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I-Travel Destination Guides - Finland

Introduction

With mild summer temperatures and some unique incentive packages, Finland proves an unusual and interesting incentive destination. The summer season of festivals makes sure there's plenty to entertain the visitor. The winter months also provide excellent package options, especially in Lapland.

Fast Facts

International Airports
Main destination is Helsinki (HEL).

Scheduled Airline
Finnair flies from 32 major European airports and has an international network flying to 10 intercontinental destinations including the USA, Canada, and Far East.

Other Airlines
Most major airlines worldwide provide services to Helsinki, with Scandinavian Airlines providing a service to Oulu (OUL).

Car Hire
Major self drive car hire companies represented in major towns including Avis, Budget, Hertz, Europcar.

Driving
On the right. Road signs in kilometres and a valid driving licence is required.

Passport/Visa
Identity card or passport for EU nationals No visa required

Public Transport
Public coach service exists on 90% of Finland's public roads. All major towns have in-city coach services. Express coaches serve long distance routes.

Trains: The rail network consists of some 6000 km of railroad, from Helsinki to central Lapland. It is possible to hire special trains or private cars for groups.

Taxis : metered taxis in all towns.

Telecoms
Finland is on the GSM system, and the Integrated Services Network (ISDN) Public payphones accept telecards.

Language
Finnish and Swedish are official languages with English is widely spoken outside tourist centres

Restaurants
Menus reflect the season as the Finnish cuisine relies heavily on local produce: lake, river and Baltic sea include perch, pike, salmon, trout and whitefish, complemented by berries, mushrooms and vegetables. In addition to beef and pork, reindeer meat is typical, particularly in Lapland. Helsinki has a vast array of international restaurants with some of the best Russian restaurants west of the River Volga. In Lapland gourmet dinners are often served in log chalets or around an open fire in a Lapp teepee.

Duty Free Allowances
200 cigarettes, one litre of spirits, two litres of wine, 50 ml of perfume

Climate Range
All temperatures Helsinki daytime (centigrade):

January to April low -9, high +6. May to August low +6, high +21 September to December low -6, high +14

Incentive Programmes
Finland offers a good range of incentive programmes that vary according to location, the most popular being Helsinki and Lapland.

HELSINKI

Themed - archipelago evening, Russian evening.
Team Building - road rally in Finnish countryside, summer Olympics.
Night Tours - cocktail / dinner cruise.

LAPLAND

Team Building - jeep rally (summer only), survival safari (summer and winter).
Night Tours - evening in a private lodge or Lapp camp, moonlight ski & snowshoe trekking, snowmobile safari by night.
Sightseeing - cross-country skiing, dog sledding, reindeer safari, snowmobiling.
Special Interest - fishing, golf (under the midnight sun or ice golf), horseback riding, hunting, trekking.

Finland has a diverse summer festival season that is a must on an incentive programme with over 1500 events through the season, including opera, jazz and folk music.

Venues
A full range of traditional conference and meeting venues is available in Helsinki, including the Magrike Congress Hotel, the Opera House, and the Helsinki Fair Centre which can hold up to 4400 delegates (Theatre Style).

If you want something more unusual, you can choose from venues including the Ice Hotel near Ivalo, a range of private lodges, chalets and camps around Lapland, the Snow Castle in Kemi, or the Snowland Igloo Restaurant in Rovaniemi.

All destination information supplied courtesy of Roantree Incentive Marketing at www.incentive-marketing.co.uk.

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