Finland, 8 days.
The route of this 10-day tour: Helsinki – Kotka – Lappeenranta – Kerimäki - Savonlinna – Porvoo – Helsinki
Finland is not a big country. But hardworking Finns turned it into an extremely friendly and impressive part of our world. Finnish climate is severe but nature blessed its citizens with absolutely unreal landscapes. We designed this tour as a sightseeing one.
Our groups do not exceed 8 people. That allows to make changes not only during the group formation but during the trip as well .
The tour is designed for 8 days. There again, given the mobility of the group, we can both reduce and expand our program. And we also love Finland!
Day 1. Our minibus meet you at Helsinki airport, so that we spend our first day in the capital of country, a really Scandinavian style city. We will visit the famous places in the Suomi capital – The Cathedral, monument of great composer Sibelius, the Rock Church, Sveaborg Fortress. To our little tourists and their already grown up friends we can recommend spending a day in the Helsinki Zoo Korkesaari, which occupies the whole island.
Day 2. The second day we spend in Kotka (in Finnish – an eagle). This is a proud and courageous city of maritime glory, having withstood several serious battles on the sea. Today it is a city of parks, and during the flowering period of plants it is especially beautiful. There is the Maretarium, the cottage of Alexander III, and several interesting
museums. And, of course, Finnish fish cuisine. Then we go to the cozy town of Hamina, famous for its octagonal center, where we have a sightseeing tour. Here we spend the night in comfortable Finnish cottages.
Day 3. On the third day, we proceed to Lappeenranta, which was of great importance in the XVII-XVIII centuries as the military and commercial center of the South of Finland. Till now it is overflowing with noisy Russian tourists buying local high-quality products not
presented in Russia. Then we will move to Imatra. After admiring the Castle Hotel Valtionhotelli with the waterfall and listening to their legends, we go further to thestrange Sculpture Park created by V. Renkenen.
Days 4-6. A picturesque road will lead us to our next stop – the famous resort Kerimaa where we stay for the next three days. Having settled in cozy cottages (be sure that each of them has a famous Finnish sauna), we explore surrounding countryside. We discover a golf course, a floating sauna on the lake, and fish, and mushrooms! The local chef makes wonders with fresh trout. In addition, one of the days we will choose for a trip to the beautiful Savonlinna, the Finnish Venice. Our way will pass through the natural ridge Punkaharju, a UNESCO site. We go on an excursion to world famous Olavinlinna Castle, take a walk with a small sightseeing tour, and on the way back we will certainly look at the largest wooden church in Europe situated in the small town Kerimäki.
Day 7. On the seventh day we visit Porvoo – the native town of Finnish poet Runeberg, the town where the old city dates back to XIV century. After admiring the sturdy wooden houses we will go to the old Cathedral, reach the Runeberg’s monument and, of course, taste the products of the local Brunberg chocolate factory.
Next evening we are returning to Helsinki. Perhaps we still have a little time before the flight for walking through the Suomi capital, having a cup of coffee in a quiet Finnish café, recall our fresh impressions in a calm Finnish style.
Approximate price is 830 €.
You have free: Accommodation (BNB, cottages, hotels, - it is up to your choice and it can change the price), breakfasts and a few lunches or dinners (when we are on the way), transfers, tours with our guides.
Extra pay: Visa and insurance, plane tickets, dinners and lunches, hired equipment, tours with local guides, museum tickets. In addition, tips, we recommend to have at least 400 euro with you, just in case.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to wonderful Suomi!