People write to us every spring asking the same question: “We’re coming to Finland in summer — what should we actually do?” There are endless listicles online, but most of them are written by people who visited once, ticked off the Helsinki highlights, and left.

We live in Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle. Joona works in Lapland tourism. Alla has spent years exploring Finland from the south coast to the far north. Between us we’ve seen Finland in every season, from every angle — as locals, as travellers, and as people who genuinely can’t stop talking about this country to everyone we meet. These are the things to do in Finland in summer that we’d recommend without hesitation.

Helsinki in summer: the best place to begin

We’ll be honest — Helsinki is the easiest entry point and a genuinely wonderful city in summer. The long light turns the harbour gold by 10 pm. The terraces are packed. The islands are a ten-minute ferry away. But two or three days is enough before you start itching to go north or east.

What to do in Helsinki in summer

• Take the ferry to Suomenlinna: a UNESCO World Heritage sea fortress a 15-minute ferry ride from the Market Square. Wander the fortifications, swim off the rocks, and have a picnic with the Finns who come here every sunny weekend. No queue, no fuss.
• Swim at Allas Sea Pool or Uunisaari beach: Helsinki has excellent sea swimming spots in summer. Allas is a floating pool-and-sauna complex in the harbour. Uunisaari is a small island with a beach, accessible by rowboat ferry. Both are free or very cheap.
• Visit the Kauppatori (Market Square) for local food: fresh strawberries, salmon soup, and crayfish in August. This is a real market, not a tourist trap, and the summer produce is extraordinary.
• Day trip to Porvoo: the old wooden town 50 km east of Helsinki is one of the most beautiful places in Finland. Go on a weekday, walk the riverside, eat at one of the tiny cafés. Two hours by bus.

Day trips from Helsinki

• Nuuksio National Park: 35 km from the city centre. Forested lakes, easy hiking trails, wild blueberries in July and August. This is where Helsinki families go on summer Sundays.
• Tallinn, Estonia: a two-hour ferry from the South Harbour. One of our favourite short trips — the medieval old town is magnificent, the food scene is brilliant, and it’s noticeably cheaper than Finland. We’ve done this crossing more times than we can count.
• Turku and the Archipelago: Finland’s oldest city, 165 km west of Helsinki, is the gateway to the Turku Archipelago — 20,000 islands. Rent a bike on one of the islands, or take the free ferry route through the archipelago. Summer magic.

Mökki life: renting a Finnish summer cottage

If there is one experience that defines Finnish summer, it’s the mökki — the summer cottage. There are around 500,000 of them in Finland, one for roughly every ten people. In late June and July, the whole country effectively migrates to a lakeside or seaside cottage for a week or two. This is not tourism; this is how Finland lives.

As a visitor, you can rent a mökki too. Booking platforms like Mökki.com, Lomarengas, and Airbnb have thousands of listings. A basic mökki on a lake costs €80–150 per night for two people; better-equipped ones with their own sauna and rowing boat are €150–300. Book early — July gets booked out months in advance.

What to do at a mökki

• Sauna and lake swimming: the sauna is always by the water. Heat it up, go in, then jump straight in the lake. Repeat. This is a full evening’s entertainment in Finland and requires no further explanation.
• Rowing on the lake: most mökkit come with a rowing boat. Take it out early in the morning before the wind picks up. The mist lifts off Finnish lakes in summer in a way that is genuinely breathtaking.
• Foraging for berries and mushrooms: in July, wild blueberries and strawberries line every forest path. In August, chanterelle mushrooms appear in the moss. The Everyman’s Right (jokamiehenoikeus) means you can pick freely almost anywhere in Finland.
• Grilling and evenings on the jetty: Finns grill at the cottage. Sausages (makkara), salmon, corn. Eat on the jetty as the sun circles the horizon but never quite sets. This is summer in Finland.

Quick-reference: the best summer experiences in Finland

Here is the shortlist we give friends who are visiting Finland for the first time in summer. These are experiences, not just places — things that will actually stay with you.