Finland is unlike any other European destination. It’s northern location combined with a truly different language, make it an adventurous country to explore. Although it is not as busy as the more southern located travel destinations in Europe, there are still lots of fellow tourists, things work differently than what we are used to and there is an immense number of different activities to choose from. With large crowds and too many options available, you will have to make choices. We highly recommend properly planning your visit to Finland. The travel books and travel guides in this post are here to help you on your way. We have hand picked all of these books!
Although we have not visited Finland recently, we have been to Helsinki before and know how to navigate through Europe’s main tourist destinations. We know how crowds can make a city busy but also know where to find the quiet places. All our research has been done using the travel books we recommend here.
There is an updated version: The best travel guides to Finland, including Helsink.
- All books have been handpicked by us!
- Books with bad reviews are left out.
- This post includes affiliate marketing links on which we can earn a commission.
We are a big fan of Lonely Planet! We use Lonely Planet Travel Guides for basically every destination that we visit. This Lonely Planet Pocket Helsinki is a smaller edition and is purely focused on the Finnish capital. The book comes with full colour maps, highlights, itineraries and what we like the most about the entire Lonely Planet series: reviews for eating, drinking, hidden gems and going out. All Lonely Planet books from the Pocket series are easy-to-use and -unsurprisingly- fit in your pocket. These books are small enough to handle with ease but big enough to contain all the essential tips and tricks for your perfect trip to Helsinki.
If you need a bit more than just the pocket edition, you can also go for the traditional Lonely Planet guide for the entire country. This book comes with the colour maps, highlights and itineraries that we are used to from our favourite travel book brand. What is especially useful about Lonely Planet are the reviews for different budgets. The book covers all major destinations in Finland.
Rick Steves is a famous American travel author and TV personality. Steves has published strong and useful travel books for many destinations in Europe. This travel guide for Scandinavia is most definitely not an exception. The book is written for travellers that stay a week or longer in the city. It includes Steves’ ‘strategic advice’ on how to best spend your time and money during your stay in the capital of Finland. It also has an overview of top sights and hidden gems. Each book by Rick Steves also comes with a chapter on how to beat the crowds, skip the lines and avoid tourists traps, which we absolutely recommend reading upon. Although the book is written with an American audience in mind, it doesn’t matter where you are from, you will find this book both entertaining and useful.
We always try to include a book that is a bit different. A book that takes another approach or views the destinations that we want to visit from another unexpected angle. That is exactly what this book does.
CultureShock! Finland guides you on a fun-filled crash course on getting to know this rarely explored country. Find out why the Finns are so proud of their motherland and why others fall in love with it from their first visit. From cosmopolitan Helsinki to traditional Lapland, discover the gems of each region and be charmed by the magical winters and the long summer days.
By reading up on history of our travel destinations we can better understand the behaviour of those living in the places that we visit. Every place that we visit has its own unique history. Finland has a long and rich history. Although the city’s history is too extensive to cover in a single book, this book does a good job in summarizing centuries of history in an easy to read accessable book.
In all our overviews of travel guides, we include a travel book that is made for children. This Welcome to Finland Kids Travel Journal is easy to use for children and will be really entertaining for kids making the life of parents much easier, even on longer trips. The book includes: 120 pages, 6×9, cream paper and a beautiful matte-finished cover. The book will help making the trip to Finland fun, easy and entertaining for you and the kids.
Over the years, more and more people started traveling and overtourism became a growing issue. Although the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to change our travel behavior for now, we believe that we will travel again and that the return of crowds is inevitable. This book helps you to Avoid Crowds and is your guide on what (not) to do when it’s busy. The book includes a special chapter on traveling during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
