Finland around New Years Eve - Will there be natural ice ice-skating?
October 31, 2013 1:57 AM Subscribe
We are going to be in Berlin for Christmas and thought perhaps we would get a cheap flight to Helsinki and hang out in southern Finland for a week after Christmas.
a) where should we go around there and how? (car, train, buses?)
b) what is the likelihood of natural ice ice-skating in late-Dec (or failing that cross-country skiing)?
Looking for something more than a "city holiday" so were probably not intending to stay in Helsinki. Its just a cheap flight destination.
or we could possibly fly back to London via some other airport so suggestions for how to get to Stockholm of Copenhagen from Helsinki?
We were thinking of trying to go way up north to Lapland etc but its seems like it might be very expensive / not so easy in December. Has anyone been up the north?
Looking for something more than a "city holiday" so were probably not intending to stay in Helsinki. Its just a cheap flight destination.
or we could possibly fly back to London via some other airport so suggestions for how to get to Stockholm of Copenhagen from Helsinki?
We were thinking of trying to go way up north to Lapland etc but its seems like it might be very expensive / not so easy in December. Has anyone been up the north?
One interesting way of getting from Helsinki to Stockholm is by ferry. The time I did this happened to be during the ash cloud of 2010 when it was my best overland option to get back to the UK. We started by taking a train to Turku- although there are direct services from Helsinki too. You go across an archipelago comprising many thousands of islands. Sometimes the sea gets frozen and the route is kept open with icebreakers. The ferries themselves are interesting: modern with lots of music, food and even saunas.
Conceivably you could stay further south in the country, avoid the crush into santa land and still find abundant outdoor ice skating opportunities - but that will be more weather dependent and uncertain (the average winter temperature in Helsinki in December is just under freezing). Don't forget that you might have a chance to see the Northern Lights if this interests you. Helsinki itself has 4 outdoor rinks as described here - plus this huge list of natural rinks.
posted by rongorongo at 4:11 AM on October 31, 2013
Conceivably you could stay further south in the country, avoid the crush into santa land and still find abundant outdoor ice skating opportunities - but that will be more weather dependent and uncertain (the average winter temperature in Helsinki in December is just under freezing). Don't forget that you might have a chance to see the Northern Lights if this interests you. Helsinki itself has 4 outdoor rinks as described here - plus this huge list of natural rinks.
posted by rongorongo at 4:11 AM on October 31, 2013
a) where should we go around there and how? (car, train, buses?)
Depends on where you want to go really. If you stay in Helsinki (boring) buses are fine. If you travel from Helsinki to another city, train is fine. If you want to explore off the beaten path (of which Finland mostly consists) hire a car... you'd better be able to drive on ice and snow. Make sure to specify you want studded snow tires (those non-studded winter tires are for experts only.)
b) what is the likelihood of natural ice ice-skating in late-Dec
Excellent to guaranteed. Finland has thousands of lakes and the more shallow ones should be solidly frozen by then - especially as you go further north.
(or failing that cross-country skiing)?
Maybe a bit hit or miss depending on the weather although there is usually quite some snow cover from Tampere on north by then. You never know however.
Keep in mind that you're gonna have only four hours or so of pale daylight in Helsinki at that time of year. Less as you travel north. Rovaniemei will be completely dark all the time. It will also be anywhere from ridiculously to intolerably cold.
Take one of the overnight ferries from Helsinki to Stockholm and you can travel back to the UK from Arlanda airport or Skavsta (RyanAir.)
posted by three blind mice at 7:59 AM on October 31, 2013
Depends on where you want to go really. If you stay in Helsinki (boring) buses are fine. If you travel from Helsinki to another city, train is fine. If you want to explore off the beaten path (of which Finland mostly consists) hire a car... you'd better be able to drive on ice and snow. Make sure to specify you want studded snow tires (those non-studded winter tires are for experts only.)
b) what is the likelihood of natural ice ice-skating in late-Dec
Excellent to guaranteed. Finland has thousands of lakes and the more shallow ones should be solidly frozen by then - especially as you go further north.
(or failing that cross-country skiing)?
Maybe a bit hit or miss depending on the weather although there is usually quite some snow cover from Tampere on north by then. You never know however.
Keep in mind that you're gonna have only four hours or so of pale daylight in Helsinki at that time of year. Less as you travel north. Rovaniemei will be completely dark all the time. It will also be anywhere from ridiculously to intolerably cold.
Take one of the overnight ferries from Helsinki to Stockholm and you can travel back to the UK from Arlanda airport or Skavsta (RyanAir.)
posted by three blind mice at 7:59 AM on October 31, 2013
« Older How do I spend more time with my girlfriend? | Please help track down the fabric used for my... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Bear in mind that at Christmas, the days will be very, very short up north.
You might find this link useful. It appears to suggest the season for their particular tracks opens at the end of December, but that tracks may be open in December.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:12 AM on October 31, 2013