Rail vacations in Finland

The night train to Lapland won’t involve much looking out of the window, especially if you travel in winter. The sun sets in Helsinki by 3.30pm in December, and in Rovaniemi it’s gone by 1.30pm. But in the morning, waking up as the train nears its station, you might see what looks like frozen giants out of the window – trees bowed under several layers of hard rime and snow, known in Finnish as tykkylumi.

It’s a sight that will shut down anyone who says Finland’s landscapes are too flat and boring, and its trains too expensive, to be worthy of a vacation. A tailor made rail tour in Finland, organised by an expert vacation company, will quickly change your mind.

There’s an overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi called the Santa Claus Expressiksi. The express train – for it is a whisk-you-off-your-feet trip – picks you up from the capital’s impressive art deco station and arrives almost exactly 12 hours later and 700km north in Rovaniemi, Lapland, the town that’s considered the home of Santa Claus.

Though the southern half of Finland is well-mapped by railways, there aren’t many trains that run into Lapland. The countryside is left open and boundless, so Sami can move their reindeer herds across plains.

Finland’s rail network originated in the 19th century, when Finland was a region of imperial Russia. As well as lines connecting Finnish towns, there is a track connecting Helsinki to Saint Petersburg, Russia, which was opened in 1870 and still runs today with a high speed service. Nowadays, Finnish trains are as comfortable, clean and punctual as you’d expect from the technologically advanced and socially progressive Nordic country.

A direct train runs between Helsinki and the capital of Lapland, and one popular service runs overnight, taking 12-15 hours. Going to Lapland by train from Helsinki is a less polluting way to visit a region with some of the purest air in the world. If you don’t fancy the sleeper train, you could get a direct day train to Rovaniemi, or from Helsinki to Oulu or Kemi – both around two hours south of Rovaniemi. In Kemi there is a permanent ice hotel – the SnowCastle – an experience worth donning some bed socks for.

Finnish Lakeland is a bit of a misnomer. Much of the country is covered in lakes, although the biggest are indeed here in the south-east just north of Helsinki. You can take a train to the small town of Mäntyharju and on to Varkaus, where you have good access to many of Finland’s national parks. These sit in lakeside settings – some on islands – all guarding special wildlife like ospreys and seals. Lake Saimaa might be the most famous of all Finland’s lakes. It’s the largest in the country, and you’ll swap railway for steamship to reach towns like Punkaharju, which sit on its shore.

Going on a tour by train means you get your tickets all pre-booked and your timetable completely sorted. All you need to do is climb on board. Rail vacations in Finland usually involve a few train trips through scenic countryside, either sleeping on board overnight trains or staying in hotels.

To get to the best parts of Finland on one trip, you can’t always use the trains. These vacations also include transfers by ferry, car and occasionally plane to make sure that you can take in the highlights – whether that’s from a window or from a giant canoe on a mirror-flat lake.