Eighteen of us will be visiting Finland in either August or September, 2025. My father's family immigrated to America. I've been only to Helsinki on a day trip from a cruise ship but the rest have never been. We plan to spend nine days total with the following itinerary developed by my rabid travel prone granddaughter.
Day 1 arrive in Helsinki
Day 2 day in Helsinki
Day 3 travel to Suomussalmi
Day 4 day in Suomussalmi
Day 5 travel to Lapland
Day 6 day in Lapland
Day 7 day in Lapland
Day 8 travel to Helsinki
Day 9 leave from Helsinki
Our family came from Suomussalmi, therefore that stop. I don't imagine we'll have any problem with lodging in Helsinki but if anyone has lodging suggestions for the other stops, whether driving is a good idea, any other tips would be appreciated. All of us are adults, small children are being left with other grandparents. Nobody speaks the language but I understand that may not be a problem.
Thanks,
Anne
Posted by
SE Washington, USA
497 posts
How exciting to have so many interested and able to make the trip! Have you connected with anyone in the ancestral town? Do you have any relatives remaining in Finland?
I see they have a Facebook page for visitors. We love to visit ancestral locations. My only regret has been that I have not been consistent in trying to connect with inhabitants/museums/historical societies, etc. before arriving.
I hope you have a rewarding visit.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6968 posts
Suomussalmi is certainly a small place in the middle of nowhere, but there seems to be a hotel there. Easiest way to get there is probably to take the train to Kajana. There you can catch a bus to Suomussalmi, but if you want to explore the area and not just the town you can also rent a car.
As for Lappland, what brings you there and what do you want to see and do?
Posted by
OP
85 posts
Hope springs eternal in our family so Lapland is in hope of seeing some northern lights although we know not really the season! Thanks for the suggestions. Family name by the way is Heikkinen, actually my wife's family. She signed in on my forum account rather than hers.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6968 posts
Hope springs eternal in our family so Lapland is in hope of seeing
some northern lights although we know not really the season!
It depends very much on when you are going. If it's a trip in late September, there certainly is a chance. If you're going in early August, you can probably forget about it.
But, Suomussalmi is a bit north so if there are any lights, you have a decent chance of seeing them there as well. I don't think crossing an administrative border or two would make a huge difference. At least not enough to make it worth it in my opinion.
Posted by
Seattle
93 posts
The thing about summertime in the far north "not being the season for northern lights" is that the sun is above the horizon for much of each 24 hour period. The lights will still be happening if a coronal mass ejection from the sun has occurred and the earth's orbit has been in its path. However, if it's not dark where you are, it can't be seen. So, if you really want to improve your chances, try going in September! You can look up sunrise/sunset times for your destinations.
I went on a RS tour of Scandinavia during then a summer when there was a big northern lights event that could be seen from my hometown of Seattle, where it was dark enough at night to see them. But I was on the tour in Sweden, and the sun was up most of the night, so we couldn't see them. Ironically I missed them by being too far north in the summer!
Have fun!