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|currency = Euro (&euro;€)|hitch = {{good}}<rating country='fi' />|BW = FI

'''Finland''' is a part of the Northern [[Europe]], and one of the Nordic countries. 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 which is called "as the [[E67|Via Baltica]]" - it is a road ([[E67]] between [[Helsinki]], ) road connects Finland and with [[Prague]], [[Czech Republic]] through via the Baltic States and [[Poland]].

Hitchhiking seems pretty easy 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 Finlandgreen signs. On these roads, you can hitch from on-ramps (which often have bus stops that drivers will stop at) and [[petrol station hitchhiking|petrol stations]]. The cars cannot stop in crossing areas, and some drivers who disobeyed this rule and picked up hitchhikers have been fined. It could be  In the south, it is a good idea to avoid motorways and opt for smaller local roads once you get closer to Helsinki - sure, . Though there will be is less traffic, however, you will get there is more space room for the cars to stop. Finnish drivers will only stop where they feel it is safe, and avoid a chance of getting stuck on some unlit motorway ramp in the middle of nowhere (consider the early darkness when hitchhiking in autumn/winter!)so try to thumb at bus stops.

*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 [[motorways]].]]6 September 2012 (CEST)

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

== Crossing the borders Safety ==Apart from the Russian border, Finnish borders exist only on the map, not Hitchhiking is quite safe in realityFinland. Since the dawn of time there has been very a liberal co-operation between the FinnishAs always, Swedish and Norwegian. However, despite the fact that Finland signed the [[Schengen Agreement]] there common sense is a random identity and luggage check when you take a ferry from [[Ahvenanmaa]] to [[Stockholm]] (Sweden)your friend.

[[Image:Washing car window in the North of Finland.JPG|thumb|240px|Hitchhiker [[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 [[Turku]]. The latter is considerably cheaper. Both ferries also stop in [[Maarianhamina]] ([[Ahvenanmaa]])80's, or [[Mariehamn]] and many drivers will tell the hitchhiker([[Åland]]s), as its Swedish-speaking population calls it. The two companies which run ferries between Finland and Sweden are [http://www.vikingline.fi they''Viking Line''] and [http://wwwve hitched themselves back in their days.silja.com ''Silja Line'']. Both of the companies Nowadays this practice is rather rare among Finns, but there are focused on bringing the customers a cruise-experiencealways some, and are bound to be tackyespecially in summer time around music festivals. ''Viking Line'' sells cheaper tickets without a cabin, too, which would Hitching in Finland might be rather useless on difficult during the daytime trips between [[Turkuwinter]] and [[Stockholm]] anywaytime because lack of daylight. The weather differences in Finland seem to effect greatly how well people pick you up. As of 2008, Sunny weather might help you a ferry from Stockholm to Turku costs about 25 euros, great deal because it makes people more happy and Stockholmopen-Helsinki - 55 euros (both without a cabin).  ''Silja Line'' is the posher 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 on board. Be aware, though, 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. During the autumnFinland, winter because towns get smaller and early spring that means no daylight which is no help for hitchhiking. In winter nights, extremely cold temperatures might occur as well. When on-board, during warmer time of the year you might go up outside to enjoy the scenery of the archipelagos of Stockholm or Turku.  Be aware as well of a constant attempt to lure people to buy as much tax-free alcohol and some other things on the ferries. It really isn't much feel more cheaper, though, than buying them on land. So, do bring a book. Usually there are free Playstation or XBox games at the kids-section open to spend the time, plus very often other backpackers wander around (you might as well have a chat with them). You can also try to spot small islands severely damaged by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Cormorant Great cormorants] a few hours off Stockholm. There are Swedish [http://www.birka.se ''Birka Cruises''] boats cruising the sea, too. More info about boats in the region: [http://www.makupalat.fi/Categorieshelp others.aspx?classID=aef30d12-31ab-407f-89d6-526dd5d637f5 here] (Sweden, EstoniaHowever, Germany + lake tourism) === From/to Estonia ===[[Image:Erga-and-a-friendly-finnish-man.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Hitchhiker Erga and a friendly Finnish driver]]There is no land connection between Finland and [[Estonia]]. There are several daily boats from Helsinki to [[Tallinn]]. It takes usually 1-3 hours, costs about 20 euros (the cheapest one, without a cabin). Links: * [http://www.tallinksilja.com/fi/trips/routeTrips/ ''Tallink & Silja Line''], ferries to Estonia (only in Finnish/Swedish)* [http://www.vikingline.fi/index.asp?lang=en ''Viking Line''] * [http://www.eckeroline.fi/en/default.aspx ''Eckerö Line'']* [http://www.lindaliini.ee/ ''Linda Line''] === From/to [[Russia]] ==='''Note that as of 2006:'''* No walking is permitted on any of existing Finnish-Russian border checkpoints.* ''Vaalimaa–Torfianovka'' border checkpoint is permitted to cross by cycling.* Russian visa can not be issued at the border checkpoint. The most important border checkpoints to Russia ([[St. Petersburg]]'s district) highways are ''Vaalimaa–Torfianovka'' on the road [[E18]]/7 Helsinki-St.Petersburg, and ''Nuijamaa–Brusnichnoe'' near [[Lappeenranta]]. ====Vaalimaa–Torfianovka====It is always open. Traffic is high there, and you might find there both long-distance trucks (however, see info below about trucks ) as well as lots of locals, from both sides of the border, with Russians coming to buy goods they don't have better in Russia, and Finns going to the other side to buy alcohol, cigarettes and fuel. On a Finnish side, you can find most of them at the first [[petrol station]], just before the customs zone. You can also ask drivers on the parking, and those queuing to the terminal. A ride to [[Torfianovka]] is enough – there's lots of transport going to [[Vyborg]] and [[St. Petersburg]] from there.  As of 2006, it was a complete waste of time to hitch a truck over the border to Russia – freight terminal is separate for trucks South and the queue there is extremely slow: sometimes you wait for hours, sometimes for days. Same terminal from Russia to Finland, though, seems to be faster.  To get back from [[Russia]] to Finland, simply ask drivers at the parking lot by one of the supermarkets around there on the Russian side. ====Other checkpoints====There is a checkpoint 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 border checkpoint to the north from there is ''Niirala-Värtsilä'', on the road 70 south of [[Joensuu]]. The trafic is low, a road goes to [[Sortavala]] and then further to [[St. Petersburg]] via the south shore of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ladoga lake Ladoga] (with a portion of an unpaved road), or via the north shore to [[Petrozavodsk]]. There are a few more border checkpoints: 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 borders and look for Finnish license plates. A smart trick you can do to lift up your chances to get a ride is by offering a driver you speak to to bring an extra load of cigarettes and alcohol - most of the Finnish drivers won't resist 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 minority on the west coast of Finland. Anyhow, most of the Most people speak good English, too, so most of the foreign hitchhikers won't have big language communication problems in Finland.

====Useful Finnish expressions for hitchhikers:====

* Thank you very much = '''Kiitospaljon'''

 == Safety ==Hitchhiking is quite safe in Finland. 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 is illegal for pedestrians to stand. Both of these make hitchhiking illegal de facto in these places. [[Image:Finland european roads.png|thumb|250px|* I don't speak Finnish motorways (blue) with their European numbers and national roads (red and yellow)]] == Motorways ==[[Image:Finnish_motorway_sign_561.png|left|60px]]It is illegal to hitchhike on the motorways (called “moottoritie”) and some motorways (“moottoriliikennetie”) in Finland. You can recognize these from the green signs. The cars can not stop in crossing areas, and some cars not obeying this rule and taking hitchhikers on board are known to be fined. Hitching on the motorways and two lane expressways is prohibited. On any other motorway you can legally hitch. You can also hitchhike at the motorway on-ramps, and at the motorway [[petrol station]]s' areas. Basically, same rules as in countries in Western Europe and in most states of the [[USA]]. == Culture ==Hitchhiking used to be popular in the 70's and 80's, and many drivers will tell the hitchhiker(s) theyEn puhu suomea'''ve hitched themselves back in their days. Nowadays this practice is rather rare among Finns, but there are always some, especially in summer time, when local hitchers get inspired by European backpackers heading to [[Lapland]].

* [http{{wikipedia-link}} {{Cities Finland}}{{Template:Europe//books.google.com/books?id=ZY_XZW9AtYgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=finland Lonely Planet − Finland eBook (2003) ''preview'']countries}}{{IsIn|Scandinavia}}

[[fi:Suomi|Finnish Hitchwiki]]{{IsIn|Scandinavia}}{{Template:Europe/countries}}