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|language = Finnish, Swedish; recognised regional languages: Sami

|currency = Euro (&euro;€)|hitch = {{good}}<rating country='fi' />|BW = FI|map = <map lat='64.8' lng='25.9' zoom='4' view='0' width='300' height='350' country='Finland'/>

'''Finland''' is a part of the Northern [[Europe]], and one of the Nordic Countriescountries. It is a member state of the [[European Union]] as well as the [[Schengen Agreement]]. Its neighbouring countries are [[Sweden]], [[Norway]] and [[Russia]], but possibly the most probable transit country on your way hitchhiking there from Southern Europe is [[Estonia]]. Most people use this way. It's called as the [[E67|Via Baltica]] - road ([[E67]] between [[Helsinki]], ) road connects Finland and with [[Prague]], via the Baltic States and [[Czech RepublicPoland]].

In It is illegal to hitchhike directly on motorways (''moottoritie'') and some two-land expressways roads (''moottoriliikennetie'') in Finland. You can recognize these from the Northern part of Finland hitchhiking seems pretty easygreen signs. When On these roads, you get closer to Helsinki it could be a good idea to avoid the highways can hitch from on-ramps (which often have bus stops that drivers will stop at) and opt for the older roads[[petrol station hitchhiking|petrol stations]]. With less traffic, but easier for The cars to cannot stopin crossing areas, and less likely to be stuck at some on-ramp in the middle of nowheredrivers who disobeyed this rule and picked up hitchhikers have been fined.

In the south, it is a good idea to avoid motorways and opt for smaller local roads. Though there is less traffic, there is more room for cars to stop. Finnish drivers will only stop where they feel it is safe, so try to thumb at bus stops.__TOC__*I disagree with most of the above. See the [[Imagehttp://hitchwiki.org/en/Talk:ErgaFinland Talk-campingpage].-in-finland.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[CampingUser:Astikain|Astikain]] is legal almost anywhere in Finland14:40, just stay slightly out of sight and you can even camp next to [[highways]].]]6 September 2012 (CEST)

=== Cities Regions ===* [[Jyväskylä]], [[JoensuuFile:Finland european roads.png|thumb|250px|Finnish motorways (blue) with their European numbers and national roads (red and yellow)]]* [[KuopioFile:Erga-and-a-friendly-finnish-man.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Hitchhiker Erga and a friendly Finnish driver]]* [[Lahti]]* File:Erga-camping-in-finland.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Find info on camping on [[Helsinki:nomad:Finland|Nomadwiki]], [[Hämeenlinna]]* [[Oulu]]* [[Pori]]* [[Seinäjoki]]* [[Tampere]], [[Turku]] ===Other areas===

== Crossing Borders Safety ==Nothing special about the Finnish borders. Apart from the Russian border, they exist only on the map, not Hitchhiking is quite safe in reality. Since the dawn of time has there been very liberal co-operation between the Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian bordersFinland. Finland signed the [[Schengen Agreement]], but [[Ahvenanmaa]] where the ferries to [[Stockholm]] stop supposedly isn'tAs always, so the border-control can use that as an excuse to go through common sense is your propertyfriend.

[[Image:Washing car window in the North of Finland.JPG|thumb|240px|[[User:guaka|guaka]] washing away mosquito corpses]]=== From/to Sweden =Culture ==Ferries Hitchhiking used to [[Stockholm]] go from [[Helsinki]] be popular in the 70's and 80's, and [[Turku]]many drivers will tell the hitchhiker(s) they've hitched themselves back in their days. The latter being closer Nowadays this practice is considerably cheaper. Both ferries also stop in [[Maarianhamina]] in [[Ahvenanmaa]]rather rare among Finns, or [[Mariehamn]] in [[Åland]] as the swedish-speaking population but there tend to call it. The two companies running ferries between Finland and Sweden are [http://www.vikingline.fi Viking Line] and [http://www.silja.com Silja Line]. Both of the companies concentrate on bringing the customers a cruise-experiencealways some, and are bound to be tackyespecially in summer time around music festivals. At least Viking Line sells simple tickets without a cabin, which would Hitching in Finland might be rather useless on difficult during the daytime trips between [[Turkuwinter]] and [[Stockholm]] anywaytime because lack of daylight. A ferry from Stockholm The weather differences in Finland seem to Turku costs about 25 euros effect greatly how well people pick you up. Sunny weather might help you a great deal because it makes people more happy and Stockholmopen-Helsinki 55 euros (both without a cabin).  Silja Line is the poshier of the two, and thus more expensive. It's still tacky, thoughminded.

The Viking Line cruise ships have free tourist maps of Turku at their information desks onboard. Be warned that if you take a daytime cruise (which is about half Hitchhiking seems to get easier the price), more North you will arrive go in Turku at night. In the Fall, Winter, and early Spring, that means no daylight for hitchhikingFinland, because towns get smaller and possibly extremely cold temperatures, as well. It isn't to say the archipelagoes of Stockholm or Turku don't make a nice scenery. On the ferries there's a constant attempt to lure people feel more open to buy as much tax-free booze and other stupid things as much as allowed by the regulationshelp others. It really isn't much more affordable than at land especially since the regulations for importing from [[Estonia]]However, which they won't tell you of course. So, do bring a book. Usually there's free Playstation or XBox games at the kids-section to spend the time, plus usually some other backpackers or other such to chat with. You can also try to spot a small islands severely damaged by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Cormorant great cormorants] a few hours off [[Stockholm]]. Then there's the Swedish [http://www.birka.se Birka Cruises], whose product is apparently closer to a more proper cruise. === From/to Estonia ===[[Image:Erga-and-a-friendly-finnish-man.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Erga and a friendly Finnish driver]]There is no land-connection between Finland and [[Estonia]]. There highways are several daily boats from Helsinki to Tallinn. It takes 1-3 hours, costs about 20 euros the cheapest without a cabin. === From/to Norway === === From/to [[Russia]] ==='''Note'''* There is no walking on any of existing crossing points.* Crossing ''Vaalimaa–Torfianovka'' border post via cycling was permitted at least better in 2006 and, most probably, still permitted* Russian visa is not issued on the border The most important crossings to Russia ([[St. Petersburg]] region) are ''Vaalimaa–Torfianovka'' one the road [[E18]]/7 Helsinki-St-Petersburg and ''Nuijamaa–Brusnichnoe'' near [[Lappeenranta]]. The first one is always animated, open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. There's lots of through traffic as well as lots of locals from both sides of the border, with Russians coming to buy goods, Finnish people going to the other side to buy alcohol, cigarettes and fuel and all sort of traffickers. On Finnish side they are crowding on the first gas station, just before the customs zone. You can alternate asking drivers on the parking South and those queueing to the terminal. A ride to [[Torfianovka]] is enough – there's lots of transport going to [[Vyborg]] and [[St. Petersburg]] from there, that doesn't necessarily cross the border to the Finnish side. No use trying to get into Russia with trucks – freight terminal is separate, and sometimes you wait hours, sometimes days. Russia–Finland seems to be faster. To get back from [[Russia]] to Finland the best way is to ask on the parking of one of the supermarkets around. The other one is on the road '''13''' going south from [[Lappeenranta]] and bypassing the village of Niirala on the north. There is less more traffic here, but the route is more scenic, going along the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saimaa_canal Saimaa canal] (Russian: ''Сайменский канал''; Finnish: ''Saimaan kanava'') Next crossing point north from there is ''Niirala-Värtsilä'', on the road 70 south of [[Joensuu]]. The trafic is low, from there a road goes to [[Sortavala]], from where it is possible to reach [[St. Petersburg]] by the south shore of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ladoga lake Ladoga], with a portion of unpaved road, or [[Petrozavodsk]] via north shore.<!-- see infobox== Money ==Finland is a part of the [[EU]] and the currency used is Euro.-->Also, there are some border crossings more, from Imatra to Svetogorsk, from Kuhmo to Kostamuksha, from Salla towards Kandalaksha and from Inari towards Murmansk. These days most of these checkpoints work 24/7. Good way to hitch a ride from Russia to Finland is to hang around some stores near the border looking for Finnish licence plates and offer to bring the driver an extra load of cigarettes and booze. They will be appreciate that.

The language most people in Finland speak is Finnish, which isn't a Scandinavian language. The country is officially bilingual, as there is a large Swedish-speaking minorityon the west coast of Finland. Anyhow, most of the Most people speak at least some Englishtoo, so most of the international foreign hitchhikers won't have big language communication problems in Finland.Though you might encounter some old people who don't speak English. In this case it's good to know some Swedish (which is useful all over Scandinavia). === Useful expressions for hitchhikers ===* Hello = Terve* Hi = Moi ''or'' Hei* Hitchhiking = Liftaaminen* To Hitchhike = Liftata * A Ride = Kyyti* Thank You = Kiitos* Where are you driving to? = Minne ajat? == Safety ==Hitchhiking is quite safe in Finland indeed. As always, common sense is your friend. == Legal matters for hitchhikers ==Hitchhiking is legal in Finland. Anyhow, there are some places where it is illegal for the cars to stop and some places where it's illegal for pedestrians to stand. Both of these make hitchhiking de facto illegal in these places. == Highways ==[[Image:Finnish_motorway_sign_561.png|right|60px]]It is illegal to hitchhike on the highways (called “moottoritie”) and some motorways (“moottoriliikennetie”) in Finland. You can recognize these from the green signs.

The cars can not stop in crossing areasSome older people, however, might have no English language knowledge at all, and so you might as well learn some cars not obeying this rule and taking hitchhikers on board are know to be finedbasic Finnish phrases. Note, that with a knowledge of Swedish, however, you can come pretty far (it is useful all over Scandinavia).

Hitching is illegal in Finland on the motorways and two lane expressways. On any other highway you can legally hitch. On motorways you can also legally use the on-ramps as well as the gas stations.====Useful Finnish expressions for hitchhikers====This is the same with most countries in Europe and most states of USA.* Hello = '''Terve'''* Hi = '''Moi''' ''or'' '''Hei'''* Hitchhiking ='''Liftaaminen'''* To hitchhike = Culture '''Liftata''' * A ride ='''Kyyti'''* Thank you very much ='''Kiitos paljon'''Hitchhiking used * Where are you driving to be popular in the 70? = '''Minne ajat?'''* I don't speak Finnish = 's and 80's, and a considerable amount of the rides will tell the hitchkiker(s) they've hitched themselves back in the day. Nowadays itEn puhu suomea'''s quite rare among Finns, but of course there are some European backpackers, often heading to [[Lappi]], [[Lapland]].

{{nomadwiki}}* [http[:fi://www.liftari.org Etusivu|Finnish hitchhiker's clubHitchwiki]]* IRC Channel [[Liftari @ IRCnet]] The site is mostly in Finnish but there is an English section in the * [httphttps://www.liftarifacebook.orgcom/groups/forum forumliftarit/ Finnish hitchhikers FB group]* [http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/kjokisal/liftaus/ Hitchhiker's guide to Europe] A Hitchhiking − a hitchhiking site by a Finn* [http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/ssmoland/peukalo/ Liftausvinkkejä] Hitchhiking − hitchhiking tips in Finnish{{wikipedia-link}}