In November, I went on a week-long trip to Finland! I spent most of my time in Oulu, with a short trip to Rovaniemi in Lapland. My main reason for the trip was to visit my best friend, who luckily I got to stay with for most of the trip. I make an effort on every trip to keep track of all my expenses, to be able to give a realistic idea of how much things cost on the road, and how much I spend on my trips! I was pretty nervous going to Finland, since most Nordic countries are pretty expensive. I had only been to Helsinki for a day prior to this trip, so I was worried about my budget! But overall, I think I managed pretty well. Here’s how much money I spent in Finland for 1 week!

Day 1:

Bus ticket from Oulu Airport: €5.80 // £5 // $6.40

Food and snacks (grocery store): €6 // £5.15 // $6.60

TOTAL: €11.80 // £10.15 // $13

Day 2:

Bus ticket in Oulu: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

Bus ticket to Santa Claus Village: €3.50 // £3 // $3.85

Postcards: €6.60 // £5.65 // $7.25

T-shirt: €13.90 // £11.95 // $15.30

Bus ticket into town: €3.50 // £3 // $3.85

Hesburger: €7.90 // £6.80 // $8.70

Yogurt/chocolate: €2.10 // £1.80 // $2.30

TOTAL: €40.80 // £35.05 // $44.90

Day 3:

Arktikum: €9 // £7.75 // $9.90

Brunch (at Café 21): €9.50 // £8.15 // $10.45

Snacks and pasta: €5.65 // £4.85 // $6.25

TOTAL: €24.15 // £20.75 // $26.60

Day 4:

Bus ticket in Oulu: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

TOTAL: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

Day 5:

Bus ticket in Oulu: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

Lunch: €9.90 // £8.50 // $10.90

Bus ticket in Oulu: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

Bus ticket in Oulu: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

Drinks for two: €12 // £10.30 // $13.25

Cider: €5.70 // £4.90 // $6.30

Cider: €8 // £6.85 // $8.80

Cider: €6.60 // £5.65 // $7.25

Bus ticket in Oulu: €3.30 // £2.85 // $3.65

TOTAL: €55.40 // £47.60 // $61.10

Day 6:

Food from the grocery store: €6.15 // £5.30 // $6.80

TOTAL: €6.15 // £5.30 // $6.80

Day 7:

Bus to Oulu Airport: €5.80 // £5 // $6.40

Pulla (roll for breakfast): €3.90 // £3.35 // $4.30

Hot dog at Helsinki Airport: €5 // £4.30 // $5.50

TOTAL: €14.70 // £12.65 // $16.20

Interesting Facts From My Trip:

Most Expensive Day: Day 5, where I spent a lot of money taking the bus and even more money drinking.

Cheapest Day: Day 4, where all I spent was a bus ticket back to where my friend lived.

Average daily cost (7 days including flights, accommodation, bus and train travel): €84.90 // £72.90 // $93.55

Average daily cost (7 days excluding flights, accommodation, bus and train travel): €22.35 // £19.20 // $24.60

Cheapest drinks in Oulu: Keltainen Aitta, where (thanks to a student discount), my pint was just €5.70 // £4.90 // $6.30

Wondering how much my costs were for each category? Here is each category’s specific cost:

Accommodation: €60 // £51.55 // $66.15

Food/Drink: €88.40 // £76.10 // $86.50

Miscellaneous: €20.50 // £17.60 // $22.55

Sightseeing: €9 // £7.75 // $9.90

Transportation: €416.30 // £357.60 // $458.75

What about the things I booked in advance—flights, trains, buses, etc? How much did they cost?

Round trip flights from Manchester to Oulu: €317.95 // £273 // $350.35

Bus ticket from Oulu to Rovaniemi: €10 // £8.60 // $11

2 nights in an apartment in Rovaniemi: €60 // £51.55 // $66.15

Bus ticket from Rovaniemi to Oulu: €10 // £8.60 // $11

Return train ticket from York to Manchester Airport: €39.95 // £34.30 // $44

The Takeaway

By far the biggest factor in my budget for my trip to Finland was not having to spend money on accommodation for 4 out of 6 nights of my trip. Thanks to staying with my friend in Oulu, I only had to spend money on our accommodation in Rovaniemi. This was HUGE in keeping costs down. THANKS KULA!!!

My flights were more than I would usually like to pay. Unfortunately, Oulu isn’t serviced by many budget airlines. When I originally started planning this trip, flights were about £200 total. But as I had to wait until I got my visa back to make any travel plans, by the time it came to book they had jumped a bit in price. However, I think this evened out by not having to pay for 80% of my accommodation.

As I was either staying with my friend in Oulu, or at an apartment in Rovaneimi, I had access to a kitchen throughout my entire trip. I was able to keep food costs extremely low, as the overwhelming majority of my meals were cooked in as opposed to eating out. When I did eat out and go out for drinks, I luckily had a local to show me around and take me places that weren’t insanely expensive. I also got to eat at Hesburger, one of my favorite fast food chains in the Baltics!

On this trip, I spent essentially an entire day at either end of my trip in transit. I woke up at 5:00am and basically traveled all day. To keep costs down, I brought food with me, and I bought some food in advance to try to minimize having to buy expensive food on the go. (If anyone is wondering, the cheapest food at Helsinki Airport is a €5 hot dog from Richie’s Gourmet Hot Dogs.) Because I was focused on spending time with my friend, I didn’t spend very much money on sightseeing or excursions.

I always book flights through Skyscanner to get the best deals. You can search for hostels here, and you can sign up to and search for accommodation on Airbnb here! We booked our apartment in Rovaniemi through Booking.com, and I always recommend using Trainline for the best deals on trains. Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

So how much was my 1-week trip to Finland?! How much exactly did I spend on 7 days in Finland?

 

GRAND TOTAL: €594.20 // £510.40 // $654.75

In a fairly expensive destination like Finland, it can be tough to travel on the cheap. Budget travel hacks will make a huge difference in keeping costs low. While not paying for most of my accommodation was huge for me, I think this just goes to show that travel doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think it would be! I hope this helps and planning and budgeting a trip to Finland!

Have you traveled to Finland before? What was your budget like?

You might like my other posts:

A Quick Guide To Oulu, Finland

How Much Does It Cost To Travel The Baltics For 5 Days?

How Much Does It Cost To Travel Iceland For 3 Days?

How Much Does It Cost To Spend 4 Days In Belgium?

How Much Does It Cost To Travel Malta For 5 Days?

How Much Does It Cost To Travel Northern Ireland For 5 Days?

The Budget Travel Bible: 101 Tips For Cheap Travel

How I’ve Saved Thousands Of Dollars To Travel The World

All of my Finland posts!

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