Wanderlust - 04.2020

FINLAND

wanderlust.co.uk April 2020 115

and enjoying snowy activities, but

less so for bear watching as they

go into hibernation.

May-early September:

A prime time for Lakeland wildlife

watching. Temperatures warm up

(high teens/low 20s) and during

June and July o–er near 24-hour

daylight, though in those months

biting insects can be a nuisance.

May or late August-September are

ideal with less people, few insects

but lots of wildlife.

October-November:The

shoulderseason.Temperatures

arecoolandhoursofdaylight

getshorter.Wildlifewatching

opportunitiesarelimited.

Health&safety

Nospeci—icvaccinationsare

required.Tapwaterisofavery

highqualityandperfectlysafe

todrink.Themainissuesare

extremeweathertemperatures

(itcangetverycoldandwet)

andbitinginsectsinthesummer

(whichareanannoyancerather

thanmuchofahealthrisk).

Thereisariskoftick-borne

encephalitis(forwhichthereis

avaccine)sobetick-awareand

useplentyofrepellents.

Whenwatchingbearsorany

wildliferemembertokeepasafe

distance(atleast150mifnotin

ahide).Listencarefullyand

followallinstructionsgiven

aboutstayinginsidethehides

duringcertainhours.

Vitalstatistics

Capital:Helsinki

Population:5.3million

Language(s):Finnishand

Swedish.Englishisspokenin

Helsinkiandinlargerattractions

outsideofthecapital.

Time:GMT+2

Internationaldiallingcode:+358

Visa:NotrequiredbyUKnationals.

Money:Euro(€),currentlyaround

€1.17totheUK£.ATMsareavailable

inHelsinkiandcreditcardsare

acceptedalmosteverywhere.

Carrysomecashforsmaller

restaurantsandcafés.

Whentogo

December-April:Unequivocally

winterwhentemperatures

plummet(andstay)southof0°C.

It’sagreattimeforvisitingFinnish

Lapland,seeingthenorthernlights

Footnotes

Finland

Phoebe Smith

THE TRIP

The author was a guest of

VisitFinland (visitˆinland.

com), Magnetic North

Travel (01664 400103;

magneticnorthtravel.com)

and Wild Taiga (wildtaiga.ˆi).

A seven-day itinerary staying

at the Arctic Giant Bird

House, Luxury Bear Hide

Cabins and camping with

huskies (which includes

accommodation, breakfast,

picnic lunches, dinner,

guide services, activities,

sauna and all the equipment

needed) starts from £2,300,

based on two people sharing

(excludes ˆlights).

Getting there

Finnair (—lights.—innair.com)

o–ers daily —lights from London,

Manchester and Edinburgh to

Helsinki from £96 return; —lights

take around three hours. To get

to Lakeland you need to —ly to

Kajaani. Finnair has two daily

—lights to the region from Helsinki

from £94 return; journey time is

around 1hr 20mins.

Getting around

In Helsinki visiting the many islands

is easy via the public ferries with

same-day island hopping tickets

from €7 (£6). The city itself is very

walkable and a good bus network

makes travel easy if needed,

with single fares from €6 (£5). To

explore further, consider hiring an

eBike. A —ive-day eBiking trip from

HelsinkitoEspoo,withMagnetic

NorthTravel,returningviathe

coastalpath(includingbikes,

TOP TIP

Sleeping in

a basic bear hide is

rewarding but it

can be a long

and cold night,

especially once it’s

too dark to see any

wildlife. Take

plenty of layers

with you – more

than you think

you’ll need – as

well as a hat and

gloves to sleep in,

a hot water bottle,

a headtorch and

a good book.

⊲

Dog days

One of the many quirky

sights to see along

Helsinki’s coast; (above)

husky camping and

kayaking is a great way to

explore Finnish Lakeland