But we’ll be upfront — Helsinki isn’t known to be a budget destination, and it can be tough to score a good deal on hotels here.

Read on to discover where Cheapos stay on a trip to Helsinki.

The top budget hotels in Helsinki

We’ve chosen our favorite Helsinki hotels with some flair, fun perks and friendly service that are more affordable than most accommodations in the city. Remember, Helsinki is expensive. These prices may seem high, but they are actually a good deal for the city.

We love the modern look of the rooms at Omena Hotel.

Omena Hotel Helsinki City Centre

Neighborhood: The Center
Doubles from $81

Near art museums, a swimming hall, restaurants, and the city’s Central Station, the Omena Hotel offers comfortable accommodations for Cheapos looking to be in the middle of the action. Rooms include flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, microwaves and private baths. Learn more

Hotelli Finn has been recently renovated for a smart and contemporary look.

Hotelli Finn

Neighborhood: The Center
Doubles from $114

Sweet, chic, and simple, the Hotelli Finn offers rooms with a dose of modern charm in an excellent location. Many of the rooms are en-suite, but if you’d like to save a bit more money, opt for a room with a shared shower (you’ll still have a private toilet). Learn more

You can’t leave Helsinki without relaxing in a Finnish sauna like the one at Hotel Arthur.

Hotel Arthur

Neighborhood: The Center
Doubles from $123

The Hotel Arthur feels indulgent, with Finnish saunas, a filling (and free!) breakfast and stylish rooms, without costing an arm and a leg. Some rooms even include “rainbow showers” with color-changing water. Fancy! Learn more

Rooms are grand but the price can be right if you book ahead at Scandic Grand Marina.

Scandic Grand Marina

Neighborhood: East of the Center
Doubles from $128

Right near the harbor is the Scandic Grand Marina, a large four-star hotel with a friendly staff and clean rooms. Cheapos will love the free Wi-Fi and bicycle rentals as well as the lovely library cart in the welcoming lobby. There is also a bar and restaurant on site. Learn more

More Helsinki Hotels

Still looking for that perfect room for your visit? Search and book 650+ hotels in Helsinki.

The post Finland: The best budget hotels in Helsinki for 2024 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Where to go, you ask? Well, read on, because we’ve got you covered with some Cheapo-friendly ways to soak up the sun in Helsinki.

Suomenlinna Fortress
Web site
Open year-round (last ferry leaves from Suomenlinna at 2 a.m.)

The Suomenlinna sea fortress, a popular tourist attraction year-round, is ideal for a summer outing. Once a military base used by first the Swedish and then the Russians, today the sea fortress is best known for its museums and its open-air theater. However, you don’t need to spend a euro to enjoy Suomenlinna’s expansive views of the Baltic.

Take a ferry or waterbus to reach the fortress and then wander around among the stony walkways and look out at the sea. Bring a picnic to enjoy outside or stop by one of the restaurants or cafés on the island.

Getting there: Take the Suomenlinna ferry (€3.80 for a 12-hour ticket) from Market Square or the J-Line waterbus near Esplanadi Park (€6.50 for a round-trip ticket).

Seurasaari Open-Air Museum
Nervanderinkatu 13
Hours: Varies throughout the year; see site for details
Admission: €6 (€ 5 reduced)
Web site

Seurasaari Island is a green, peaceful area located a few kilometers from the city center. The island’s main attraction is the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, which boasts 87 well-preserved Finnish cottages from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Among the museum’s highlights are a wooden church and a manor house from south-western Finland. A leisurely stroll past these rustic buildings, combined with the mild summer weather, is a perfect way to escape the urban environment for a few hours.

Midsummer celebration
Seurasaari Island and throughout Helsinki

Seurasaari is also known for the annual Midsummer bonfire held off its coast. Midsummer in Finland falls on the first Saturday after June 19 (for 2010, June 26). If you’re lucky enough to be in town on this date, make sure to head out to the island to take part in the celebration.

The Swimming Stadium
Hammarskjöldintie 1
Admission:€3.80
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. (pool open May 10-September 19)
Tram: 3B, 3T, 4, 7A, 7B, 8, 10
Web site

We love the indoor Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall for its 1920’s architecture and its authentically local vibe, but we think Helsinki’s outdoor pool, located on the north side of town near the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, is the perfect summertime option. The Swimming Stadium is part of a larger athletic complex, and it offers plenty of lanes for some leisurely laps.

Tell us

Have you been to any of these attractions? Tell us about your experience — or recommend another budget-friendly activity in Helsinki.

The post Helsinki: Cheapo-friendly summertime attractions appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Ice skating at Railway Square

The Ice Park right outside Helsinki’s central train station is one of the city’s most popular skating venues. The rink is open from November to March, and it offers a variety of programs and performances in addition to open skating. (On Thursday evening, for instance, you can participate in an ice skating aerobics class!)

Admission costs €5, and skate rentals are another €5. The Ice Park also has a café serving warm drinks and pastries.

A swim and sauna at Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall

The Finnish love of saunas is by no means limited to the coldest months of the year, but winter is a perfect time to warm your bones in one. For an extra-special experience, take a trip to the city’s iconic Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall. The institution dates back to 1928, and it boasts both an impressive pool along with private and group saunas.

Men and women have separate hours, so make sure to check the schedule online. Once you’re in, go for a swim (bathing suit optional) and admire the striking Classical architecture. When you’re done with the water, head to the sauna and relax. You’ll find plenty of locals doing the same.

Admission costs €2.20, and a locker costs €4.40. The swimming hall is open year-round; check the website for hours.

Taking in the music scene

Helsinki is sprinkled with dozens of über-hip clubs where both indie and well-known musical acts play. After a day of swimming and skating, settle down with a drink and get ready to dance.

Located in the happening Kallio hood north of the city center, Kuudes Linja offers live (usually underground) music and DJ sets nightly. Most shows costs less than €10.

If you’re looking for a less trendy, more traditional scene, head to Rymy-Eetu, a Finnish-German restaurant with hearty fare, plentiful beer, and folksy live music. The restaurant sits on the bar-lined Errotajankatu in central Helsinki, and it offers a “two for the price of one” discount on main courses from 2-5 PM daily.

To find more music clubs and bars, visit the city’s nightlife listings page.

The post Helsinki: Warming up in winter—on the cheap! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

A cinnamon roll and coffee at Cafe Esplanad.

Are your taste buds unstimulated? Not to fear—Helsinki’s hidden culinary strength lies in its selection of cute cafes. No one can subsist on coffee and pastries alone, but here are three Cheapo-approved cafes for tiding you over between meals.

Café Esplanad
Pohjoisesplanadi 37

Sitting pretty just off Helsinki’s Esplanadi Park, Café Esplanad is known for more than its prominent location. The café’s giant “korvapuustit” (Finnish cinnamon rolls) are simply delicious. Esplanad is self-serve, so ask the cashier for a roll, pour yourself a coffee, and sit near the window to watch the pedestrian traffic pass by. A pastry plus a coffee (with free refills) will set you back about €5.

Café Engel
Aleksanterinkatu 26

If you prefer stunning views to people-watching, take a seat at the Café Engel, which counts as its neighbor the famous Helsinki Cathedral. (The café is even named after the cathedral’s architect, Carl Ludvig Engel.) The café is popular with locals, and even hosts outdoor film screenings in the warmer months. A full breakfast costs around €13, while coffee and a slice of cake is €7-10. After lingering over your table, head across the street to the Cathedral’s steep steps for a post-meal workout.

The view from Cafe Engel.

Café Ekberg
Bulevardi 9

Southwest of Esplanadi Park in Helsinki’s hip Kamppi district, Café Ekberg dates back to 1915. The beautiful, bite-size pastries and cakes on offer here make for the perfect afternoon sugar rush. Known for attracting a more mature crowd, the café also offers a good breakfast. Just make sure to have the morning meal on a weekday, when the meal costs €9—the price doubles to €18 on the weekends. If you prefer to stop in for a pastry or sandwich, expend to spend €2-10.

The post Three budget-friendly cafes in Helsinki appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

If you’re planning a trip to the Finnish capital, chances are you’ll see the Helsinki Card advertised as a must-have for visitor discounts. But at a hefty €34 for a single day of visits, the tourist pass is a bit of an investment for cost-conscious Cheapos. So, is the Helsinki Card worth it?

What it offers

The Helsinki Card includes free admission to 40 museums (including the wonderful Ateneum and Kiasma art museums), as well as unlimited travel on Helsinki’s tram, bus, and ferry system. The card also offers a free city tour and discounts on day trips to nearby city of Tallinn, Estonia.

For those planning on sampling some traditional Finnish culture, the card also offers discounts at a number of restaurants—and even the city’s famous swimming hall and sauna.

Cost

Here are the 2010 prices for the Helsinki Card:

24-hour Helsinki Card costs €34 (€13 for children under 16).
48-hour card costs €45 (€16).
72-hour card costs €55 (€19).

Should you buy it?

There are a number of things to consider before deciding if the Helsinki Card is worth the euros.

Firstly, do you plan on hitting up lots of museums during your stay? Helsinki museums charge around €8—and can skyrocket up to €16 in the event of a special exhibition (such as the Picasso event currently showing at the Ateneum).

Not so fast! Even if museums are a top priority for you, note that many museums offer free admission of the first Wednesday of the month. If you plan to visit more than five museums, or your thirst for Finnish culture can’t be quenched in one Wednesday, the Helsinki Card is your best bet.

Also worth considering is how often you’ll use transportation. Helsinki is a small city, and most sights are within walking distance of one another. That said, there are a few notable exceptions located outside the city center. To reach the famous Sibelius Monument or the seaside ice-swimming Rastila camp site, you’ll need to take the tram or metro. If you’re staying in the center of town, however, there’s no need to step aboard at €2.50 a pop; the city is best explored on foot.

The bottom line

Ultimately, a realistic sense of what (and how much) you plan to see in Helsinki should inform your decision. Keep in mind that the Helsinki Card is really only worth the euros if your trip is jam-packed with sightseeing and museum-visiting.

Tip: If you do buy this tourist pass, make sure to do so online, as you’ll save €3. If you’re considering a jaunt to Tallinn or the island fortress of Suomenlinna (also covered by the card), purchase the two- or three-day Helsinki Card, so you’re able to take advantage of the card’s discounts at a more leisurely pace.

The post Is the Helsinki Card worth it? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The new guide to cheap hotels in Helsinki takes us into exciting new territory, farther north and east than any of our other guides.

Sarah Silbert, a contributing editor who covered the city following her update of Copenhagen, was initially surprised by the high rates of hotels in Helsinki while planning her trip. “I had expected that, like other cities covered on the site, there would be a wide variety of budget sleeping options. But ‘budget’ in Helsinki is different than ‘budget’ in Berlin,” she explained.

While Helsinki has a few hostels and pensions to accommodate the most budget-minded of travelers, even these are a bit more expensive than the same type of lodging in other European cities. A dorm at the Hostel Erottajanpuisto, for example, costs $36 a night.

“In Helsinki,” Sarah said, “that’s really cheap.”

Bumping up a notch, a double room with shared bath at the Eurohostel runs $72-$84 a night. Despite its name, the property only offers private rooms, not dorms. “I stayed at the Eurohostel and found it to be a good option, especially considering the steep rates at other hotels in Helsinki.”

EuroCheapo’s Helsinki guide also includes a number of three-star hotels, as well as travelers’ apartments and even one four-star pick. The city guide articles cover basics like Helsinki city transportation, expect to spend, and budget tips to keep it cheap.

The post Helsinki: EuroCheapo launches guide to cheap hotels in Helsinki appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

How to keep costs manageable in such a pricey Nordic capital? We’ve got a few suggestions.

1. Find a cheap bed. The well-scrubbed Eurohostel, located on Katajanokka, is a cheap spot to lay your head. Rooms are small but spic-and-span, with Ikea-like blond wood bed frames and gray and green room accents. Doubles begin at €53 in the summer, which is pretty darn cheap for the pricey Finnish capital.

Central Helsinki by day…

2. Grab a cheap lunch. Grub is expensive in central Helsinki. One good value can be found at the Hietalahti Flea Market café, where the lunch buffet is just €7 per person. Just don’t go assuming that you’ll be able to find such good deals in the flea market hall itself, which is packed to the rafters with spectacular Finnish modernist pieces (as well as some inarguably uninteresting fluff). A trip to the nearby Design Museum (Korkeavuorenkatu 23) will confirm your suspicions that many of the Flea Market’s cast-offs are in fact Grade A modernist beauties.

3. Visit a free museum. The splendid Kiasma (Museum of Contemporary Art) is worth the €7 admission fee for the exploration of its curved passageways and awesome scale alone. But on the first Wednesday of every month, admission is free. Several other museums occasionally offer free admission as well.  Helsinki City Art Museum is free on Fridays, for example.

Helsinki’s main cathedral, the Tuomiokirkko

4. Free furniture? Well, not really. All those expensive shops full of incredibly dear and well made Finnish furniture can be visited and viewed by any Cheapo with an appetite for good, high-end design. Check out Vepsäläinen and the adjacent Solid Furniture on Annankatu 25, and Amfora Shop on Bulevardi 11 for some particularly inspiring selections.

5. Take a cheap day trip. It’s all relative, of course, but a boat trip to the beautiful island of Suomenlinna—where one of the largest historic maritime monuments in the world holds court—is just €3.80 roundtrip for adults and €1.90 roundtrip for children aged 7 to 16.  Once there, guided walking tours of the island are available most every day in the summer, less frequently in the down season. They are free for Helsinki Card carriers.

The post Wandering Cheapo Helsinki: Five Cheapo Tips appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.