OT summer vacation in Finland

[mattihp]

So me and my so are going to do a Finland tour in the summer.

This is the plan:
Ferry to Turku

Two nights in Turku
Train to Tampere
One or two nights in Tampere
Train to Vaasa
Two nights in Vaasa
Train to Helsinki
One night in Helsinki
Ferry home

Vaasa I know has good second hand but what can't be missed in Turku and Tampere?

Click to read more...

 

[mattihp]

Any museums that should be visited? Went to the pharmacy museum in Turku this winter, which was nice.

I know pretty much nothing about Tampere except manse-rock.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Any museums that should be visited? Went to the pharmacy museum in Turku this winter, which was nice.

I know pretty much nothing about Tampere except manse-rock.

Spy museum is pretty interesting. Though, you should only go there if you have energy to read 'cos there are a lot of written stories. There are tours as well so maybe they tell the best ones.

I've heard that the hockey museum is a waste of time.

 

[mattihp]

Spy museum is pretty interesting. Though, you should only go there if you have energy to read 'cos there are a lot of written stories. There are tours as well so maybe they tell the best ones.

I've heard that the hockey museum is a waste of time.

Spy museum is more my gf's jam. Remember if the texts are also in Swedish or English? I did the unholy thing and got myself a Swedish gf.. The police museum in Tampere is also a must as she works at the Swedish one..

She is also a rollercoaster junky.. Would Särkänniemi in Tampere or Linnanmäki in Helsinki be the best bet? It's summer so I am guessing both will be full of those odd annoying short creatures.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Spy museum is more my gf's jam. Remember if the texts are also in Swedish or English? I did the unholy thing and got myself a Swedish gf.. The police museum in Tampere is also a must as she works at the Swedish one..

She is also a rollercoaster junky.. Would Särkänniemi in Tampere or Linnanmäki in Helsinki be the best bet? It's summer so I am guessing both will be full of those odd annoying short creatures.

I am pretty sure there were texts at least in English. I think you should contact the museum and ask just to be certain.

I haven't been to Särkänniemi in many years so I don't know much about it. I'm sure there is a rollercoaster. Linnanmäki at least has several.

 

[mattihp]

Will we have to book our trains in advance, do trains between Helsinki and Tampere (Pendelino), Tampere and Vaasa (Intercity) or Vaasa Turku (probably intercity to Tampere with change there) usually sell out?

 

[JabbaJabba]

Will we have to book our trains in advance, do trains between Helsinki and Tampere (Pendelino), Tampere and Vaasa (Intercity) or Vaasa Turku (probably intercity to Tampere with change there) usually sell out?

I doubt they sell out but the earlier you book, the cheaper the tickets are.

 

[mattihp]

I doubt they sell out but the earlier you book, the cheaper the tickets are.

They all looked pretty darn cheap so better jolt out a game plan and start booking!

Thanks!

 

[CPFC]

Any museums that should be visited? Went to the pharmacy museum in Turku this winter, which was nice.

I know pretty much nothing about Tampere except manse-rock.

I like the Vapriikki complex, which includes the ice hockey museum and video game museum. Pyynikki observation tower with the famous doughnuts is also a must for me, when visiting Tampere in the summer. That area has some nice nature walks as well. The Pyynikki stairs are also famous within the Finnish hockey lore as a place where the Tampere teams have done some serious conditioning.

 

[mattihp]

I like the Vapriikki complex, which includes the ice hockey museum and video game museum. Pyynikki observation tower with the famous doughnuts is also a must for me, when visiting Tampere in the summer. That area has some nice nature walks as well. The Pyynikki stairs are also famous within the Finnish hockey lore as a place where the Tampere teams have done some serious conditioning.

Ooh! Videogame museum! We are both big geeks. Finnish doughnuts need to be introduced to my gf!

Vapriikki was interesting as I have tried explaining why Tampere is Manse and there seems to be a manserock exhibition there too!

Thanks a lot!

 

[mattihp]

Booked now!

I had no idea Silja (I only call it Tallink when going to Estonia ) can act as a travel agency. We got great deals on the hotels!

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Helsinki nice in august?

 

[mattihp]

Helsinki nice in august?

Not a huge fan of Helsinki but it is stunning in August. Ice cream is top notch and especially if you compare to Sweden... Bar food is incredible.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Helsinki nice in august?

Sure. The weather is generally quite warm still in early September even. What kind of trip are you planning/what kind of stuff are you interested in?

 

[mattihp]

Leaving on tuesday, so psyched! Just got a heart disease so we will skip Särkänniemi

 

[JabbaJabba]

Leaving on tuesday, so psyched! Just got a heart disease so we will skip Särkänniemi

What did you end up doing on your trip?

 

[mattihp]

What did you end up doing on your trip?

Helsinki was mostly floating around, going to cafes, the city museum (which is always nice) and the museum of technology which was a bit of a let down.

Tampere would have needed a couple of more days! Lots of good foods, Vapriiki museum center was really good and could have been afforded another day for exploring. Also donuts at Pyynnikki tower, the police museum etc. Will come back!

Once in Turku we were tired so we mostly did the town. The hotel here was awful, pubic hairs in bed so dealing with the reception ate some energy. So disappointing after incredible hotels in Helsinki and Tampere.

Will go back to Tampere for sure! Tampere was the highlight of our trip. Might try to do Tampere, Vaasa, Oulu sometime.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Helsinki was mostly floating around, going to cafes, the city museum (which is always nice) and the museum of technology which was a bit of a let down.

Tampere would have needed a couple of more days! Lots of good foods, Vapriiki museum center was really good and could have been afforded another day for exploring. Also donuts at Pyynnikki tower, the police museum etc. Will come back!

Once in Turku we were tired so we mostly did the town. The hotel here was awful, pubic hairs in bed so dealing with the reception ate some energy. So disappointing after incredible hotels in Helsinki and Tampere.

Will go back to Tampere for sure! Tampere was the highlight of our trip. Might try to do Tampere, Vaasa, Oulu sometime.

Sounds like you had a good time. Was this your first time in Tampere? That city offers surprisingly lot to do and see.

 

[mattihp]

Sounds like you had a good time. Was this your first time in Tampere? That city offers surprisingly lot to do and see.

We sure did. I might have been to Tampere as a kid, some stuff seemed familiar in a way. It did seem like there was no end to things to do there and it felt like we only scraped the surface.