Traveling around Finland

We have already talked about traveling and how important and fun it can be during your studies. We also went through some of the available options and destinations in Finland but there are certainly a lot of possibilities around Finland too. There are some really interesting cities and places in the neighboring countries where you can travel on a student budget. There are also low cost planes to some destinations around Europe as well.

Probably the most interesting part of traveling to neighboring countries is taking the cruise ships. You can take fun cruise ships from Helsinki to Tallinn, Stockholm, Åland islands and Saint Petersburg regularly and to some other cities like Riga on special occasions. It is also possible to take cruise ships from Turku to Stockholm and Åland islands. All of the mentioned cities are in Schengen areas so you will not need a visa except for Saint Petersburg in Russia. However, there is a 72 hours visa free cruise to Saint Petersburg from Helsinki that might be a wise option because you will not have to worry about visa and its complications. There are usually a number of activities you can do on these ships and of course if you buy the tickets in advance you can find pretty cheap deals. The websites are as follows:

 https://www.sales.vikingline.com
https://www.tallinksilja.com/book-a-cruise
https://stpeterline.com/visa-free-rule (Saint Petersburg)

There are also cheap flights from Helsinki to all Scandinavian capital cities especially Stockholm. You can also fly to Stockholm from Tampere, Turku and Oulu. Moreover, if you miss the sun, Norwegian Airlines offer direct flight to Paris, Nice, south Spain, Athens and a number of cities in East Europe. There are also extremely cheap flights with Wizz air from Turku to Krakow, Warsaw and Gdansk in Poland and Skopje in north Macedonia. You can also take Ryanair from Tampere (closest international airport to Jyväskylä) to Budapest. Here are the websites:

https://www.norwegian.com
https://www.ryanair.com/fi/en
https://wizzair.com/en-gb

Just a few considerations, first these are not all the student budget trips you can plan and there are numerous other airlines or destinations for sure. There are also other means of transportation like train from Helsinki to Saint Petersburg. It is also good to know that non-EU students do not require a visa to travel to most of the countries in Europe with their student residence permit but you must always double and also make sure that your residence permit is valid during your trip and you can come back to Finland.

Travelling In Finland

Traveling is a great way to get away from the stress of daily life. As an international student one might also be willing to make most of his/her studies and stay in Finland by traveling around. Of course there are numerous options and destinations in the neighboring courting that seem super interesting. But Finland definitely has the potential to surprise you. It does not matter what you are interested in, whether it is nature, sports, historical sights, UNESCO world heritage sites, museums or Santa Claus, Finland will have something for you.

About how to get around in Finland: The cheapest option is usually long-distance buses. Especially if you buy the ticket well in advance, you can get almost anywhere in Finland under 5 Euros. Buses in Finland are often really comfortable, offering you free Wi-Fi connections, power plug and WC. The following websites are long-distance coach and train companies in Finland. (English language options available)

• Bus: https://www.matkahuolto.fi (OR) http://www.onnibus.com

There is also train option available all over Finland, yet trains are a bit more expensive than buses. They also provide you with onboard restaurants, Wi-Fi and etc.

• Train: https://www.vr.fi 

Note: Both train and bus companies offer student discounts, but be sure to have your student card with you while traveling.

There is also the option to get around with airplanes. Needless to say that they are the most expensive option, but surprisingly even smaller cities in Finland do have airports and you can usually get there from Helsinki airport. 

In addition, probably the most famous tourist destination in Finland is Lapland where you can find Santa Claus village, husky sledding, fun ice skating and etc. But there are other cities in Finland that are worth visiting. Tampere, the number 1 travel destination for Finns. Turku, the oldest city of Finland. Oulu, the capital city of northern Scandinavia. Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. Porvoo, probably the cutest city in Finland and many more. The good news is that most of the cities and municipalities in Finland offer extensive tourist information in English. All you have to do is to google the name of the city together with the word “visit”.

Regarding the accommodation, same as most of the European countries, hostels and Airbnb are the cheapest options. However, since Jyväskylä is in the center of Finland, it is possible to make day trips for some of these cities and destinations. Finally probably the best thing about traveling in Finland is that you will have no troubles if you do not speak Finnish. You can get by with English anywhere in this country.