September is said to be one of the best months to explore the Finnish Lapland. All the million mosquitoes that are torturing hikers and campers throughout the summer months have finally gone to winter sleep, the famous "ruska" (autumn colors where the leaves are turning red, orange and yellow) has started, and the temperatures are still pleasant for camping, hiking and other outdoor activities - and most importantly, it's dark enough to see the northern lights dancing on the autumn sky!
It was a sunny morning in September when me and my partner packed the car and started our trip up north from Turku in the south of Finland. We were well equipped with lots of food from Lidl, a portable gas kitchen, sleeping bags, warm clothes and a thick inflatable mattress (which wasn't very smart to bring, it turned out later...). Our first destination was 4 hours up north to Vaasa, where we were gonna sleep over at my grandma's place.
That feeling when you start driving and you know you have the whole road trip ahead of you; a mix of freedom and excitement and maybe a tiny bit of nervousness (I hadn't been driving much during the last years). We stopped by the famous beach Yyteri outside Pori on the way and despite the cold wind it was nice to walk along the beach. We were the only ones as far as we could see, and we already started feeling the rough empty wilderness that was waiting for us the further up north we would get.
After the first night in Vaasa, we continued another 4-5 hours north towards Oulu, where we were supposed to do Couchsurfing. I felt less eager to sleep in the tent after feeling how much colder it felt further up north - and convinced Sam to give Couchsurfing another try (he still had bad memories from that time in New Delhi fresh in mind...). Neither this Couchsurfing experience turned out that great, and the guy cancelled last minute. It was late, almost dark and cold - and now the tent was our only option.
We had found an online map called Tulikartta (check it out here!) over all the small huts and shelters in Finland were you could sleep for free, and decided to drive to a "laavu" (shelter) not too far away, to at least put up our tent by a fireplace. We found the laavu and met another guy and his dog who had already lit a fire in the fireplace. We joined him by the fireplace and tried to start a conversation, but as always with Finns it's not the easiest thing to do. He grilled his "makkara" (grill sausages) and drank his beers, and didn't say much. I tried to use the poor Finnish I speak but realized that as many "real" Finns, this guy probably just wanted to be quiet alone in the peaceful forest.
We managed to put up our tent inside the shelter which gave me a false feeling of safety and warmth. We survived the first night in the tent, although I woke up half frozen.
The next day we continued up north towards Kilpisjärvi, where Finland, Sweden and Norway meet. We stopped one night by Pallas-Yllästunturin national park and managed to find an actual hut - an "autiotupa" - where we could sleep for free. Although we had to hike through thick forest to reach to the hidden hut, it felt luxury once we got there - a whole hut for ourselves! We lit a fire in the fire stove and soon the hut was nicely warm too. We could even cook on the small stove. These free huts are definitely one of the peaks with traveling in Finland. This night we didn't have to freeze - during the night the hut turned into a sauna since the stove was a bit too effective, and the next morning we used to opportunity and went for a swim in the nearby lake. Well, at least I dipped my toes...
We had time to do a long and beautiful hike through the national park before the weather changed completely and it started snowing. We continued driving up north where the climate was winter - and we only had summer tires on the car. The nature just got more and more stunning though, and once we finally reach Kilpisjärvi we were surrounded by the real Lappland: the wilderness, freedom and rough but beautiful nature. We did a small hike but didn't make it all the way to the peak - Kilpisjärvi. The woman in the info center recommended us another hike instead, which truly was beautiful.
While driving up north through Finland, there will be frequent nature centers where you can stop and ask for recommendations or free huts to stay in. My Finnish languages skills were barely enough to communicate with the information desk ladies but somehow we managed - and surprisingly quite many of them spoke decent English.
In the night we found another "autiotupa" (free hut) to sleep in, fairly close to the road. We could drive quite close but had to hike with all our inconvenient camping equipment for a few kilometers and felt a bit embarrassed when we met experienced hikers staring at us. This time we didn't get the hut all for ourselves, it was already occupied by 3 women - but luckily they were welcoming and offered us to squeeze together and sleep there as well. It was a bit embarrassing to inflate our huuuuge mattress and we realized that we might not be any professional wilderness people at all...
After Kilpisjärvi, we made a spontaneous decision to cross the boarder to Norway. I convinced Sam to give Couchsurfing a final try and got accepted by an old man living slightly south of Tromsö on an island called Senja. After a whole day of driving we finally reach there, and met Stååle, our host. The villa he lived in wasn't looking exactly like it was described in his profile... It was very dirty and a wild guess would be that no one had been deep cleaning in that house for the past 10 years. However, Stååle was welcoming but slightly reserved at the same time, and we offered to cook dinner with the food we still had in the car. All night long we listened to Stååles stories that never ended, and he didn't seem very interested in asking us anything either. After what felt like the longest evening ever, we could finally go to sleep in his spare room. The next morning Stååles storytelling continued during breakfast, and even for me as an experienced Couchsurfer it felt like a relief to finally leave.
We spent most of the day driving around the island Senja - and the mountains were impressive! In the evening we decided to give camping another try despite the cold weather (after Sam gave Couchsurfing another try, I felt like it was my turn to compromise...), and we put up the tent on a small cliff on the way to Lofoten peninsula. This might have been the worst night in my life: I was ice cold, and couldn't even feel my feet. Our tent was covered in snow. We had heard from a more experienced camper that a thick inflatable mattress like the one we had was the worst option when it was cold - the air in the mattress doesn't isolate very well, and we could as well have been sleeping straight on the ground. After this terrifying night I refused to sleep in the tent any more.
Instead our car became our accommodation for most of the remaining nights. On the way out towards the end of Lofoten, Å, we stopped by one of the small fishing villages and managed to find a fairly cheap AirBnb option. It felt so great to shower and sleep in a bed again.
The remaining nights on Lofoten we slept in the car, and it was much warmer than the tent. I slept well like I usually do, Sam less well, but the feeling of waking up in the middle of the nature overlooking the stunning landscapes of Lofoten made up for the poor sleeping arrangements. We did a few really impressive hikes, although quite advanced (don't trust the online guides telling you that these mountain hikes are for beginners. Or I'm overestimating how fit I am, however, expect steep and advanced terrain - basically it's more like climbing than hiking).
My favorite hike we did in Lofoten was the famous Reinebringen, 448 meters high. Although Reinebringen is just 448 meters high and far from the highest peaks on Lofoten, the view from the top is breathtaking and worth the modest 1 hour hike/climb to the peak.
We reached all the way to Å, a cozy small village. On the way back towards Naarvik and the Swedish border we rented a hut to spare our backs from more nights in the car and to shower and fresh up. Although the hut was small and primitive, it felt extremely comfortable and luxurious compared to the past nights in the car. We took a short walk exploring the surroundings, and found a nearby lake. Seems like everywhere you go in Lapland during the "ruska" time, you will be surrounded by colorful beautiful landscapes.
On the way back to Finland and Turku, we passed by Abisko national park in the Swedish Lapland. The landscapes differ a lot from the mountain peaks in Norway, but nevertheless it was as beautiful in it's own way. The fall feeling was even more present here, and the weather much colder and the ground already frozen. The surroundings felt more like harsh wilderness, similar to the feeling we had in Finnish Lapland. Compared to Norway and Lofoten where we sometimes had to queue up the hiking trails to the viewpoints because of the crowd of other tourists, we barely met anyone else in Abisko. Even the information center was closed for the season, and the roads in general very empty.
On the way through Finland we ended our trip to Lapland with eating the traditional fried small fish called "muikku". You find them by the road for 5€ for a box, and they are delicious! One thing we didn't have time to eat was the pulled reindeer meet with mashed potatoes, that you can also have almost anywhere in the Finnish Lapland for a cheap price.
Did I find back to my Scandinavian roots during this trip? I guess I did, and I indeed felt proud to be born in such an amazing, clean and beautiful part of the world, as well as spoiled for taking all of this for granted. After living several years in Bangkok, I learnt to appreciate the clean air, untouched nature and the way the population in the north respect their surroundings and nature and live in peace with it.
From Finland it's easy to travel to the Baltic countries. There are ferries going from both Turku and Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia, and cheap flights.
If you are interested to plan a trip from Finland to the Baltic countries, make sure to read my best recommendations for the Baltic countries here! And for any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!