Finland

Helsinki is the capital of Finland. It is renowned for its design culture and the fact that there is over 100km of shoreline around the capital means you’ll see sea everywhere. There are also 300 islands in an archipelago.

Urban saunas are a staple of Finnish life. You’ll find both traditional saunas and design-led saunas. Strip down to your swimwear and sweat out the stresses of back home in one of the country’s public saunas.

Very few people visit Lapland during the summer but it’s definitely one to experience. Places like the Lemmenjoki National Park is full of waterfalls, lakes and forest trails to immerse yourself in and the midnight sun shines brightly.

• January

  -9°C - -1°C

  January is well into the winter season in Finland, get used to regular snowfall in the North and even in Helsinki. January on average has just under 50 hours of sunlight for the whole month due to its northern position. This means the majority of the day will be spent in dusky - darkness which adds to the magic.

• February

  -10°C - -1°C

  February is the coldest month of the year with a daily average of -6°C. Again in the North there will be regular snow showers coating the landscape in beautiful sparkling snow. February has around 120 hours of sunlight in total.

• March

  -6°C - -1°C

  Temperatures in March start to get slightly warmer, but it is still very cold so you will definitely need plenty of warm clothes.

• April

  -1°C - 8°C

  April sees warmer temperatures and barely any snowfall. If you are wanting to see the winter landscape, April is really the last month we recommend visiting.

• May

  4°C - 15°C

  May is a pleasant month, with no snow or rain and warmer temperatures, the daily average is 10°C so it's not shorts weather yet!

• June

  9°C - 19°C

  June is very similar to May, temperatures continuing to rise with the daily average getting to 14°C. There is a little more rainfall in June but on average, the days are longer and sunnier. A great time to visit Helsinki if you aren't a fan of the cold. In Lapland, June is the first month you will experience the midnight sun with 24 hours of sunlight.

• July

  12°C - 21°C

  July is the warmest month with average daily temperatures reaching 17°C. July also experiences the longest days, with the sun rising at 4:00 am and setting at 10:30 pm in Helsinki and in the north (Lapland) there is 24hr of sunlight.

• August

  11°C - 19°C

  From August, daily averages fall slightly to around 15°C. August also experiences the highest level of rainfall at around 90mm for the month. Again in Lapland, the sun stays out for a long time, there is around 20 hours of sunlight.

• September

  6°C - 14°C

  September is where the weather starts to get a little cooler with averages sitting at around 10°C. It is also the second rainiest month with around 80 mm of precipitation.

• October

  -8°C - 2°C

  October is a bit of a transition month, it isn't quite cold enough for snow, but temperatures are on their way to getting very cold. Winter activities won't be available in the North yet but it will still be chilly.

• November

  -2°C - 2°C

  In November the weather starts to enter the winter season, the snow will start to fall and temperatures will drop to sub-zero.

• December

  -7°C - 0°C

  December is a festive month, with regular snow fall and cold temperatures. December is an ideal time to visit if you want that festive winter feeling. Average sunlight hours are around 3 hours.

Fly into the capital city of Finland, Helsinki. From here you can connect to places such as Lapland on internal flights with Finnair. Ivalo is the nearest major airport to the Arctic Circle in Finland.