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Norway, Finland to St Petersburg Norway, Finland to St Petersburg
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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 5 Jun 2017
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Norway, Finland to St Petersburg
Hi,

Just looking for some advice on the best way to travel up through Norway, through Finland and in to Russia to reach St Petersburg. I've already done quite a bit of prep on the places to visit in Norway, mainly sticking to the West Coast as much as possible, but am unsure of the most scenic route through Finland. What roads would you suggest? Are there any particular tourist attractions/nature reserves/campsites you would recommend? The trip doesn't begin until June next year but I'm so excited I want to gather as much information as possible.
Also does anyone know how difficult it is to cross the border in to Russia and can you recommend any nice places to stay near St Petersburg with the bikes?

The plan after that is to head towards Moscow, then in to Kazakhstan, but I'll ask questions about that once we've got a clearer plan for the beginning of the trip.

Ta,
Katy
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  #2  
Old 5 Jun 2017
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Also, any nice bike friendly places to stay near Copenhaggen, Gothenburg and Oslo on the way up?
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  #3  
Old 6 Jun 2017
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Originally Posted by Kayne View Post
Also, any nice bike friendly places to stay near Copenhaggen, Gothenburg and Oslo on the way up?
Lillehammer is a really nice stopover. Still a lot of tourist infrastructure left over from the Olympics, a nice walkable center, you can visit the ski jump tower etc. At the train station's hostel, I got a nice basic but clean en-suite room for something like 30 euros, which was peanuts for Norway.

Copenhagen has a really good public transport system, so don't be afraid of staying outside of the city if you're close to a light rail stop. It's a beautiful city, highly recommended to spend a few days there. G-burg and Oslo, less so.
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  #4  
Old 7 Jun 2017
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Well if youre done with the norwegian side planning wise I would suggest that you ride as far east as almost to the norwegian bordertown to Russia - Kirkenes. Just 30-40 kms before Kirkenes at the little settlement of Neiden you can turn southbound at local route 893 and cross into Finland at Näätämö and continue in Finland at local route 971. The first part of this road is actually quite curvy and entertaining down to Inari. Then the more eastern route via Kemijärvi, Sodankyla-Kuusamo-Soumusalla-Kohmo-Lieksa-Savolinna-Lapperantaa. Well - at least thats my preferance. Although its is most certainly correct what AnTyx writes that both western and eastern roads through Finland are relatively similar. And not as exiting as norwegian roads.
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Old 7 Jun 2017
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Aw that's great, thank you. Really helpful information
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  #6  
Old 8 Jun 2017
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That's useful information for me too. 2 of us are riding from England through Germany, Denmark and up through Norway in July, returning via Finland to the Baltic states and back to England. I have been looking for suggestions for a route through Finland to the ferry at Helsinki so was pleased to find this thread - thanks.
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Old 6 Jun 2017
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Originally Posted by Kayne View Post
am unsure of the most scenic route through Finland. What roads would you suggest? Are there any particular tourist attractions/nature reserves/campsites you would recommend?
Eh. Compared to the coast of Norway, Finland is going to be fast and boring. Your choice is the western route down the Swedish border, Kemi-Oulu, then down via Jyväskylä/Lahti to Helsinki; or the eastern route from Nordkapp via Karasjokk, Ivalo, Rovaniemi, down towards Lappeenranta. In terms of scenery it's about the same thing - flat, some rolling hills but nothing nearly as beautiful as Norway, and increasingly hectic as you get southwards.

On the western route I would recommend Harriniva, a big camping center with cheap huts and a giant sled dog center; you can go on a tour of it in the summer, and pet a bunch of husky puppies.

The adventurous option would be to go from Nordkapp east towards Kirkenes, cross into Russia near Murmansk, and follow the Karelian roads down. Same nature, worse roads, cheaper fuel.
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Old 24 Jun 2017
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And if I compare Finland to Baltic countries, they are about the same. But roads in Finland are slightly better. All these country are Flat and if you try to go fast, the roads will be boring. But if you take the advice to avoid bigger roads, then you can really enjoy scenery and perhaps meet some local people.

It would be nice to put together the "driving through Finland" topic. Currently there aren't too much in the BBR and similar planning software.


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  #9  
Old 27 Jun 2017
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Thank you. I do need to do some more research in to Finland. I'm meeting up with my travel buddy in August so we can look at maps then and decide our plan of action. If you have any recommendations on places to stay that would be great also.
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Old 5 Jul 2017
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It would be nice to put together the "driving through Finland" topic.
Absolutely!
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  #11  
Old 13 Jul 2017
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I found some ready made tour plans by Finnish national park authority. Looks like there is good balance between main roads and scenic routes.

Self-guided tours of Finland’s natural attractions - Nationalparks.fi
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Old 16 Jul 2017
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Aw thanks Rami, that is really helpful!
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  #13  
Old 12 Dec 2017
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Something I found what can be useful. Mud Map of Finland
This map will show you the pave and the gravel roads in Finland. It is a hobby project. So don’t except too much

Here is the link: kurakartta
If you click on the British flag on the up right on the page, you get some info in English

You use it like this
  1. Move the cursor on the icon with layers. You find it on the left side on the page
  2. First tag HERE. This will make you use HERE maps. You can also choose another map layer if you want.
  3. Second tag the 6th point what say “Päällyste”. That will activate colors on the roads to distinguishes between different pavements
Hint.
If you cannot tag “Päällyste” because it does not allow you. Try to zoom a bit closer on the map.
After zooming close enough you will be allowed to tag “Päällyste” and now you can see the roads in color

What you need to know is that the brown and green is gravel.
All the other roads are asphalt or tarmac
You can of cause also do route planning and save the route...
But that is for you to find out by yourself, by simply testing


Happy gravel road adventure. Or maybe not?
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