namaste,anyone out there know of interesting routes south from kirkenes into northern finland.am planning a four week trip up to norway and finland end of august driving up through denmark etc.interested in any horror stories or by the ways .ta much.

Been 15 years since I´ve last been to the extreme north of Finland, so cant really remember the routes there... do watch out for reindeer over there, though, they behave like they have no brains sometimes, especially if there are a lot of these stinging flies harassing them. The reindeer also come out in the open to escape them, if its a forested area, then ´open´ might mean the road.

Moose, however, can be even more frightening, especially now that its getting darker. They exist also in the south, can be huge in size, and can just run from the forest to the road VERY fast. Dozens of people killed each year on impacts with them, but 80-90% of these happen just after sunset, or just before sunrise. Riding only in the daytime drops the odds very significantly. The same about these goes for most of Scandinavia.

In the central and southern parts of Finland, the east is generally more scenic, and more fun on a bike than west, which is quite flat. The lake district in the southeast, and the rolling hills extending further north from there are the best part of the country in my opinion, plus north (Lapland), which is beautiful all around.

Weather always plays a big part in travelling on these latitudes, and this summer has not been very good, in fact its been raining most of the time, so hope you´ll get some luck with that!

roger that pecha 72,animals that size are not to be messed with.whether in general have been bad for most of the summer so i do hope the forest spirits have a good autumn planned.routes down the eastern side of finland could be a good bet so i might give it a go.thanks for the advice regards ,beaming buddha

Been at the area and to Nordkapp from Helsinki by car nearly 17 years ago... Too long...
The area is nice and best time to visit is june 15 end of Aug.

Inarijarvi is nice to be in north Finland. If you are going to stay around in Norway Berlevag looks nice and silent.

Northern part of Finland is very nice, wild and silent itself.

No need to tell a special route I guess for enjoying the area. I would recommend to go out the main road sometimes to a lake area.

I've seen some very nice river/Lake passes with boats. The light is marvellous there. Don't forget to take pictures . . .

As Pecha said, be careful about reindeers on the road. They behave as if you are not there... sometimes...

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

hi samy, it just so happens that i like a bit of variety the combination of lakes and rivers ,forests and mountains and the trails that run through them .a finn that i worked with years ago in turkey comes to mind regarding this trip as its a part of europe that i havnt seen yet ,so i will be mostly camping and using the occasional cabin. hiking into the woods or canoe trips ,regards beaming buddha.

Hi bb,

I was in Northern Finland just a few weeks ago. I came in from Karasjok on the 92, then took the main E75 and then E63 to Kemijarvi. Then I went over to the West coast and down to Vaasa.

The weather was perfect, the myggs were a nuisance wildcamping but the Youth Hostels were clean and cheap, and mostly empty so you shouldn't have to share. You can get a free map of all the YHs in Scandinavia if you contact one of the national associations:

Suomen Retkeilymajajärjestö - SRM ry

The people I met were very friendly, a lot speak English and I really enjoyed the short time I had there. As another thread mentions, you might have a problem with the automated petrol pumps accepting foreign credit cards and I forgot to put my watch forward another hour so only just made my ferry, a senior moment.

I'm currently uploading the photos of my trip onto flickr. Some of the Finland pics are up there now if you want to take a look:

Flickr: Triumph trips' Photostream

If you have any specific questions, let me know, otherwise have a great trip and don't forget to let us know how it goes.

Indoors.

Like mentioned abowe east side of Finland is more fun because west side is quite flat.
If you need some thing route plans etc, just let me know what I can do.
There is lot of nice gravel paths in Lappland and also public huts that you can use free.

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...You know it's a bit windy when you get passed by your own dust...

hi guys,some nice fotos there indoors and good to hear you had a great trip.i hope to take some fotos myself and will advise as to posting .the eastern routes down through finland along the russian corridor i will check out when on the ground as capo sakke has suggested probably less well travelled or more planning required as to possible restrictions national parks wildlife conservation areas.you mentioned problems with auto fuel pumps and foreign credit cards.is it a serious problem mainly in the far north or more widespread.

Thanks for the kind comments about the pics, bb.

I wouldn't call it serious just something to bear in mind. A few times, I saw a petrol sign and pulled in before realising that it was only an automated station, then had to carry on, sometimes to the next town, so I always made sure I wasn't too close to reserve. I stayed on major routes so if you're planning to go off the beaten track, it might be worth asking locally.

It's just a sign of the times I suppose and our 24 hour lifestyle, but considering that petrol pump attendants in Finland tend to be really pretty and a pleasure to stop and chat to, you would think the Finns would be resisting this particular advance of technology.

Indoors.

hi indoors,get your point about fuel pumps,depending on route taken,caution is advisable.am planning on extra carry of ten liters just in case.as i will not be driving straight through north/south i aim to cross and recross interesting areas so that on occasion i will be reversing my route but from different directions so fuel supply and availability, will at least until i obtain some local knowledge be an important factor.when i find a good location to set up base camp i then spend a couple of days driving out in different directions.if the area tends to be mountainous i might go for a hike or do some climbing if there are lakes or rivers near the base i would take a canoe and do some exploring,which gives me a sense of the land and its moods,brings out the poet in me i guess .regards beaming buddha

Gasoline will be hard to find when you are in remote areas, just keep 5/10 € notes for petrol pumps and you are ok.
I have gps way points to huts / wild camping / petrol etc. if need it.
Also some places keep petrol and can arrange that if you inform them on advance. I havent had problems with 640 A with 500 - 600km range.
You can find some photos here Lapland enduro 2006 | CapoSakke | Kuvablogi.com

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...You know it's a bit windy when you get passed by your own dust...

Hello Capo Sakke,

Can you PM the GPS waypoints to me too pleae. I am planning a trip 2 years later..

Thanks a lot..

Sami

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "