How Much Does Finland Travel Cost? Here Is A Breakdown

Some say that a holiday experience in Finland is priceless – there is nothing like watching the Northern Lights and hanging out with huskies and reindeers. No matter how much you budget for your Finland trip, you will not be disappointed by the beauty of being in the Finnish wilderness. Aside from flights, your Finland travel cost will depend on the type of activities and accommodation you like.

Although you can engage a tour company to arrange this once-in-a-lifetime trip, there are many perks of traveling to Finland without a tour. For example, you get to choose your own hotels and switch up the dining options. If you are trying to plan a DIY trip, this will give you an idea of travel cost in Finland and how much to prepare.

Finland Travel Cost Overview

So how much does Finland travel cost? The average travel expense can range anywhere from 3,500 € to 7,500 €, though it largely depends on your travel style.

This is what you might expect for a 1-week Lapland road trip and 3 days spent in Helsinki during winter. We estimated it based on a mix of hotel accommodations and popular activities including husky and reindeer safari.

Read on for a breakdown of the different aspects of Finland’s travel costs, along with some suggested things to do and places to go in Finland.

Flights to and within Finland

First things first, we need to fly to Finland. Finnair is the national carrier of Finland and they fly to most major cities. Here are the estimated flight costs for return economy flights between Helsinki and various cities.

• Singapore to Helsinki: 1,075 €
• Delhi to Helsinki: 800 €
• New York to Helsinki: 635 €
• London to Helsinki: 260 €

The easiest and quickest way is to get to Lapland is via a domestic flight from Helsinki to any of the airports further north. If you want to visit Santa Claus Village you should fly to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland. To get to northern Lapland, you can fly to Ivalo or Kittila. These are the nearest airports for the popular ski resort towns of Saariselka and Levi.

Note that domestic flight schedules might change after the winter season is over, so do check them before confirming any plans. You can consider doing multi-city flights to cover more destinations. Check out some one-way domestic flight prices below.

• Helsinki to Rovaniemi: 85 €
• Helsinki to Ivalo: 80 €
• Helsinki to Kittila: 80 €

Let’s assume you’re flying from Singapore to Helsinki. After including a multi-city flight journey from Helsinki to Ivalo and then back to Helsinki from Rovaniemi, it will cost about 1,240 €.

Car Rental

You can easily rent a car in Finland from any of the airports. Simply search and book them online via a car rental site like RentalCars. On average, car rental in Finland will cost around 75 € to 90 € per day depending on the model. There are some additional costs to be mindful of as well:

• Rental insurance (15 € per day)
• Additional driver fee (9 € per day)
• Winter tyre fee (50 €)
• Cross-border fee (150 €)
• One-way charge (65 €)

It is a good idea to take pictures or videos of the car at the start and end of the rental. Do look out for any existing scratches, dents, or other damage, so that you can provide evidence when disputing a charge.

If your fuel policy is like-for-like, it means that you will need to return the car with the same amount of fuel. You can estimate your fuel usage cost based on the expected driving distance. For reference, we covered roughly 1,200 km with 62 litres of fuel. It cost 130 € in total with fuel prices at 2.1 € per litre.

For a 1-week road trip, you might pay around 730 €, including insurance and fuel.

Buses and Private Transfers in Lapland

If you are not planning to rent a car, you can opt for the scheduled buses that run between cities in Lapland. Although timetable and prices might change with the season, you can easily check them on Omnibus or Matkahuolto. Here are examples of some routes you can consider.

• Rovaniemi to Ivalo (4hr 40min): 45.90 €
• Rovaniemi to Levi (2hr 55min): 28.90 €
• Rovaniemi to Pyhatunturi (2hr): 33 €
• Rovaniemi to Kemi (1hr 30min): 5.90 €
• Helsinki to Rovaniemi (11hr 20min): 29.90 €

Many hotels and resorts also offer airport transfer services, with prices varying with the distance to the nearest airport. For example, it costs 18 € for a 15-minute transfer from Kittila Airport to Levi Inglut. You will need to inform them about your arrival in advance so that they have time to prepare. Sometimes, there are complimentary shuttle services between the accommodation and the airport so you can also look out for that.

Renting a car tends to make more sense if you want to have flexibility to travel at your own time and pace.

Public Transportation and Taxis in Helsinki

For city sight-seeing in Helsinki, you can get a Day Ticket that allows you to transfer between modes of public transport (trams, buses, etc.). This is valid within your selected travel zone for the purchased duration. On the other hand, a Single Ticket is usually more suitable for a one-way trip.

Travel zones A and B cover most of the attractions in Helsinki city center. If you want to include Helsinki Airport, you will need to buy a ticket that covers zone C as well. The easiest way to purchase these tickets is through the HSL app or at any R-Kioski convenience stores.

• Day Ticket AB (1/2/3 days): 8/12/16 €
• Day Ticket ABC (1/2/3 days): 11/16.50/22 €
• Single Ticket AB: 2.80 €
• Single Ticket ABC: 4.10 €

Although there is train service between the Airport to the city center, you might want to hop on a taxi for convenience which costs around 40 € to 50 €.

If you get the Day Ticket ABC for all 3 days, public transportation in Helsinki will cost around 22 €.

Hotel and Resort Accommodations

The price of hotels and resorts vary a lot based on the time of year. I have an article about the best glass igloos in Finland that also includes the expected prices for different seasons.

We found that the cost of these glass igloos hotels is generally discounted by around 50% during the off-peak period in summer and autumn. If you are trying to save money, you can consider travelling during September to enjoy hiking and ruska (autumn foliage) instead.

There are many types of accommodations to choose from – cabins, hostels, resorts, glass igloos, snow hotels, and more. In winter, a typical hotel in Lapland costs 150 € per night, and something more popular like the Santa Claus Holiday Village costs 180 € per night.

For an unforgettable experience, a stay in the best glass igloos cost 700 € per night. Something in a good location in Helsinki city center, like Scandic Grand Central Helsinki, goes for 170 € per night.

For a 10 day trip, if you splurge 2 out of 9 nights on a glass igloo stay, you will spend around 2,650 € on accommodations. That will be 1,325 € per person, assuming the room is shared.

Read more: Where To Stay In Rovaniemi: Best Lapland Accommodations

Seasonal Activities

Summer and autumn are the seasons where there are many free activities – such as hiking and berry picking. You can also go on your own Northern Lights chasing adventure. The weather conditions are mild and very pleasant for enjoying the outdoors. You can check out this blog post for an autumn road trip itinerary.

Winter activities are the highlight of a Finland trip and you are encouraged to book your activities in advance as slots can run out. You can browse various combinations of activities through companies like Lapland Safaris and Husky & Co. Your resort can also help you with arranging a winter expedition and they usually have a brochure of activities on their website. You can also pick up equipment from any gear rental shops in the ski towns.

Here are some of the many winter activities in Finland with an approximated price per person (varies with region).

• Husky sled safari (185 € for 10km)
• Reindeer sleigh safari (150 € for 2 hours)
• Horseback rides (150 € for 2 hours)
• Snowmobile rides (150 € for 4 hours)
• Skiing, snowboarding (50 € for 1 day)
• Guided cross-country skiing and snowshoeing (75 € for 2 hours)
• Ice fishing via snowmobile (170 € for 4 hours)
• Kemi Icebreaker cruise (285 € for 3 hour including ice swimming)
• Northern Lights chasing tour (90 € for 3 hours)
• Tour to Snow Village where they have various ice sculptures and ice hotels (80 €)

I would say husky and reindeer safaris are a must, and it would be cool to explore the ice hotels in the Snow Village. Throw a couple of these activities together and it should add around 900 € to each person’s Finland travel cost.

Dining and Shopping

It’s not a surprise that dining in Finland can get expensive. In Lapland restaurants, you can get a set menu course at around 70 €, with the option to add on a wine tasting package. You should definitely try some reindeer meat or fresh trout during your trip. Besides that, the average meal costs anywhere from 15 € to 30 €.

Nili Restaurant or Gustavo are great choices for dinner when you are in Rovaniemi. In Helsinki, the Old Market Hall is known for tasty salmon soup and seafood sandwich, which you can try during lunch. After a week of Lappish cuisine, we turned to Hawaiian-Asian fusion dining at Restaurant HOKU after we came back to Helsinki. I also recommend trying the Cinnabon buns from Regatta cafe and hot chocolate from Fazer cafe.

If you want to shop for sports and outdoor equipment, you can check out CAMU and XXL Sports & Outdoor Kluuvi in Helsinki. You can also go to the Academic Bookstore to find this adorable book called Finnish Nightmares which describes Finnish culture in a comical way. If you want to buy luxury watches, you can drop by Lindroos, with outlets in both Helsinki city center and the airport. Don’t forget to get your Global Blue tax refund!

There are several unique things that characterise Finland, and you can bring these back home as souvenirs.

• Handcrafted wooden items like Kuksa, a handmade birch cup
• Berry jam
• Finnish liquor
• Fazer chocolates
• Caviar

Shopping expenses are totally up to you, so I will just estimate the dining costs to be 80 € per day on average. For our example, 10 days would require a 800 € food budget.

Miscellaneous Expenses

Here are examples of other miscellaneous expenses to account for in your Finland travel cost.

• Private sauna or jacuzzi rental (for example, rental for both sauna and jacuzzi costs 99 € for 1.5 hours in Pyha Igloos)
• Museum tickets (Culture Pass to the 3 main museums in Rovaniemi costs 20 €)
• Other attraction tickets (for example, Temppeliaukion Church entrance fee costs 5 €)
• SIM Card for mobile connectivity (14 days of unlimited 4G and calls costs 14.90 €, can be bought at any R-Kioski convenience store)

You will have to add around 100 € per person for miscellaneous expenses.

Travel Insurance

Remember to get adequate travel insurance as you head out into the Finnish wilderness. The outdoor activities come with risks, and you want to have peace of mind as you travel.

You can also consider a policy that reimburses you for trip cancellations or postponements, since many of the tour companies and hotels require you to make a deposit or upfront payment.

Lastly, as travel volume surges during the holidays and operations get messy in the airport, you will appreciate receiving at least some compensation for travel delays and baggage mishandling.

Depending on your requirements, it might cost around 100 € to cover 10 days of travel.

Putting it together, how much does Finland Travel Cost?

Let’s sum it up now that we have gone through the full breakdown of expenses. How much does it cost to travel to Finland?

• Flights: 1,240 €
• Transportation: 752 €
• Activities: 900 €
• Food: 800 €
• Accommodation: 1,325 €
• Miscellaneous: 100 €
• Insurance: 100 €

For this example of a 1 week road trip and 3 days in Helsinki (total of 10 days), it is estimated to cost 5,217 € in total per person.

I hope you found this informative and all the best with planning your Finland trip. It’s going to be a blast!

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