Trip to Finland for 1. Finland for an hour. Finnish visa rental. How much does a trip to Finland cost?

To date, among the residents of the northwestern region, the most popular is a trip for 1 day to Finland by minibus from home to home. Passengers who have ever traveled to Finland on big metro buses are well aware of the benefits of traveling to Finland from home to home (from address to address). And it really is the same as going to Finland by taxi. You do not need to get to the subway, but on the way back you need to carry bags with purchases on your own two. Having traveled to Finland in the mode from home to home (from address to address), any person will feel the difference, because we are traveling with a group of up to 8 people in a minibus.

This is a really good option for opening a visa, buying all sorts of overseas stuff, and at the same time unwinding by walking along the quiet streets of a rather boring Finland. And here our company is a good assistant to you in this!

Travel options in Finland

We can offer you a trip to Finland for 1 day from your home in the following areas:

By clicking on a specific direction, you can find information about it in more detail. For now, I can only say that all these voyages are not at all tiring and are always fun and relaxed. And most importantly, with benefit!

During a trip to Finland for 1 day, in addition to visiting various "holy" (for the local population) places, you will have a great opportunity to buy a little in the border shops of Finland, such as: "Laplandia Market", "Disa's Fish", "Scandinavian Market" ", "Lidl", "Rajamarket", etc. Believe me, there is something to see and buy to please yourself, to spite the neighbors. These are food products, first of all, and things of all world brands, tires and car accessories (which is really profitable to buy there), goods for home and for summer cottages. And much more. A trip to Finland for 1 day is a great opportunity to have a good time while visiting abroad and buying delicious products.

No trip to Finland from home by minibus is complete without a visit to the little cozy cafe at Disa's Fish. Designers worked there local and it immediately catches the eye. But what an ear!!! I advise you to try it, especially since there is a more impressive toilet right next to it. Completely free, by the way. Then everything is only for the currency.

Now a few words about the trips to Finland for 1 day from home to home. What are the charms of such tours and how is it different from trips on large fifty-seater buses?

Benefits of traveling to Finland by minibus from home

Well, first of all: we pick up passengers from home and return home safe and sound. You do not need to get to the place of boarding the bus early in the morning. The number of people is limited by the cabin capacity, i.e. each minibus accommodates from 7 to 9 people. Therefore, the fees are not so long. It is always easier to travel with a smaller group, it is easier to negotiate, you can painlessly fulfill any whim of a (sane) passenger.
Secondly: due to the fact that a minibus is considered a passenger car, we pass our and Finnish borders much faster than these "heavyweights" by 50 people. As a rule, even on the most very holidays, this whole procedure takes no more than an hour.
The third reason to travel to Finland on a home-to-home basis. There is no fat and ugly-colored aunt here; guide, always yelling and swearing at all passengers. No one slips bags of cigarettes and alcohol on anyone, in a word, everything happens quietly and peacefully, as it should be during a tour to Finland for 1 day.

Finland (Suomi in Finnish) is a country of a thousand lakes, the stunningly beautiful and idyllic landscapes of the Lake District, the pristine national parks of fabulous Lapland, vibrant cities and the amazing Åland Islands.

Tour operator ICS offers tours to Finland: New Year's, ski, city tours, sightseeing tours. By purchasing sightseeing tours to Finland, you get the opportunity to visit several cities in one trip - Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti, Turku, Savonlinna, etc. SPA hotels, where the cost of living includes the use of the water center or choose an active holiday - cycling, kayaking or hiking with an overnight stay in a tent, go fishing. Everyone will find something of their own.

Winter holidays in Finland will undoubtedly be remembered for fabulous snowy landscapes, reindeer and dog sledding trips, and, of course, getting to know Santa Claus, who lives near Rovaniemi, in Lapland.

Ski resorts in Finland are famous for their well-prepared slopes and well-developed infrastructure.

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DEPARTURE

05:55 - Departure: Art. m. Veterans. Novatorov Boulevard, 98-100.
06:00 - Stop: Art. m. Leninsky pr. Approximate stopping area: Leninsky pr., 129.
06:10 - Stop: Art. m. Moskovskaya. Approximate stopping area: Moskovsky pr., between st. Tipanova and Aviation st.
06:15 - Stop: Art. m. Victory Park. Approximate stop area: Moskovsky pr., metro stop.
06:20 - Stop: Art. m. Moscow Gates. Approximate stopping area: pl. Moscow Gates, Ligovsky pr., 276.
06:25 - Stop: Art. m. Bypass channel. Approximate stopping area: Ligovsky pr., 130-142.
06:27 - Stop: Art. m. Ligovsky pr. Approximate stopping area: Ligovsky pr., 82-84 .
06:30 - Stop: Art. m. Pl. uprisings. Approximate stopping area: Ligovsky pr., 30, near the shopping center "Gallery".
06:45 - Stop: Art. m. Black River. Approximate stopping area: st. Academician Krylova, 2; bus stop to the right of the subway exit.

TRIP PROGRAM

10:00 - 11:00 - Customs point Brusnichnoye, Svetogorsk or Torfyanovka (the choice of the point is based on the situation at the customs). Passage of the border Russia - Finland.
11:10 - 12:00 - Parking: Shop "Laplandia". It takes ~40-50 minutes to visit the store.
12:10 - 12:50 - Parking: Fish supermarket "Disa's Fish". It takes ~30-40 minutes to visit the store.
The visit to the border shops can be moved to the end of the program, after the visit to Lappeenranta (for better safety of the purchased products)!
13:10 - 16:40 - City of Lappeenranta. Time spent: ~2.5 - 3.5 hours. Program in the city:

13:10 - Stop: City center. Address: Lappeenranta, Kauppakatu, 40. Nearby: shopping center "Gallery".
13:15 - Stop: Hypermarket "PRISMA". Address: Lappeenranta, Puhakankatu, 9. Nearby: Supermarket "LIDL".
13:20 - Stop: Supermarket "LIDL". Old Lidl. Address: Lappeenranta, Helkalankatu, 1. Nearby: Shops "Biltema", "Family Center", "Gigantti", "Intersport", "Luhta Outlet", "Robinhood"; Wholesale warehouse "KESPRO".
14:50 - Stop: Supermarket "LIDL". Old Lidl. Address: Lappeenranta, Helkalankatu, 1.
14:55 - Stop: City center. Address: Lappeenranta, Kauppakatu, 40.
15:00 - 16:30 - Parking: Hypermarket "PRISMA". Address: Lappeenranta, Puhakankatu, 9.
16:35 - Stop: City center. Address: Lappeenranta, Kauppakatu, 40.
16:40 - Stop: Supermarket "LIDL". Old Lidl. Address: Lappeenranta, Helkalankatu, 1.
16:40 - Departure from the city of Lappeenranta to the border.

17:00 - 18:30 - Customs point Brusnichnoye, Svetogorsk or Torfyanovka (the choice of the point is based on the situation at the customs). Passage of the border Finland - Russia.
In case of a delay in crossing the border, in order to save time, TAX FREE checks do not receive money directly at the border, only stamps are put on the checks!

ARRIVAL

21:00 - 23:00 - Arrival in the city of St. Petersburg:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

* The time of embarkation / disembarkation and stay at the points of the route indicated in the trip program is approximate. The actual time spent in each of the points listed in the program depends on the situation on the roads, the speed of customs clearance and other related factors. The trip program can be adjusted by the guide along the way, in case of delays (including reduction in time and number of planned stops) or other circumstances. Full implementation of the declared program for reasons beyond the control of the Contractor is not guaranteed.
** The exact bus departure time for each specific date may differ from that stated in the trip program - see the time at, or check with our operators by phone. Also note that the Google map shows an approximate bus stop area where there is one stop for passengers to pick up. The bus driver chooses the exact stopping place in the specified area!
*** The exact time of arrival in St. Petersburg depends on the situation on the roads, the speed of customs clearance and other related factors. In the event of long delays in customs clearance, difficult traffic conditions or other circumstances, the arrival time may be later than indicated. Return before the closing of the subway is not guaranteed.
**** Please note that the Google map shows an approximate bus stop area with one drop-off stop. The bus driver chooses the exact stopping place in the specified area!

Tours to Finland for 1 day

The Smak Travel company offers one-day tours to Finland from St. Petersburg.

Finland is located in close proximity to St. Petersburg. A trip to this European country is available to everyone. Especially if we are talking about a tour to Finland for 1 day.

We offer:

author's excursion one-day tours from St. Petersburg to Finland;
shopping and beauty tours;
tours to Finland from St. Petersburg one day during the holidays.

Finland has all the conditions to relax or organize shopping. The proximity of Finland to St. Petersburg plays a favorable role. Finland is fast and inexpensive.

What are day trips to Finland?

One-day tours to Finland from St. Petersburg can be thematic and overview.

Among the one-day express tours to Finland, trips to individual cities such as Turku, Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Imatra, Kotka, Porvoo, etc. are popular.

Also among the residents of St. Petersburg are popular two-hour shopping tours with a stop at shopping centers near Lappeenranta.

How to choose a day trip to Finland

Finland is Europe. For those who come here for the first time, many things will be new: a different way of life, architecture, traditions. The one day tour is ideal for the first acquaintance with this country. For example, a one-day tour to Helsinki - the capital of Suomi. Such a trip will not take much time and will be inexpensive. The cost of a number of one-day tours per person can vary within one to two thousand rubles.

For those who are interested in goods from Europe, a shopping tour is suitable. This tour is also called “Finland for an hour”. You will visit major department stores and markets. When going on a shopping tour, please note that there are some conditions for duty-free importation of goods into Russia. For 2020, there are rules according to which one person can import no more than 25 kilograms of goods worth less than 500 euros. There is one more nuance: customs is closely monitoring whether you are transporting goods for personal purposes or for sale. If you try to smuggle multiple identical TVs, etc. across the border, problems may arise.

Travel agency "Smak-Travel" is ready to offer you any one-day tour. Call and our experts will advise on current offers.

What not to forget before traveling to Finland

You need a visa to travel to Finland. Even if we are talking about a trip for one day or an hour. The company's specialists will assist in opening a visa as soon as possible.

For a one-day tour to Finland from St. Petersburg you need:

valid passport;
valid Schengen visa;
international insurance policy;
when traveling with children, their birth certificates will be required;
if the children are not yours, then you will need a notarized power of attorney to take the child out of the territory of the Russian Federation.

How much does a trip to Finland cost?

The cost of a one-day tour to Finland depends on:

tour programs;
transport;
having a visa;
season;
purpose: sightseeing trip or shopping tour.

The exact price for the tour will be announced by our managers. On our website you can see the approximate cost. Check with our operators for more details.

Order a tour to Finland from Smak Travel

on our website you will find only current offers for tours to Finland for one day, available in the near future;
our experts will answer all questions related to the choice of the tour;
we help with obtaining a visa and insurance;
the guides who will accompany you are licensed;
having many years of experience in organizing tours from St. Petersburg to Finland, we know about all the features of organizing one-day tours.

An application for a tour to Finland from St. Petersburg for one day can be left on the website or by phone. We will select the appropriate option, taking into account your desires and possibilities.

Today I will talk about bus tours to Finland and their specifics. The fact is that this country has long and firmly settled in the hearts of lovers of bus tours, especially those living in the North-West region. And I know at least a few good reasons for that. Firstly, the close location: the nearest checkpoint from St. Petersburg can be reached in 3-4 hours, and from Vyborg in 40 minutes. Secondly, attractive prices for tours. Thirdly, of course, the need to “roll back” (this is a well-established word among travelers that means receiving the required number of stamps from the country that issued the visa) multi-Schengen, which is still willingly issued to citizens of the territories closest to the Finnish border for a year, two or even more. Frankly, I personally mostly travel to Finland just for the last reason, because I often and with pleasure take the opportunity to ride around other European countries on last-minute tickets, for which it is very useful to always have an open visa in my passport.

The most popular among our compatriots are one-day tours to Finland: in a few hours it is quite possible to have time to see some nice little town, plus buy "Fairy" and fish in border shops. Those traveling for several days already usually combine Finland with some other country.

Bus to bus strife: tours or transfers

Before choosing a route, you should take care of the following difference: there are, in fact, bus tours, when you are taken to various interesting places, and the guide on the bus tells all sorts of curious things about them. And there are just scheduled (regular) buses that will take you to Finland only “there” or “back and forth” without any sound accompaniment and without stopping while waiting for tourists to drink coffee / smoke / buy buns. This point needs to be realized: once in my memory, the company caught up with the LuxExpress regular bus in a taxi and then loudly resented that they were abandoned along the road.

On the other hand, if your main goal is to “roll back”, perhaps just a regular bus will be a better option for you than a tour. The same LuxExpress drives to Finland very modern and comfortable vehicles with sockets and personal TVs. It will be more expensive than a one-day tour, but you don’t stop anywhere, you don’t get distracted by the guide’s voice, but you calmly write your dissertation on soil science all 8–10 hours from St. Petersburg.

There is one more detail. If you still choose a tour, try not to get involved with small and dubious offices. The same applies to private taxis and minibuses. The track "Scandinavia" (St. Petersburg - Finland), alas, is notorious for its regular traffic accidents. European companies of the LuxExpress and Ecolines level work according to European standards, which means that drivers there must change after a certain number of hours. For many domestic travel agencies, this regime is too expensive. Once, in my memory, a bus (with me inside) rammed a bump stop and went into a ditch due to driver fatigue / sleep. After that, for 5 hours on a December night, we danced round the tightly stuck transport, waiting for the one sent to replace it.

Prices for tours to Finland, if we are considering large tourist buses, start at 700 rubles. True, a short minibus tour can be found for 500 rubles, although you won’t see much in the country for this money (in fact, only a checkpoint and a couple of shops). Regular buses will be more expensive: 550-900 rubles. in one direction, but such companies often have seasonal discounts.

Customs subtleties

First: if you are going to Finland for just a day, then you are not allowed to bring alcohol there in any quantity.

And secondly, no matter how many days you travel, if you enter Finland by car (a bus, of course, this is what it is) - you should not have more than two packs of cigarettes with you. The last rule is relatively new, and many do not know about it.

Shopping on bus tours

In fact, bus tours are not the most convenient way to shop in Finland, but it's no secret that many "travelers" look at them that way. Wherever you go, you will probably be dropped off at least at some stores, most often in Finland these are:

Prisma,
Lidl,
Stockmann.

But the most suitable tours for purchases are trips to Imatra / Lappeenranta. For those who are interested in this topic in detail, I refer to the article, but here I will only briefly mention the coveted goods and places where they can be obtained.

Trout and Fairy

The absolute hit, of course, is the fish. She literally starts throwing herself into your bags almost immediately after crossing the border - raw, salty, smoked. In fact, raw fish (not heat-treated, that is, salted too), like meat in the same form, is prohibited from being imported into the Russian Federation according to customs rules. Yes, and officially smoked / canned, you can take home no more than 5 kg. But in fact, the customs officers turn a blind eye to this, because almost every second bus tries to smuggle this unfortunate salted salmon or trout from Finland, and, to be honest, it is a sin to deprive people of such pleasure.

Next in popularity are general commodities, for which bus tourists raid cheap Laplandia and Rajamarket supermarkets. These are household detergents, coffee, olive oil, thermal underwear. For some reason, it is believed that all these goods in Finland are much better in quality than in Russia. Personally, I did not notice anything like that; however, it is really difficult to resist buying Fazer chocolates.

In principle, visiting only two of the most famous border shops: Laplandia and Disa "s Fish allows you to satisfy the passion of domestic tourists for trout and Fairy. A stop at them is included in the program of the vast majority of bus tours in the directions of Imatra / Lappeenranta /. But visit Duty Free is more difficult, buses stop there only if the border was crossed quickly, and there is a little extra time left.But just in case, you should know that in 2016 Laplandia at the Svetogorsk checkpoint was closed, only the one at the Brusnichnoye checkpoint remained ".

On a note:

For those traveling to Kotka/Hamina/Helsinki/Porvoo: there is no Laplandia at the Torfyanovka checkpoint and never has been.
For those who are generally only interested in Laplandia and Disa's Fish: many travel agencies offer the most truncated tour "Finland for 2 hours." In fact, his program only includes crossing the border, stopping at these two stores and returning back.

One day tours

One-day tours are the “highlight” of Finland: in fact, you can count on the fingers of one hand the countries where you can go by bus from Russia and return in less than a day. Prices for them start at 700 rubles (Imatra, Lappeenranta) and reach 1500 rubles (Helsinki,), which, of course, directly depends on the mileage.

Imatra and Lappeenranta

The most popular destinations for one-day visa haulers may disappoint those who plan to experience the European flair immediately after crossing the border. The truth is that both of these towns are very provincial, quiet and, in general, not very touristy. I combine them under one heading, since there is nothing to go from one to the other, although officially Imatra has its own checkpoint (Svetogorsk / Imatra), and Lappeenranta has its own (Cowberry / Nuijamaa). Often, bus drivers, regardless of the city of destination, choose the point where the line is smaller.

Of this pair, it is smaller and much more modest. There are no special architectural, cultural or historical sights there, with the exception, perhaps, of the waterfall on the Saimaa Canal, but its inspection is usually not included in the tour program. Most involve a stop of choice at the water park - this is what people go to Imatra for. You should know that the water park is not located in the town itself, but nearby, so if you stay there, you will not see anything else.

Lappeenranta is larger and livelier than its neighbor: it even has a center where you can walk around, and a small bay where you can look at the boats. If you are interested in purchases, then your choice is definitely Lappeenranta, because it is here:

stockman,
Lidl,
Prisma,
Rajamarket,
Shopping center "Gallery" with clothes and other non-grocery goods.

Another specific attraction of Lappeenranta is the huge second-hand store Kirppis, located near the Prisma store: hipsters come here for vintage clothes, and housewives for home and garden utensils, and young parents for children's things, and everyone else for other various things.

Savonlinna and Mikkeli

The town is located approximately on the same side as Lappeenranta, but further away. If a one-day tour for the aforementioned couple starts in the morning and ends in the evening, then a one-day tour to Sanvonlinna takes a full day (usually leaving St. Petersburg from the evening of the previous day). And even this does not make much sense: Sanvonlinna or the “land of lakes” is, first of all, nature. It makes sense to go there for a few days, equipped with fishing rods / nets / tents / friends.

The tour in the schedule is similar to the Sanvonlinna tour and differs from it only in the nature of the tourist facilities. - former and current military town with related museums and attractions. It makes sense to visit it if you like the region as much as military history.

Kotka and Hamina

Since these towns are located nearby, they are often combined into a single tour, also one-day. The drive to them is longer than to Imatra and Lappeenranta, but here you can already admire something: various churches, parks, the estate of the Russian emperor and the marine aquarium (in Kotka).

Moreover, Kotka and Hamina lie on the Helsinki highway, respectively, you will have to go there through another checkpoint - Torfyanovka / Vaalimaa. This border checkpoint is considered to be busier than Brusnichnoye or Svetogorsk.

Helsinki and Porvoo

The minimum duration of the bus tour is 24 hours (departure from St. Petersburg in the evening). In this scenario, you have about 6-7 hours left to explore the city, which, in principle, is enough to form a primary idea about it. Usually tourists are given a choice: to drop them off in the center or send them to a large shopping complex (formerly Itakeskus) on the outskirts. The second option is hardly worth the effort: lovers of shopping centers, as I said, should go not to Helsinki, but to Lappeenranta.

The trip to Helsinki usually takes the same amount of time as the Helsinki tour and follows the same schedule. The city is quite large and interesting, with an abundance of museums and small author's shops. This, of course, is also not a direction for mass shopping, it is rather one of the “wander/see/find something exclusive” series.

Tampere

Despite the fact that Tampere is the furthest away from all other "one-day" cities for tours in Finland, most companies manage to somehow turn trips there in the same day (well, a little more). The question is how much you need it. Tampere is a pretty lake town with museums and even beaches, and a rich variety of boat cruise options. Here, again, it is good to go for a few days and explore the surroundings.

One of the most striking Tampere attractions is the Särkänniemi amusement park (this is where the Eden water park is located). The problem is that all this beauty is not in the city itself, but under it, and about 2 hours are allocated to visit the water park alone in a standard one-day bus tour. Which, of course, is not offensive enough.

Tours for several days

For those who are willing to spend a few days exploring this unusual country, the choice, of course, is much richer. Prices for weekend tours range from 5,000–9,000 rubles, tours lasting 3 days or more cost an average of 11,000 rubles.

Trips to Northern Finland (lakes, recreation centers, fishing, sauna), Jyväsklä (autumn festival of light), Loviisa (the charm of wooden fishermen's houses). Even (untouched wilderness) can be reached by bus (more precisely, you can get to Turku, and from there by ferry - all the same islands).

The main catch is that you really need to really love Finland specifically in order to select more and more new route options for these small cozy places. To be completely honest, after you see the first 2-3, they become very, very similar to each other.

Finland + ...

A separate story is combined tours, in which Finland is a place for crossing the border and one or two overnight stays. The prices for such trips can pleasantly please tourists who are greedy for the maximum number of countries visited: for example, a three-day tour of Finland + Sweden may well fit into the budget of 8,000 rubles. A couple of times I also used burning offers of 5,000 rubles.

However, I have to note that almost always semi-bus tours are disguised as ferry tours: it is understood that tourists go to just dry land, in order to then board a ferry in the Finnish capital and sail further - to Sweden, Estonia or Germany. One of the most common combinations Helsinki + + Tallinn usually looks like this. If you look at Finland on a map, you will understand why: it would be too long to get to the neighboring country by land from there. I note that ferries are different, and not always spending the night on a ferry means sleeping in a horizontal position on a human bed: I had to camp in chairs that are not much different from bus ones.

Reminder to bus traveler

In order to avoid surprises, and indeed always, if in a good way, you need not only to carefully read the tour program, but also not be ashamed to throw questions at your travel agency manager, and then, already on the way, continue to bombard the guide with them. Due to traffic conditions and other incomprehensible circumstances, the actual program may differ dramatically from that stated on the site. Although, in fairness, I note that this usually does not happen with large and respected offices.