TWO-WEEK road trip with children to Finland – the planning of the trip, the route, and travel blog with photos
NordenBladet – Travelling in the Nordic countries is safe and within a short time you are able to visit several sightseeings. The Nordic people themselves prefer to travel more and more in the home country and other Nordic countries since the native culture, the beautiful nature, the high quality services and modern opportunities outmatch any distant journey.
NordenBladet journalists bring the best travel blogs and the most interesting events throughout Scandinavia as well as more broadly the Nordic countries to the Nordic reader in four languages (English, Finnish, Swedish, Estonian). Our travel rubrics are read by more than 750 000 readers monthly. So what is it that makes the Northern countries so mystical and interesting? The answer is simple – the many centuries of local culture and intact nature! The affection towards your cultural heritage and the desire to preserve it for your children is ingrained deep inside every long time Nordic inhabitant. The weather is less and less the object of whining since there are plenty of exciting things to do around the year in the Nordic countries.
In this blog I give a glimpse and an overview about the two-week holiday travel in Finland. A similar travel would be easy to plan for Estonian, Swedish, Norwegian as well as Finnish citizens themselves, because the departure need not be just Helsinki but also elswhere. The Nordic countries enjoy well built roads and crossing the borders inside Scandinavia is convenient when you are local.
Why choose travelling by car?
When travelling with children there will always be a lot of luggage and since the car carries the luggage you have less worries. Travelling by car you will be able to plan the time and make stops whenever you feel like. I also like that you will be able to see places that the typical tourist won’t visit. The brightest and most memorable recollections are from completely random places where as a member of a group of tourists you would never end up. HERE I have brought out eight reasons why it is great to travel by car in the Nordic countries.
How to plan a road trip?
The planning of a road trip is by large like the planning of any other travel. Settle the destinations that you wish to visit. Find out more about those places – what are the sightseeings, where they are located, what do they cost, where you can dine and where you can find accommodation. It is reasonable to write down the most important information, this makes it easy to grasp everything while on the road. One thing I have repeatedly realized is that though it might seem comfortable just in case to take along as many things as possible, it is still wiser to make a list and bring with you only the inevitable – the less the easier! It is also reasonable to pack the suitcases so that when going to the hotel in the evening you needn’t bring with you the entire luggage every time – sort all the clothes and things so that you can leave some in the luggage room of the car. During the road trip it is also important to keep an eye on the gas display – in the countryside the distances are greater and there are less petrol stations and shops – not to remain on the road you would rather need to refuel often.
For these two weeks I made the following schedule:
Day 1, October 20, Helsinki-Tampere
2 hrs 26 min (2016.8 km) via Route 25 or E12
accommodation: hotel booked in advance
sightseeings and noteworthy spots to be visited on the way: a printed list prepared
lunch: on the road (approximate cost XX)
dinner: in the hotel or in Tampere town (approximate cost XX)
This way I prepared information for each day (how long to drive every day, how long it will take and what we could visit. When driving alone it is wise to drive no longer than five hours daily, and sometimes it is wise to take days off to stay at the same place for many days. Even when driving just a couple hundred kilometres per day it will become boring for yourself as well as the kids. I divided the travel distance so that along the driving part we also spent time off the road in the same location for some time. Besides the distances from one town to another you would need to also consider the driving around in the settlements, and also on the road you might like to digress from time to time to side streets. As we took pictures practically on every step then we also preplanned the time for taking selfies and making posts to Instagram. The best kind of travel is one where you needn’t be stressed about the time schedule and thus is is reasonable not to overbook the days and even leave extra time for each activity.
How much does it cost to travel in Finland for two weeks?
That’s a good question. By and large the cost is built up in the following way: transport (gas), accommodation (hotel* or airbnb*), meals (breakfast in the hotel or the food you have taken along, lunch on the road, dinner in a restaurant), the sightseeings and the spare time (museum tickets, visits to tourist attractions, SPA tickets), shopping (souvenirs, clothes, etc). Shopping is often not a preplanned part of travelling, but it tends to be that it rarely happens that one travels without any shopping, especially during a vacation travel. In my travel blogs I have outlined the petrol prices, the hotel costs, the restaurants expenditures, etc. Since obviously the maximum cost may vary from traveller to traveller, then I suggest setting the minimum costs: daily food (ca 20-30 EUR per person/daily), hotel accommodation 150 EUR (two adults and one child or one adult with two children). In the restaurants the price levels are roundly the following: main course (from 20-40 EUR); salad (from 15-25 EUR), in the cafes and department store dining places the prices are better.
The three of us practically circled Finland withing these 12 days, taking stops in Levi, Rovaniemi, and Kuopio for two nights, in other destinations one night. On this image you’ll see our exact travel route. Below there are all the travel blog posts made during the journey. The blog posts, as usual, can be read in four languages (see NordenBladet.ee; NordenBladet.com; NordenBladet.se and from NordenBladet.fi the Helena-Reet blog section)!
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2 weeks in Finland – itinerary, travel posts and travel galleries by Helena-Reet Ennet
Helena-Reet: A big trip to Finland coming up next week! Searching for extremeness and ultimate luxury
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69713-helena-reet-a-big-trip-to-finland-coming-up-next-week-searching-for-extremeness-and-ultimate-luxury
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland – DONE! (VOL1: Tallinn-Helsinki-Nurmijärvi-Riihimäki-Hämeenlinna-Tampere) + PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69773-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-done-vol1-tallinn-helsinki-nurmijarvi-riihimaki-hameenlinna-tampere-photos
Helena-Reet: Around Finland on a road trip with children (VOL2: Impressions from Tampere – sightseeings and a lot more) + TRAVEL PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69782-helena-reet-around-finland-on-a-road-trip-with-children-vol2-impressions-from-tampere-sightseeings-and-a-lot-more-travel-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL3: Vaasa – ruins of Korsholm castle, Mannerheim, Airbnb renthouse etc) + PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69820-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol3-vaasa-ruins-of-korsholm-castle-mannerheim-airbnb-renthouse-etc-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL4: Journey from Vöyri near Vaasa and through Kokkola and Kalajoki Oulu and the evening in SPA) + PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69823-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol4-journey-from-voyri-near-vaasa-and-through-kokkola-and-kalajoki-oulu-and-the-evening-in-spa-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL5 – Oulu sightseeings, Kemi, Tornio and the journey through Kolari to Levi) + MANY PHOTOS & INFOLINKS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69828-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol5-oulu-sightseeings-kemi-tornio-and-the-journey-through-kolari-to-levi-many-photos-infolinks
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL6 – Levi Hotel SPA in Sirkka, restaurant Kekäle, magnificent nature, ski slopes, etc) + MANY PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69835-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol6-levi-hotel-spa-in-sirkka-restaurant-kekale-magnificent-nature-ski-slopes-etc-many-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL7 – from Kittilä to Rovaniemi, Santa Claus Holiday Village etc) + TRAVEL PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69909-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol7-from-kittila-to-rovaniemi-santa-claus-holiday-village-etc-travel-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL8 – from Rovaniemi through Ranua, Pudasjärvi and Puolanka to Kajaani) + PHOTOS!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69912-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol8-from-rovaniemi-through-ranua-pudasjarvi-and-puolanka-to-kajaani-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL9 – Central Finland, Kajaani) the sightseeings + travel photos!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69915-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol9-central-finland-kajaani-the-sightseeings-travel-photos
Helena-Reet: With children on a road trip around Finland (VOL 10 – in Central Finland, Kuopio) Sightseeings + Travel photos!
https://nordenbladet.com/articles/69932-helena-reet-with-children-on-a-road-trip-around-finland-vol-10-in-central-finland-kuopio-sightseeings-travel-photos
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