Finland sports · Sports in Finland
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
Sports in Finland
Sports in Finland
Notably lacking in craggy mountains or crenellated fjords, Finland is not the adrenalin-laden winter sports paradise you might expect: the traditional Finnish pastime is cross-country skiing through more or less flat terrain. If you're looking for downhill skiing, snowboarding etc, you'll need to head up to Lapland and resorts like Levi and Saariselkä.
During the short summer you can swim, fish or canoe in the lakes. They are usually warmest around 20th July. Local newspapers usually have the current surface temperatures, and a map of the surface temperatures can also be found from the Environment Ministry website . During the warmest weeks, late at night or early in the morning the water can feel quite pleasant when the air temperature is lower than the water's. Most towns also have swimming halls with slightly warmer water, but these are often closed during the summer. Fishing permits, if needed, can be easily bought from any R-Kioski although they take a small surcharge for it.
For hikers, fishermen and hunters, the Ministry of Forestry maintains an online Excursion Map map with trails and huts marked. The best season for hiking is early fall, after most mosquitoes have died off and the autumn colors have come out.
And if you'd like to try your hand at something uniquely Finnish, don't miss the plethora of bizarre sports contests in the summer, including:
Air Guitar World Championships , August, Oulu.
Mobile Phone Throwing Championship , August, Savonlinna. Recycle your Nokia!
Swamp Soccer World Championship , July, Hyrynsalmi. Probably the messiest sporting event in the world.
Wife Carrying World Championship , July, Sonkajärvi. The grand prize is the wife's weight in beer.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Finland
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Finland - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Finland hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
Finland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.