48 Hours In Helsinki: What To See & Do

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Contents

This post will share details on how to spend 48 hours in Helsinki.

For my thirtieth country. I headed back to Northern Europe.

This trip would be my final to the Nordic region, unless I can afford to visit Lapland.

So far, I’ve visited all the Nordic countries except Iceland, which I will be visiting in December.

Compared to other trips, this trip to Finland and Estonia was honestly more of a bucket list trip than anything else.

As a massive fan of cross-border travel, particularly via rail and sea, I wanted to add this trip to my growing list of experiences because I would be crossing the border via a ‘cruise’ ferry, which is something I’ve never done before.

I have a list of cross-border trips I wanted to take, and I’m happy to tick this off the list.

Also, who is willing to go to Northern Europe when it’s mostly cold and grey with the most unfriendly people who give off standoffish vibes?

Anyways, with that out of the way, let’s see how I’m able to make this trip work.

Here’s How To Spend 48 Hours in Helsinki As A Solo Traveller

Finland, a Nordic country in Northern Europe, is famously known to be the happiest country in the world, which I honestly think is debatable.

If they’re that happy, it should somehow reflect in their hospitality to tourists.

Anyway, I was today years old when I found out that Finland is not classed as a Scandinavian country as that is only reserved for Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

When you include Finland, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, then they make up the Nordic Region.

Now that we are aware, let’s get into the details of this trip.

Flights

Cost – £190 return

It was incredibly challenging to find a budget airline that flies directly from Manchester to Helsinki.

So I had no choice but to book through the official Finnish carrier, Finnair.

I spent months trying to get cheap flights, but in the end, I just gave up and paid for them.

This was similar to when I had to pay more than average for my trip to Oslo with SAS Airlines.

When I saw the breakdown of the cost of the flight, it was around £65 for one way.

But the inclusion of taxes and fees drove the entire fare to almost £200.

Notwithstanding, the flight was excellent and was easily one of the best short-haul flights I’ve ever had.

Also, a shout out to Helsinki-Vantaa airport, which is honestly one of the best I’ve passed in recent years.

Border control and security took less than ten minutes on both arrival and departure, which was honestly top-notch as there were adequate staff on the ground.

My only issue was the lack of water fountains to fill up empty bottles.

Other than that, it was such a lovely experience that I’ll consider having a layover in Helsinki in the future.

Airport Transfer

Cost – €4.40

My favourite thing about cosmopolitan capital cities is how they have train stations attached to their airport.

In fact, any capital city I visit without a train station is immediately not rated by me.

For the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, the train station was right at the entrance/exit of the arrivals lounge.

As soon as you step out, the first thing you see to your left is super convenient.

The train, which has two lines, I and P, runs every ten to fifteen minutes and takes you to the city centre in about thirty minutes.

Just as I got to the train station, a train arrived and I immediately jumped into it.

I stopped at the train’s last stop and walked to my hotel.

One way costs €4.40 and you can pay with your contactless card on board.

Accommodation

Cost – €269.67

After dealing with the pricey flights, I had to get cheap accommodation to balance things out.

In the last couple of years, I have outgrown hostels because I was never able to get a good night’s sleep.

Now I opt for single rooms, which can be impossible due to the single tax, so I end up paying for a double room.

After searching for weeks, I settled for Hotel Finn as it looked like the cheapest option I could find.

Hotel Review

I booked three nights directly at Hotel Finn’s website because it was a bit cheaper than booking through Booking.com.

Whenever I book a hotel through Booking and the prices seem suspicious, I usually check the hotel’s website directly to see if I can find a better deal.

Sometimes I do, other times Booking gives me a cheaper deal.

This was a single room, and I had zero to no expectations about this hotel.

I was looking for a place in the city centre that had a bed, an electric kettle, and a private bathroom.

By my standards, this hotel was average to say the least.

I’ve stayed in dozens of hotels over the years, and I’ve come to have a certain standard.

Hotel Finn was definitely below my standard, but thankfully, I was only there for three nights.

The room, which was on the 6th floor with an elevator, was spacious.

Despite the lack of a headboard, the bed was comfortable, but the bathroom situation was diabolical.

I was literally showering on the toilet.

That’s how bad it was.

Anyway, the water pressure and temperature were good, so I guess that made up for it.

In the typical Nordic manner, the staff at the reception were unwelcoming and standoffish, which was the exact reception I got in Copenhagen, Malmo and Oslo.

Overall, it was a pleasant stay, but the value for money is debatable.