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{{infobox Country|country = of Finland|language = Finnish, Swedish; recognised regional languages: Sami|capital = [[Helsinki]]|pop = 5,301,701|currency = Euro (€)|hitch = <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]] as the [[E67|Via Baltica]] ([[E67]]) road connects Finland with [[Prague]] via the Baltic States and [[Poland]].

== Arriving It is illegal to hitchhike directly on motorways (''moottoritie'') and leaving some two-land expressways roads (''moottoriliikennetie'') in Finland. You can recognize these from the country ==Here would be the tips how to get to the countrygreen signs. Probably most of the people coming On these roads, you can hitch from on-ramps (which often have bus stops that drivers will stop at) and leaving Finland by [[thumb]] use the [[Via Baltica]] through [[Estoniapetrol station hitchhiking|petrol stations]]. The cars cannot stop in crossing areas, [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] towards [[Poland]]some drivers who disobeyed this rule and picked up hitchhikers have been fined.

== About crossing borders ==Nothing special about In the Finnish borderssouth, it is a good idea to avoid motorways and opt for smaller local roads. Apart from the Russian borderThough there is less traffic, there is more room for cars to stop. Finnish drivers will only stop where they exist only on feel it is safe, so try to thumb at bus stops.__TOC__*I disagree with most of the map, not in realityabove. Since See the dawn of time has there been very liberal co[http://hitchwiki.org/en/Talk:Finland Talk-page].--operation between the Finnish[[User:Astikain|Astikain]] 14:40, Swedish and Norwegian borders.6 September 2012 (CEST)

=== Regions ===[[File:Finland is in the european roads.png|thumb|250px|Finnish motorways (blue) with their European numbers and national roads (red and yellow)]][[httpFile://enErga-and-a-friendly-finnish-man.wikipediajpg|thumb|240px|right|Hitchhiker Erga and a friendly Finnish driver]][[File:Erga-camping-in-finland.org/wiki/Schengen_treaty Schengen treaty], but jpg|thumb|250px|right|Find info on camping on [[Ahvenanmaa:nomad:Finland|Nomadwiki]] where the ferries to ]]* [[StockholmLapland]] stop supposedly isn't, so the border-control can use that as an excuse to go through your property.

=== From/to Sweden =Safety ==Ferries to [[Stockholm]] go from [[Helsinki]] and [[Turku]]. The latter being closer Hitchhiking is considerably cheaper. Both ferries also stop in [[Maarianhamina]] in [[Ahvenanmaa]], or [[Mariehamn]] quite safe in [[Åland]] as the swedish-speaking population 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-experienceAs always, and are bound to be tacky. At least Viking Line sells simple tickets without a cabin, which would be rather useless on the daytime trips between [[Turku]] and [[Stockholm]] anywaycommon sense is your friend.

Silja Line is the poshier of the two, and thus more expensive. It's still tacky, though. 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 to buy as much tax-free booze and other stupid things as much as allowed by the regulations. It really isn't much more affordable than at land especially since the regulations for importing from [[Estonia]], 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 =Culture ==There is no land-connection between Finland and [[Estonia]]. There are several daily boats from Helsinki to Tallinn. === From/Hitchhiking used to Norway === === From/to Russia ==='''Note''':There is no walking or cycling on any of existing crossing points.Russian visa is not issued on be popular in the border  The most important crossings to Russia (St. Petersburg region) are 70''Vaalimaa–Torfianovka'' one the road E18/7 Helsinki-St-Petersburg s and ''Nuijamaa–Brusnichnoe'' near Lappeenranta. The first one is always animated, 7/7 and almost 24h/24. There80'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, cigarette 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 many drivers on will tell the parking and those queueing to the terminal. A ride to Torfianovka is enough – there'hitchhiker(s lots of transport going to [[Vyborg]] and [[St. Petersburg]] from there, that doesn) they't necessarily cross the border. No use trying to get into Russia with trucks – freight terminal is separate, and sometimes you wait hours, sometimes ve hitched themselves back in their 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 Nowadays this practice is less traffic hererather rare among Finns, but the route is more scenicthere are always some, going along the [http://enespecially in summer time around music festivals.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saimaa_canal Saimaa canal] (Russian: Сайменский канал; Finnish: Saimaan kanava) Next crossing point north from there is ''Niirala-Värtsilä'', on Hitching in Finland might be difficult during the road 70 south of [[Joensuuwinter]]time because lack of daylight. The trafic is low, from there weather differences in Finland seem to effect greatly how well people pick you up. Sunny weather might help you a road goes to Sortavala, from where great deal because it is possible to reach Stmakes people more happy and open-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 shoreminded.

== Where Hitchhiking seems to stay? == == Money ==get easier the more North you go in Finland is a part of , because towns get smaller and people feel more open to help others. However, the highways are better in the [[EU]] South and the currency used there is Euromore traffic.

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 = Moi* 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 ==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 some cars not obeying this rule and taking hitchhikers on board are know to be fined. Hitching is illegal in Finland on the motorways and two lane expressways. On any other highway so you can legally hitch. On motorways you can also legally use the on-ramps might as well as the gas stationslearn some basic Finnish phrases.This is the same Note, that with most countries in Europe and most states a knowledge of USA. == Culture ==Hitchhiking used to be popular in the 70's and 80'sSwedish, however, and a considerable amount of the rides will tell the hitchkikeryou can come pretty far (sit is useful all over Scandinavia) they've hitched themselves back in the day. Nowadays it's quite rare among Finns, but of course there are some European backpackers, often heading to [[Lappi]], [[Lapland]].

== Places to see ==Useful Finnish expressions for hitchhikers====* Hello = '''Terve'''* Hi = '''Moi''' ''or'' '''Hei'''* Hitchhiking = '''Liftaaminen'''* To hitchhike = '''Liftata''' * A ride = '''Kyyti'''Cities of [[Helsinki]], [[Tampere]], [[Turku]], [[Jyväskylä]], [[Joensuu]], [[Oulu]]. [[Lapland]], [[Lappi]] in is the area spanning northern Finland, [[Sweden]], [[Norway]] and also [[Russia]], depending on how * Thank you look at it.very much = '''Kiitos paljon'''* Where are you driving to? = '''Minne ajat?'''* I don't speak Finnish = '''En puhu suomea'''

== External links Links =={{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/liftarit/forum forumFinnish 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* [http://laavu.org/ List of Laavus] − a site with all the Laavus (hiking shelters) in Finland. [http://laavu.org/lataa.php?paikkakunta=kaikki/ Download] the gpx-file.{{wikipedia-link}}