so what's finland like then?
 

worth a visit?

No idea but I would like to find out. Do the finns have any reputation/stereotype. the only one I can think is very calm and collected aka Mika Haikenen (probably spelt wrong)

In the south You have wonderful Helsinki in the middle on the west is Stunning Turku and there are several other pretty towns and lots of Villages all very nice, you also have lots of trees and lakes - further North you have more trees and Lakes and the southern areas of the Sami culture in abundance, moose and Reindeer can be real risks to bikes but it is a true wilderness miles of untouched landscape in which you can lose yourself like almost no where else in Europe, It can feel claustrophobic at times (due to the enclosed nature of the trees) but get camped up next to a lake - with the midnight sun sitting low in the sky giving a golden glow over the trees and water, catch and eat some fish and a little tipple of your favourite nip then you really start to get in touch with the wonder of this land. The Finns can be reserved or sometimes very drunk and not so reserved, Finns can and do Party. they are great company in reserved or party mode, whatever you do - don't try to speak the Language its impossible. Do try a sauna, hot tub and swim in a lake. Take the mossie cream. Well worth a visit or two.

sounds great. i really fancy doing the "baltic loop" this summer...denmark, sweden, finland, estonia, latvia, lithuania. i'm just a bit worried about the costs. is it as expensive as everyone says? how much is the ferry from helsinki to tallinn for example?

I have no idea about ferry prices look it up on the internet. Finland is similar to Sweden expensive but not silly, Norway is very expensive.

I´m probably biased, but yeah its worth a visit.. especially right now, the loooong summer days are truly special, especially in the north. Nowhere near as spectacular as Norway, but beautiful in its own way.

Is a bit expensive, yes, but can be compared to most places in Western Europe. For me, the best riding & scenery is on the small roads in the south & southwest, the lake district, then further up along the eastern side, and most of Lapland (but beware of reindeer - and get plenty of insect repellent, too)

edit. from Tallinn, as well as Stocholm, I believe you can get pretty good prices on the ferries, as there´s lots of options to choose from. Beginning of July to Mid-August probably the busiest time.

Definately worth a visit!
 

We have been in Finland for a week now and it is fast becoming the favourite country so far on our trip, we're staying in Lappeenranta, on lake Saima in the East (about 2 1/2 hrs from Helsinki) and it is really beautiful.

The Finnish are really nice, very friendly and accommodating. I posted on a Finnish trail riding forum asking where to ride and was inudatred with offers to show me and places to go stay - ended up spending a day rinding some really cool trails in the forrest and even a couple of motocross tracks!:funmeteryes:

We were supposed to leave today to head back south but have decided to stay on a few more days as we like it so much.

Here is a link to my post on the forum if you like enduro riding the guys on here would gladly show you, and theres also a link to some free campsites on a couple of beaches on the lake.

Ride safe

Matt

After 5 trips to Norway and Sweden I'm off to Finland for the first time in July. I'm taking my Serow up to the Nordkapp and then plan to ride south through Finland. Although, depending on the weather I may do the trip in reverse. Luckily I have 4 weeks to play with. I'm going to wildcamp some of the time to save a few bob. I see a lot of trees and lakes in my future! ha ha.

Do I need any licence to fish the lakes in Finland? And is the water in the lakes safe to drink?

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out. :thumbup1:

Single with a bike is about €16 (235 EEK. €1 is 15.65EEK). Not sure if this is including the passenger, or the MC supplement.

Have a look here:

[url=http://www.tallink.ee/ee/trips/routeTrips/hel-tal/vehiclePrices/]Tallink Estonia

I visited the south of Finland in August 2009 while coming back from St. Petersburg (Russia) and I really enjoyed both the Country and the people.

I'll go back there for sure.