Helsinki Walking Trips

This was an excellent trip in two beautiful countries. The hotel in Helsinki was a bit out of town and quite basic although close to a tram to reach town centre. Helsinki exceeded my expectations and the walks were lovely and could benefit from an extra day here. We could have done with some extra time to explore Turku so perhaps have a trip solely in Finland. The “ferry” to the Åland islands was an experience - it was more like a mini cruise. The islands were beautiful and lots to see and do. Stockholm is also an interesting city to visit and perhaps an extra day here to do an urban green walk would be useful. Our tour guide Toni was exceptional and he provided invaluable insight into life in the Nordic region and was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the area. We had a great driver in Roman too. I would definitely recommend this trip. My tip would be do not bring any Swedish krone as very few shops/ restaurants take cash!

A very enjoyable trip, good mix of city and country walking. Walks were already to moderate, only 1 involved a bit of scrambling. Our guide, Toni, made the trip with his knowledge of the countries, their history and culture. Should have booked an extra day in Stockholm as so much to see. Also a bit more time in Torku would have been good. a All stops were well selected.

A wonderful holiday, and an excellent introduction to the beauty and charm of Finland and Sweden. The guide was terrific, and I enjoyed all the walks. The first one was a bit more challenging than expected, but I understand Explore has taken that on board. It is a new holiday, and there are bound to be things that are tweaked for future trips; that said before booking I would recommend checking whether the hotels in the cities are too far out of town for you. The trip notes warn that eating out will be expensive, and it was, particularly alcohol; I would recommend being prepared for this. Would definitely recommend.

This is a new trip and so wasn’t perfect, but still it was very interesting and good fun. Highlights for me were, the Vasa Museum visit and the Aland Islands. The walks were great, including the optional walk at Mariehamn, maybe that could go into the itinerary. Least favourite parts - the guided tours through various cities, especially the Helsinki tour. The visit to Raumu also felt a long way to travel (3 hours round trip) for a short walk and rushed tour of the town. In fact there were 2 guided tours on that day and we had no time to look at either place (Turku or Raumu) in more detail. I would drop Raumu, allow time for individual exploration of Turku and a longer walk in the afternoon. This tour has lots of potential and is well worth taking.

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.