need help with an itinerary from helsinki to stockholm

March 5, 2009 7:00 AM

I'm flying to Helsinki in April, and flying back (either from Stockholm or Helsinki) 10 days later. I would like to know if my itinerary through northern Finland/Sweden is reasonable..

I only have 10 days, but I'd really like to travel north through Tampere, Oulu, Rovaniemi, and then south along the eastern coast of Sweden until I reach Stockholm. I'd like to spend 1-2 days in Helsinki and Stockholm, and then decide where to spend the rest of my time as I go along.

There are two options that I know of:

1) I could rent a car and drive the entire way, deciding where to spend time as I go. Then I'd take a ferry back to Helsinki on the last day of my trip to return the car. Is this feasible? Is it a drivable route in mid-april? How hard is it to take a ferry to Helsinki with a car? Finally, would there be any other potential issues with driving?

2) I could instead rely on public transportation. I would imagine that I'd be taking a combination of buses and trains. In this case, I'd just fly back directly from Stockholm. I'm thinking that this is possibly more difficult and risky, but might be more fun..

I should mention that I have an extremely high tolerance for lengthy travel in a train/bus/car (I find it enjoyable, in fact) but of course I still want to have time to enjoy the places I'm staying.

Are either of these options feasible? And if so, does anyone have any feedback that might help me decide which to do?

Thanks!

posted by helios to travel & transportation (2 comments total)

I can give some information about the start of the Swedish side of the trip, as I grew up in Haparanda and now lives in Luleå. Let me know if you have some spare time in Luleå and we can have a mini-meetup :).

I'm not sure about the Finnish options from Rovaniemi, but I know you can take a bus
from Rovaniemi to Tornio (Finnish spelling)/Torneå (Swedish spelling) in Finland, which is next to Haparanda on the Swedish side of the border.

From Haparanda you can take a bus to Luleå (you can buy the ticket as you board the bus). The buses leaves about every other hour.

The distance between the Tornio bus station and the Haparanda bus station is about 1-2km if I remember correctly and it's quite easy to walk.

From Luleå you can take the train or a flight to Stockholm. The train (SJ, timetable) is a night train and takes about 12 hours. A flight (SAS, Norwegian) takes between an hour and an hour and half, excluding transport to/from the airports.

The prices for both the train and the flight increases the closer to the departure date you buy them. I think SJ even have some kind of Internet auction thingy for their tickets...

If I can help with any other information I'll answer tomorrow.
posted by rpn at 8:55 AM on March 5, 2009

Regarding the Finnish side of the itinerary:

1) Frankly, driving wouldn't be my first choice. The stretches are long, the landscape mostly rather monotonous. In April, the conditions can be challenging, and especially up in the North there'll probably still be plenty of snow/ice/slush. The general speed limit is 80km/h, so it'll be slow going for someone used to Western European highways.

2) Finnish trains are quite reliable and mostly at least reasonably comfortable. The VR website has everything you need to know about railway timetables, tickets & reservations in Finland. The downside of trains (and other public transport) is that they're quite pricey in Finland, and there are no TGVs. The entire distance between Helsinki and Rovaniemi takes 9,5-12 h by train; Tampere and Oulu are along the way.

I'm not as familiar with long distance buses - at first glance they seem to be a bit slower than trains on most routes and in my experience, Finns use them mainly to reach locations outside the main railway network. This Matkahuolto website should have the logistics for you.

Another thing you need to take into consideration is that the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki also takes about 12 h (you might want to reserve a cabin and cross overnight). Silja Line and Viking Line are the only ferry operators I know of.

Hope you'll have a great time!
posted by sively at 11:54 AM on March 5, 2009