Travel Information
It's very easy to arrive in Finland from all over the world. Finnair, one of the world's oldest operating airlines is focusing on transporting passengers between Europe and Asia, via Helsinki. Therefore it's very comfortable to travel to Finland especially from Asian countries.
In recent years, Finnair has emerged as a major player in traffic between Europe and Asia. Finnair's intercontinental destinations in Asia include Delhi and Mumbai in India, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou in China, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya in Japan and Bangkok in Thailand. Finnair has announced that it will launch flights to Seoul in South Korea in spring 2008.
Finnair's European route network offers several daily frequencies to all major European cities. Timetables are built in such a way that they offer quick connections to the Asian flights. Finnair's newest scheduled destinations in Europe are Ljubljana, Bucharest, Gdansk and Lisbon.
For example to Helsinki from
- Tokyo on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
- Osaka every day except on Tuesdays
- Nagoya on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays
- Beijing and Shanghai, every day
- Guangzhou (Kanton) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
- Hong Kong, every day
- Bangkok twice a day
Finnair also flies to 15 destinations within Finland. The domestic route network is one of the densest in the world in relation to population.
It is also very easy to arrive in Lapland from Helsinki. Finnair's domestic service offers several scheduled flights daily to many destinations in Lapland. The nearest airport to Saariselkä is in Ivalo. Flight time from Helsinki to the Ivalo airport is 1h 40min. Airport-taxis, rental cars and specially ordered transportation are available from the airpor to the hotels and the venue.
More information about transport connections from Ivalo.
Lapland
The city of Rovaniemi - the permanent residence of Santa Claus - is located in Finnish Lapland in the Arctic Circle.
Many people go to Rovaniemi just to cross the Arctic Circle for which one can get an actual Arctic Circle Crossing Certificate. A definite -must- when visiting Rovaniemi is also Arktikum - a science centre, museum and a unique architectural sight.
More information:
Finnish Tourist Board
Enchanting Finland