Helsinki Tours in September 2025

This was a rapid introduction to 4 countries with a great balance between culture, history, landscape and activity. We visited an enormous range of historic sites from pre-history to cold war to current affairs, with walks in remote forests, lakesides and beaches. And a lot of ferries.

This trip was a great introduction and overview of the Baltic countries and Helsinki. The forest walks were mixed with city walks leaving us with no boring moments and which made it different from the regular hiking trips. We had walks on the beach as well as in the forests while surprised by the wild berries and different types of mushrooms that our leader Andrius educated us on. His excitement about it was contagious. We climbed lighthouses, walked in bogs and rode fun ferries. The contrast between the Cold War museum and the Helsinki library was astonishing in regards of how things had changed. The old cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallin were the highlights as well as the discovery of the history of these countries and how resilient they had been. Our leader Andrius was also a highlight and a lesson in how to be professional and yet still be funny and entertaining. Our amazing driver kept the comfortable van immaculate. His safe driving was greatly appreciated. The hotels had a great location and overall served the purpose. Helsinki hotel was the best but Panorama hotel in Vilnius was not. It can be upgraded to a more comfortable one. There was no AC and the room was quite small and with only one plug available. Overall a great trip and I am ready to do it again in the future.

Having been on previous “Baltics Winter Walking” (with Exodus), we wanted to return to experience the countryside and enjoy the walks in the National Parks in more conducive conditions and we were certainly not disappointed. We again enjoyed the city visits, this time in the warm sunshine the bars/cafes spilling out on the buzzing sidewalks, but of course at each city remembering the struggle and hardships they endured in previous decades. The 2000 kms we travelled was full on but in a comfortable bus and with a careful and competent driver we made excellent progress on pot hole free highways. We stopped in towns, villages, walked through pine forests down to lake sides, traversed the Baltic Sea on ferries to picturesque islands each with their own character. Our ultimate ferry across to Helsinki was more like being on a cruise ship, an array of food outlets and a huge shopping mall.

I had not heard of the company before so I was apprehensive about booking an international trip, but everything was seamless and easy. We saw all of the major highlights in each city, and transportation between countries was seamless. Our tour guides were knowledgeable and helpful, and everything was paced well.

I have been waiting several years to travel to Scandinavia and this trip DID NOT disappoint me. I was blessed with spectacular weather throughout the entire trip. The hotels were the best hotels I have experienced while traveling with Expat Explore. I LOVE traveling with Expat Explore because all the work is done for you. All I do is set my clock, wake up and get ready for an amazing experience. Each trip allows me to meet new people. I love learning from their previous trips, so it helps me plan my ""next trip"". The best part of this trip was traveling down the fjords of Norway. I recently downloaded all my pics and although I took 500 + pictures, I dare not delete one of them. Each one holds a special beauty and I feel so lucky to have seen all of the amazing sites/experiences in Scandanavia. Look at Expat Explore, I will be back again and again and again.

This tour was a lot of fun! We fit a lot into the itinerary and got to see so many things across all the countries we visited! Our tour leader Diarmaid was fantastic too. I highly recommend this tour to everyone!