Product Description

Santa obviously gave gifts to his homeland first – the ethereal aurora borealis dancing across indigo skies, midnight sun to hike under, stylish cities for hectic fun and pristine wilderness for quiet contemplation. Unlock the secrets of this northern nation with our inspiring and insightful guide.

Explore – kayak, hike and bike with our practical activities chapter

Be Inspired – color highlights and tailored itineraries help you make the most of your trip

Stay In Style – discerning sleeping options for all budgets, from waterside wooden cottages to sleek boutique hotels

Immerse Yourself – the Kalevala to Kaurismäki, folk festivals to urban design – incisive arts and culture coverage gets you under the skin

Speak Up – be understood with our user-friendly language chapter and pronunciation guide

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56962 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
...for the adventurous traveler who wants to live like a native.' --Real Simple Magazine, June 2005

Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet - Ultimate Travel Advisor

Lonely Planet Finland is for the 'real' traveler, no matter what their budget. Everyone visitng Finland sees Helsinki, but there is so much more to discover about the Country. This book is a must to read before traveling, & take along to consult often during the trip.

For example, I 'discovered' Lapeenranta (you can even cruise to Russia from this town if you plan ahead), which is a lovely town on a huge lake & full of history. Also, I was 'guided' to Ylamaa, a short distance from Lapeenranta, for a visit to Jewel Village. Here you can purchase a piece of beautiful Spectrolite jewelry after seeing it created by grinders working with this very unique gem-stone.

Don't want to rent a car? Lonely Planet provides amazing & really useful bus & train information for travel throughout the country. The list of accommodations (including prices & ammenities) & advice on finding a great or unusual place to eat is absolutely unbeatable.

Excellent overview of Finland
I used this text heavily over the course of a month and a half spent in Finland this past summer. As with anything dated, prices have changed for some things. That said, the book was my one stop reference for most everything I needed on the trip. It's what you expect from a Lonely Planet guide (good detail on the cities, logical organization, excellent transportation section).

I agree with the previous reviewer in one case: there's not much on hitch-hiking or couchsurfing (the latter of which I've done-- Finland has quite a few couchsurfers). I guess the difference is that I don't expect this from a guidebook, and I suspect the typical guidebook buyer doesn't either! There are more (and better) online places to get this information. [...].

In all, a very satisfying guide and rarely wrong or inaccurate. Worth a look.

Good enough
Provides good basic information on plenty of spots (even the tiny ones not on the most popular routes). Sometimes little overexcited about the atmosphere or the value of certain sights or cites. The information about pricing and eating joints is outdated in several cases which - on the other hand - forces you to start exploring by yourself. Generally useful especially for your fist trip to Suomi.