The summer in mid and northern Europe is a lot shorter than we’d like. The temperatures aren’t as high as in the south, but at least this is compensated with very long days. In order to get the batteries reloaded after the winter, let’s check out what’s the best that the summer in Finland has to offer.
Table of Contents
1. Take advantage of outdoor activities
Summer in Finland is the time where, finally, Finns can do outdoor activities. Yes, in winter they have skiing (in any of its varieties) or playing hockey (Finland’s national sport). But Summer is Summer.
Visiting one of the thousand lakes for hiking, sunbathing or swimming is one of those things you can do. In Finland you’re never too far away from a lake, and visiting one is an excellent way to spend a day. If you want to see a huge lake, go to Saimaa lake, the biggest one in Finland.
Lake, trees, mountains. This is Koli, a National Park in Finland.
If we talk about lakes we should also talk about beaches. Some of them are nudist beaches, like Yyteri near Pori, which, together with its other non-nudist half, makes up for one of the largest beaches of the Nordic countries.
If you are in the Helsinki area, check out the most visited beach of the city, Hietaniemi beach. It offers a lot of sport opportunities and is supervised by lifeguards during the summer in Finland. If you want to know all the beaches Finland has to offer, check out this list [7] from the council of Helsinki.
Another outdoor option is to visit a Finnish forest. There is a law in Finland called “Everyman’s right”, which allows everyone to roam free throughout the forest, no matter who owns the land. That, of course, doesn’t only apply to locals: if you find yourself in a Finnish forest, roam free and get lost (but not a lot, take a GPS with you) without worrying. Nordic walking, the sport where you walk with ski-like sticks, can be practiced everywhere and is popular in Finland.
2. Attend one of the crazy competitions that happen during the summer in Finland
In summer the fun finally breaks loose. And one of the ways Finns have found to channel these impulses are crazy competitions. For instance, in August you can go to the Air Guitar World Championship in Oulu or the Mobile Throwing Championship in Savonlinna.
The participants of the Air Guitar Championship in Oulu are real stars of the summer in Finland.
Other famous World Championships in Finland are the Mobile Sauna Championship, in the city of Teuva on Finland’s west coast in August. And we can’t forget the Wife Carrying Championship [8] in Sonkajärvi in July.
3. Attend a music festival or a city festival
Finland offers some great music festivals during the summer. For instance, Ilosarirock in Joensuu [9] (held each July), the Tuska Metal festival [10] held in Helsinki each June, or the Flow Festival of Helsinki [11] in August. Plenty of options for dancing during the summer in Finland.
Leaving aside the usual music festivals (plenty of nights and days with lots of bands, camping, and pretty expensive beverages) as mentioned above, we can highlight the Savonlinna Opera Festival held each summer in Finland. Another famous music festival is Pori Jazz.
Finally, if we talk about city festivals, the World Village Festival of Helsinki [12] celebrated each May and the Helsinki Festival (official website [13]) are great options.
4. Visit popular tourist sights
A lot of people love to go to Finland for tourism during the winter, to enjoy the northern lights (check the best moments [14] and the best places [15] to see them in Finland) or to visit Santa, but other, less cold-friendly people can enjoy the summer in Finland too.
You can visit theme parks such as the Angry Birds park in Tampere [16] or the Moomin park in Naantali [17]. If you want a hardcore version of a theme park, check out the Veijo Ronkonnen sculpture park [18] as well: you’ll need courage for this one.
A strange park Mr Veijo Ronkkonen made, no doubt. Source [19].
From Finland you can quickly check out Russia, Sweden and Estonia too. Finland has lots of ferry options to carry out these trips. If you take a ferry from Helsinki, you can stay in St. Petersburg – a city I recommend – for up to three days without a visa. The boat that makes this trip is called “Princess Maria”. Stockholm is also pretty close, and Tallin is just a couple of hours away.
If, instead of man-made things, you prefer to appreciate the natural attractions of the summer in Finland, you should see the midnight sun over the arctic circle or the white nights [20] under it. Two awe-inspiring phenomena for the ones who see them for the first time.
5. Participate in the traditions that the summer in Finland has to offer
Juhannus (we’ll talk in detail about it soon) is the preferred holiday of the summer in Finland for the Finns. It is the longest day of the year. And because the difference in daylight hours between the summer and winter in Finland is so big, [21] it is an important occurrence. On this day Finns light huge bonfires by the lakes and spend the day in their summer cottages.
Summer in Finland = summer cottage. Source [22].
Spending the weekends in a cottage – most likely with one of the three types of sauna in Finland [23] – is probably the best option to spend the summer with friends and family. And most likely the cottage will have next to it a forest and a lake. I am yearning for it already!
What’s your recommendation for the summer in Finland? What’s your favourite activity from the ones we listed here? Let us know in the comments. And let’s use these days before the autumn and the Ruska [24] take over!