at the minute, with the rest of the way on single carrigeway roads that aren't fit for purpose. The drive through the Baltic states is also exceptionally tedious.

NE-Where

up

anyone ?

tonygee_3

Can I ask what is your purpose there,do you need to drive there?
There is budget flights /hire car option

dug123

Hi, My favourite option is Travemunde (Lubeck) to Helsinki by Finnlines ship (with car). This is the expensive option but it is relaxing and the food is top notch (Reindeer, mash and gravy is superb) the cabin and facilities are superb for a boat, it is like a mini luxury cruise and you do arrive in the centre of Helsinki.
2nd option is either Stockholm to Helsinki or Stockhom to Turku. Turku is a nice drive away from Helsinki. These ships are more party boats with bars and restaurants and a nightclub. I can even remember a man riding around on a bicycle selling ice cream from it. This is the cheaper option.
But WARNING - When you arrive in Finland on a ferry there is a very very good chance you will be breathalysed as you drive off so do not spend all night in the bar drinking!!
2nd WARNING - If you arrive between October and March (check dates) you MUST have winter snow tyres fitted when you arrive. If you have not, then your car will be impounded and a local garage will come and fit them (and it costs a fortune). This is why I prefer the Lubeck ship because in Lubeck if you call in a garage and tell them where you are going they will change your anti freeze (I think you want about 50%) and fit winter tyres all for less than £200.

I would be interested to know why anyone would choose to travel to Finland. I would not choose it for a holiday. In 2000 it was found to be the most racist country in the EU and they had to employ personnel from the UK to teach them how to deal with foreigners! I understand a little Finnish and when I went out for a meal with a friend who was from New York (coloured) I could hear the mutterings of why was I (a white man) eating with a Neekeri :mad:(Google it).
The hotels and tourist spots are OK but once you leave them you are on your own. If you try and speak the language if you make any mistakes in your pronounciation they will blank you.
The only good thing I found about Finland was the influx of Russians, the Finnish claim they are all criminals and gangsters but disregarding this they are friendly and great fun.
They also spend a lot of time shooting each other (not tourists fortunately) and have an ongoing war between the Hells Angels and Bandidos and Natural Born Killers (With the Russian and Estonian gangs on the sidelines).
I believe that they have one of the highest murder rates in Europe.:eek:
Have a good holiday.

NE-Where

Thanks for your insider knowledge ....

I'm going to look into the ferry from Germany.

I've heeard Finns can be quite racist and my Finnish brother in law is not keen on Ruskis either......

We're going out there to stay at their summer cottage and will be there for a few weeks so it would be better to have the car with us. Also, looking forward to the adventure.

:beer: cheers,

N

usignuolo

We drove to Finland some years back. From memory we went from Harwich to Denmark, across Denmark to Sweden and from Stockholm crossed by ferry to Turku on the southern end of Finland. Then drove north to our final destination in Tampere.

It is true that there is an element among Finns who like to drink and get into fights but so do the scum of many of our cities and towns on a saturday night. There are plenty of respectable Finns. We did not have any problems at all with violence in Finland, but we were not staying in town but touring and camping.

The countryside is mostly flat and pine forest interspersed with red and white wooden farmsteads. One of the tastiest local delicacies apart from Scandinavian usuals like reindeer meat, are the berry liquers and preserves made from a range of berries which only grow that far north.

The biggest problem was the mozzies - FEROCIOUS! Take max strength repellent.