Have you ever been to Finland? Until this weekend away I hadn’t and it seemed like a great place to go to disconnect and be in nature. It turns out that the Finns appreciate this highly and so the weekend ended up being a cultural experience too, but in relative comfort.
I went with Flash Pack on the first time they’ve run this trip, which makes me an Insider (don’t worry it’s not exclusive!). This meant we got a small discount as it was the first time they were testing out the trip on actual customers, so please bear this in mind.
So on to country #60: Finland:
A Flashpacking Weekend in Finland
Arrival in Helsinki
I flew from London Heathrow with British Airways to Helsinki, arriving at 4:20pm. I managed to meet up with a couple of the other Flash Packers at Heathrow, so we hung out before we got the flight. On landing we found out that the plane that was an hour before us was delayed, messing up the planned transfers slightly. But soon enough we were off in a private mini bus to check into our hotel…
Staying in a former Prison
Yes our hotel was a prison in it’s former life! Now this isn’t the first converted prison I’ve stayed in (the first was a hostel in Ljubljana). However the rooms we stayed in were very comfortable. My room looked like it was in the old administration block – think high ceilings, decent windows etc. They were luxuriously appointed – we had a chaise loungue in ours! And the bathroom was a decent size and stocked with toiletries, important if you pack hand luggage only.
They had preserved some of the original cells, one group cell and one solitary confinement cell, in the basement restaurant area.
The ‘preserved’ solitary confinement cell complete with toilet bowl
The hallways still had some of the original features also. I’m not sure if different parts of the hotel had different features in the rooms though.
We didn’t have long in our room before we were headed out for our dinner and drinks. So it was a quick change for me and then back downstairs to meet the group and our guide Marko.
Dinner at the Brewery
Our first night dinner was a beer and food tasting one at Bryggeri brewery. It was certainly popular on a Friday night when we turned up after 6pm. They have a courtyard out back with outdoor seating that was popular despite some light rain. However we were seated in the downstairs restaurant. Top tip if you are a big group would be to pre-book, they were very busy, which meant slowish service.
Beer and food pairing
Our meal started with a beer and food pairing selection. Four different beers with four different foods, all Finnish:
- Smoked whitefish paired with a pilsner
- Smoked reindeer served with a porter
- Local cheese served with a pale ale
- Hummus (ok maybe not Finnish!) paired with the very strong dark ale
By the time we had all been served our starters we were starving and fell on the food. Unfortunately I didn’t pace myself as the main and dessert was yet to come!
The rest of the meal
The main was a beautifully cooked steak with Finnish new potatoes (they were very keen to point out Finnish potatoes for some reason 😉 ). On my table we ordered a bottle of wine to share with the steak, which was lovely.
Steak with ‘Finnish’ potatoes
Then we still had dessert! The amazing chocolate and cherry dessert went down very well, I probably didn’t need to eat it all, but I couldn’t help myself.
Isn’t this pretty?!
Then unfortunately JC decided to introduce us to the local Finnish licorice liqueur – yuck!! This was definitely not to my taste, but when in Finland…..
Midnight sun
Walking back to the hotel around 11pm, we were amazed at how light it was out. The sun only set at 10.45pm the week we were there, so magical and light. And thank god for the black out curtains!
Nature time
The next day I had a light breakfast (I was still so stuffed from the previous night’s dinner!) and then we all jumped on a mini bus. We were taken to Nuuksio National Park, about a 45 minute drive outside of Helsinki. On arrival we left our bags in the equivalent of a Scout hut (I’m not sure how else to describe it..)
Well it’s definitely a wooden hut of some kind…
Then Marko introduced us to his wife, Nina who was helping with the guiding.
Hiking
We started off with a hike around Nuuksio, where Marko and Nina introduced us to lots of amazing facts about Finland. For example Nuuksio National Park alone has 40 lakes in it. In the whole of Finland there are around 184,000. That’s lots of lakes! A lot of the land is covered with trees and forests too and the Finnish love getting out into nature. In fact its part of their rights – you can camp anywhere in Finland. You just have to be respectful and ask before lighting a fire if you are on someone’s land.
Lunch time
After our hike we headed back to the hut, where the local cafe was cooking us up some lunch. Either this took longer than expected or we were back from the hike early, however we did have to wait a while before it was ready. But hanging out on the pontoon in the sun meant this wasn’t a bad place to wait.
Lazing in the sun on the pontoon
Lunch was another typical Finnish dish – salmon and potato soup. And boy was it tasty! Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture, but it was served with fresh bread and proper butter. Afterwards there was time for coffee and cardamom buns – my favourite!
Stand up paddle boarding
After lunch, where I regretted eating so much of the delicious soup, we did paddle boarding. Luckily for us Nina is a paddle boarding instructor and gave us guidance on how to get going on the boards. She also gave us instructions on getting around the lake. This included staying away from the private jetties, in case any nude sunbathing Finns were using them (it was the weekend!).
I successfully managed to stand up on my board and not fall off, score! However at the far end of the lake the wind got up and made it very difficult to return, so I quickly worked up a sweat. Inspired by some of the others jumping into the water I had a controlled dip in off my board too. Very refreshing and it perfectly set me up for the next activity that afternoon:
SAUNA!
You can’t go to Finland and not sauna! It’s one of the Finnish’ favourite pastimes. We did it very leisurely. Our hut came with a sauna – bonus, but it wasn’t quite big enough to all fit in at the same time. So we took it in turns, warming up and then cooling down. A few beers and my new favourite gin drink – Long Drink (or as we nicknamed it lady drink) meant that everybody relaxed quickly.
We had the traditional birch branches in the sauna, these are used to stimulate the circulation and make your skin feel great. I’m sure they are good on tired muscles too. Soon there were leaves everywhere as we whacked each other with the branches.
Cooling off the traditional way
A bit later we wanted to cool off in the lake and the more adventurous swam into the lake past all the water lillies. I joined in and boy was it muddy close to shore. Whilst the deep water was very refreshing, exiting through the plant roots was unnerving. As soon at the National Park has extended the jetty you will be able to jump right in and not look like a mud monster like me on the way out.
Whilst we were sauna-ing Marko and Nina headed to set up camp in a different (quieter?) area.
Wilderness cooking
Looking after us whilst Marko and Nina were gone (and keeping us out of trouble) was Aarni from Pieni Ravintola (Little Restaurant). He soon had us involved in cooking our dinner on a wood fire. Luckily for us there was no foraging for ingredients and Aarni had brought all the utensils we needed. We whittled stakes to hold our trout on wooden boards by the fire to slow cook them. We chopped veggies, we mixed sauces, we made burgers and toasted buns.
Drinks
We also made Napue gin and tonic cocktails and decorated the tables with ferns and classic Finnish napkins. I think we did a good job!
Dessert was pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries and foraged blue berries that the girls had found in the nearby bushes. I can certainly say that I was stuffed after all that.
Another great sunset – at 11pm!
After dinner we hung out until Marko and Nina came back to show us the way to the campsite area. It was a lot longer a wait than we were told. I think it took them longer to put up all the tents for a full group, but we had plenty of drinks to keep us going! The 25 minute walk to the campsite was good to work off some of the food and we saw a beautiful sunset.
Tentsile camp
When we arrived at the campsite we saw all our tents strung up between the trees. It was quite exciting to see and to imagine what staying there would be like.
There’s my tent!
As you can tell it was still quite light out, so we stayed up with more drinks and marshmallows around the fire. After all have you camped if you didn’t have marshmallows?
Despite the excitement of the tentsile camp (or maybe because of it….?) I didn’t sleep great. Too many drinks and a trip to the composting toilet in the middle of the night (even if it is twilight out!) meant an uncomfortable night. Due to the nature of the tents, any kind of movement inside the tent disturbed the other person sharing it. We both ended up in the middle by the end of the night, a bit too close for me!
Our tent camp in the morning
Allas sea pools & goodbye Finland
The next morning we had a great breakfast spread back at the hut and the opportunity for one last activity in the National Park. Then we jumped in the mini bus back to Helsinki. We were dropped off at the Allas sea pools, where there was the opportunity for a swim, sauna and most importantly a shower!
The Baltic sea pool – aka very cold!
The slightly warmer main pool
This was a great end to a weekend and I went from the sea pools to the airport with some of the others to catch my flight. Unlike some people I didn’t have a dip in the Baltic sea…. (it was a bit too cool outside for that, I sat in the sauna instead)
The Flash Pack verdict
Having never done a Flash Pack trip before (but I have done plenty of group trips with other providers). I wasn’t sure how Flash Pack would be different.
It’s aimed squarely at me: Mid 30’s (OK I’m in denial!), with plenty of spare cash to splash on travelling, done the backpacking thing and more likely to pick a hotel over a hostel.
The view was worth it
Comfort
The main draw with Flash Pack is that the comfort level is high. They stay in 4-5 star hotels, (unless camping), a lot of extras are included and definitely good food and drink. However you still have to share a room/tent…. To me this is less Flash Pack (especially when it’s a stranger, however lovely they are). To be clear I’ve shared rooms like this on other trips, however we were on more basic trips, so a room for 2 felt like luxury compared to a hostel room for 8!
The tentsile camp was rustic, fine if you are expecting to camp, but for some reason I was expecting more glamping… Like a bigger tent (there wasn’t really space for our bags inside as well as us). This was a nice gimmick, it certainly got plenty of you asking about the tents suspended from the trees. However not the most comfortable of nights. If I was going to do this trip again I would consider getting my own tent, but I’m not sure if this would put too much strain on Marko and Nina to put them all up.
Cost
When I originally looked at this trip it definitely appealed, however the cost was high. Now that I know of the volume of drinks that are included, I kinda get this as alcohol in Finland is expensive. Having a chef and lots of things organised for you out in a national park is something that you can’t really do on your own or ‘on the cheap’. So whilst the cost of this weekend adventure in Finland was high, I didn’t really have to pay anything additional (some snacks, wine with dinnerthe first night and lunch on the final day).
Things that will improve
Obviously this being the first time they had done a full group, there were some timing issues that needed to be sorted out. I’m sure that this will be smoother on future trips, but also you need to learn to do things the Finnish way = laid back and relaxed!
Would I Flash Pack again?
The answer is definitely YES!
So where is my next Flash Pack trip? I couldn’t book with them for Oman, which was a shame but the dates didn’t work with the flights I could get… So now I’m waiting for them to come out with a trip to a destination I’ve not been to before. Could it be country #61?
EDIT: So the latest Guatemala and Belize trip looks enticing…. watch this space!
Pin me for your future Flash Pack and Finland inspiration!
Josy A says
This sounds like an amazing trip! Especially if this was their first time organising a group… It sounds boozy and fun. I feel like now I’m in my 30s, I wouldn’t quite be able to drink all of that, but I quite like the sound of the liquorish liquor!!
Katie says
Ah Josy it was fun and you didn’t need to drink everything, but with the inclusions it was decent value for money.
Nina says
I have never been to FInland but it is on my list! This sounds like it was such a great trip! You were well-fed and showed around.
Katie says
Definitely Nina – I would recommend it for sure!
Taylor says
I’ve always wanted to go to Finland since I had a layover in Helsinki ages ago! Seems like summer is the time to do it, the midnight sun seems so intriguing.
Katie says
Summer is a lot warmer and I love the Fins outdoor nature – they make the most of the midnight sun!
Ciara says
Wow, what an amazing trip! I feel hungry from your food photos alone! I haven’t been to Finland but it’s high on my bucket list. This post has made me want to go even more! p.s cant believe you stayed in a former prison!!
Katie says
It was a very cool hotel Ciara!
Brianna | curioustravelbug says
This sounds like a lot of fun! I love that they put an emphasis on Finnish food and drink so that even though you were flashpacking you didn’t miss out on local dishes. I’m not sure how I feel about the tents, but the ground looks very rocky so it probably is an improvement over sleeping on the ground. Finland looks so beautiful!
Katie says
Yeah the tents were probably a bit more comfy – but still a bit close with a stranger ? it was a unique experience for sure Brianna!
LAUREN BETH MONITZ says
Finland and Norway are on my bucket list so hard, but I want to go in winter to see the northern lights.
Katie says
Ah I saw the northern lights in Iceland – so amazing when they dance! I’d highly recommend it Lauren!
abcdefghizzy says
Honestly one of the BEST posts I’ve read about Finland thus far! Pinning for future use and the wilnderness cooking experience sounds exceptional! What a treat!
Katie says
It was such a unique weekend!
Anjali Chawla says
I loved Finland so much so that I planned my second trip as soon as I was back 😉 Staying in a former prison must have been a unique experience!
Katie says
It definitely was Anjali – also the tensile tents were pretty unique too!