Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Boat
Lake boats were once important summer transport. These services are now largely kept on
as cruises, and make a great, leisurely way to journey between towns. The most popular
routes are Tampere-Hämeenlinna, Tampere-Virrat, Savonlinna-Kuopio and
Lahti-Jyväskylä.
Coastal routes include Turku-Naantali, Helsinki-Porvoo and ferries to the Åland ar-
chipelago.
The site
http://lautta.net
is very handy for domestic lake-boat and ferry services.
Bus
Bus is the main form of long-distance transport in Finland, with a far more comprehensive
network than the train. Buses run on time and are rarely full.
Intercity buses fall into two main categories:
vakiovuoro
(regular), stopping frequently at
towns and villages; and slightly pricier
pikavuoro
(express). Because there are few motor-
ways, even express buses aren't that fast, averaging about 60km/h.
Ticketing is handled by
Matkahuolto
,
whose excellent website has all the timetables.
Matkahuolto offices work normal business hours, but you can always just buy the ticket
from the driver.
Towns have a
linja-autoasema
(bus terminal), with local timetables displayed (
lähtevät
is
departures,
saapuvat
arrivals).
Separate from the normal system - though their timetables appear on the Matkahuolto
in comfortable double-decker buses. Most of these radiate from Helsinki and can be much
cheaper than normal fares if booked in advance.
Departures between major towns are frequent, but reduce substantially at weekends. In
more remote areas, there may be no weekend buses at all. Schedules change during the
summer holidays; it can be much harder to move around isolated regions.
Costs
Prices refer to express services where available. Ticket prices are fixed - though there are
some online advance-purchase offers - and depend on the number of kilometres travelled;
return tickets are 10% cheaper than two one-way fares, provided the trip is at least 60km
each way.
