Finland by campervan: best regions and routes

Areas of Finland

The regions of Finland: lakes, coast, archipelago, the east and Lapland

Finland is 1,100 kilometres from the south coast to the northern tip and the difference between the ends is a season rather than a style. The south is where the cities, the ferries and most of the population are. The middle is lakes and forest for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. The archipelago and Åland are a separate country in feel and partly in law. The east is the emptiest driving in the European Union. Lapland is a commitment measured in days. Pick by the month and by how far you are willing to go.

Lakeland

Lakeland: Saimaa, Päijänne and the water that fills the middle of the country

The middle of Finland, from Tampere east across Päijänne and Saimaa to the Russian border. Saimaa is the largest lake in the country and one of the largest in Europe, and the region as a whole is a maze of water, islands and pine. This is the Finland that Finns themselves go to in July, and the roads are quiet, flat and easy for a long vehicle.

Best June to August

What it is like

• Warm for the latitude in summer: Tampere averages 22 °C in July and minus 2 °C in January.
• Drier than the coast. Tampere averages 29 mm in March against 74 mm in July.

Where to go

• Savonlinna and the Olavinlinna castle on Saimaa
• Punkaharju, the ridge road between two lakes

For the vehicle

• Easy driving. Wide, flat, well surfaced roads and almost no gradients. This is the region to bring a long motorhome to.
• Free road ferries and short bridges link the bigger islands. No fares, just timetables on the smaller routes.

Helsinki and the south coast

Helsinki and the south coast: the way in, and the only real city driving

The coastal strip from Turku east through Helsinki to Kotka and the Russian border, where most of the population, the ferry terminals and the motorway network are. Almost every campervan arriving from Estonia, Sweden or Germany lands here. It is also the only part of Finland where a big vehicle has to think about traffic.

Best May to September

What it is like

• The mildest mainland climate: Helsinki averages 22 °C in July and minus 1 °C in January.
• Autumn is the wet season. Kaisaniemi averages 81 mm in August and 73 mm in October against 34 mm in March.

Where to go

• Helsinki, parked outside and reached by tram
• Porvoo, the old wooden river town

For the vehicle

• No tolls and no low emission zone, even in Helsinki. Parking in the centre is paid and enforced, and the charge for getting it wrong runs from 20 to 80 euros.
• Ferries from Tallinn, Stockholm and Travemünde land at Helsinki and Turku. Arrive, shop, and drive north.

The archipelago and Åland

The Archipelago Sea and Åland: free ferries and a separate set of rules

Tens of thousands of islands between Turku and the Swedish coast, and beyond them Åland, a self-governing Swedish-speaking region with its own parliament, its own traffic law and its own tax status. The Archipelago Ring Road southwest of Turku strings the inner islands together on short ferry crossings, and those crossings are free because the ferries are legally part of the road.

Best June to August

What it is like

• Mild and bright: Mariehamn averages 21 °C in July and 1 °C in January.
• The sea keeps the winters gentler and the springs later than the mainland at the same latitude.

Where to go

• The Archipelago Ring Road from Turku, a summer circuit
• Mariehamn and the Åland main island

For the vehicle

• Mainland road ferries are free. The Act on the Transport System and Highways makes a ferry part of the public road and makes road use free of charge.
• Åland is different. Its own archipelago services are run by Ålandstrafiken and are separate from the mainland road ferries. The Outdoor Recreation Act does not apply in Åland at all.