Finland – the only one of the most popular countries where Russians can easily be reached by car. But there are other ways – by plane, bus, train or ferry.
07.02.2012
Author: Maria Cooper
163
How to get from RussiaBy plane Direct regular flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg to the capital of Finland are operated by Aeroflot, Finnair and Rossiya airlines. Finland's main international airport, Helsinki-Vantaa, is located near Helsinki. The flight from Moscow to Helsinki (Aeroflot, Finnair) will take about 2 hours, from St. Petersburg (Russia, Finnair) - about an hour, from Yekaterinburg - 3.5 hours (Finnair). There are also direct charter flights from Moscow to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, operated by Finnair. By train Every day, two trains leave from Russia to the capital of Finland: from St. Petersburg ("Allegro") and from Moscow ("Lev Tolstoy"). The Leo Tolstoy train leaves Moscow for Helsinki every evening and arrives at noon the next day, the journey takes approximately 15 hours. The high-speed train Allegro from St. Petersburg to Helsinki can be reached in three and a half hours, the train runs along this route four times a day. Both trains stop at Vyborg, Kouvola and Lahti stations on the way, and the Lev Tolstoy train also stops in Tver and St. Petersburg. You can buy and book tickets, as well as find out the rates, on the websiteshttp://www.vr.fi/fi/ andRussian Railways ... By bus Regular bus services run between St. Petersburg and Vyborg and the main cities in southern Finland - Helsinki, Lappeenranta, as well as in the west to Turku. Buses from St. Petersburg to Finland depart daily from the Ploschad Vosstaniya metro station. In addition, you can order a route taxi that will take you to the desired address in Finland, or a transfer to Helsinki Airport, from where many international flights depart. On the route St. Petersburg-Helsinki, the bus runs three times a day, the ticket price will be within 40 euros, and the travel time is 8-9 hours. The bus schedule is quite convenient, besides, when passing through customs, the bus travels along a special customs corridor, which saves time. By car When entering Finland by car, you must have a driver's license, car registration certificate, vehicle inspection and international insurance (Green Card), which can be bought at the border. The cost of international insurance for 15 days will be approximately 1,500 rubles. The Finnish border can be crossed at the points Torfyanovka - Vaalimaa, Brusnichnoe - Nuyamaa, Vyartsilya - Niirala, Lutta - Vartius, Svetogorsk - Imatra, Salla (Kandalaksha-Alakurtti highway), Lotta - Raya-Jooseppi, Suoperya - Kortesalmi. The European route E18 (in Russia, the M10 highway) runs from St. Petersburg through Vyborg to the border point Torfyanovka - Vaalimaa. From there, the E18 takes motorway 7 to Helsinki. By ferry From St. Petersburg, the capital of Finland can be reached by ferry, which departs in the evening several times a week. The journey takes about 14 hours. The cruises are operated by the ferry company St Peter Line and the fare is around ˆ 30 one way. Transport connections within the country Finland is a rather large country and you can travel around it in different ways, thanks to the well-developed transport infrastructure. Car rental, taxi In Finland, traffic is on the right and there are no toll roads. Car rental companies can be found in all major cities of the country. If you decide to rent a car, you must have an international driving license. The cost of renting a car per day is about 80 euros. You need to be careful on the roads, often in the southern and southwestern part of the country, as well as in Lapland, you can find a warning sign "Caution, deer!" You can also use a taxi, which can be taken from the parking lot or by calling. Catching a taxi on the street is not accepted. It doesn't matter where you go, the price starts from about 5.5 euros, then the payment goes according to the meter - about 1.5 euros per km. A distinctive sign of a taxi is a yellow Taxi sign on the roof of the car. Buses, trains Bus routes connect almost all settlements of the country. Each city has a bus station, which is always located next to the train station. On the website of the national bus companyMatkahuolto you can find the timetable of bus routes, among which there are the longest, this is the road from Helsinki to Oulu (about 9 hours on the way) and from Turku to Rovaniemi (about 15 hours). Finnish railways connect almost all large and small cities in Finland. Electric trains run on such routes as Helsinki-Turku, Helsinki-Tampere, Helsinki-Lahti, Helsinki-Iisalmi, Helsinki-Joensuu and Turku-Toyala. Air travel Domestic flights are operated by Finnair's two main airlines, and the second largest is the low-cost carrier Blue1. Domestic airlines operate flights from Helsinki throughout the country, including Kuopio, Pori, Turku, Rovaniemi and Ivalo. Water transport Finland has a unique lake and river network and an extensive sea coast, so by water transport you can get to many parts of the country, as well as to Sweden, Estonia, Germany. The shipping lane between Lake Saimaa and the Gulf of Finland (Saimaa Canal) connects Russia and Finland in the city of Lappeenranta. Short tours, as well as day cruises to Vyborg depart from here. HomesOverseas.ru