Have anyone been to Gulf of Bothnia in Finland? They claim it's one of the sunniest locations in Northern Europe (whatever that means). A friend has an opportunity to live there for a week and asks if I'll join him. I am no nature fiend so I don't know if I'll last in remote Finnish town for so long. Have anyone been to or heard anything about beaches in Finland and what one can do there for a week?

Well, nature lovers will find peace and quiet here, but if you were a bit more specific about where your friend intends to take you, it would be easier to tell if there is something on offer for you too!. Finland is larger than Britain and there is hundreds of kilometers of west coast - and yes, not too many millions of people.<BR>Would it perhaps be Kalajoki (fine beach there) or Vaasa (a town which claims to be the sunniest in Finland)?<BR>Maybe you could also tell what you do find interesting?

Thanks for response, Minna. I believe it would be in Kalajoki. In fact the place we'll (potentially) be staying is called Kalajoki Beach. We both are interested in nice cuisine (finnish?), authentic ambiance, some night life won't hurt! I also hear they have an alcohol restriction of some sort (?)<BR>Do you know how far it is from Helsinki or any other large city that potentially can offer more urban amusement? Thank you.

Kalajoki is one of the most beautiful and best known beaches in Finland. That means it´s not as quiet as somewere else, but to be honest with you: it´s not any fancy international resort! A few restaurants, a spa, an amusement park for children, some small museums and plentiful of holiday accommondation, which means I prefer quieter places for holiday and haven´t really got first hand experience of Kalajoki, only been there for one evening in the beach restaurant.<BR><BR>If you know where to look, you´ll find lots of local charm in the area: old fishing villages for example. For the best ones you need to take a boat trip(I think Maakalla off Kalajoki and then Hailuoto, which is further north close to Oulu.).<BR><BR>But you´ve better be here pretty soon if you´re coming this summer - it´s really hot now, sun has been shining for weeks and the hottest days are close to 30 degrees C. You can´t count on it going on forever...Autumn is definitely coming in a month or so. Schools begin in two weeks, and I see from the websites that the season in Kalajoki is coming to the end. In cities everything goes on, but not the beach season.<BR><BR>Maybe you could get in touch with the TIC in Kalajoki: [email protected].<BR><BR>There is some information in English if you make a search for kalajoki in "http://www.suomiopas.fi/matkailuhaku/?lan=en" although I´m afraid the best local websites are only in Finnish.<BR><BR>In http://virtual.finland.fi you´ll find lots of information + links (choose "finfo directory")<BR><BR>The closest bigger city is Oulu 130 km north, less than two hours drive.(Check http://www.ouka.fi/english/index.html for that.) Kalajoki is 550 km from Helsinki, about 7 hours drive (This information is from the Finnish Road Administrations website).<BR><BR>If you stay in Helsinki on your way to the North, you´ll find something to suit every taste and can forget about the nature.(http://www.hel.fi/tourism/index.html)<BR><BR>If you come, be sure to choose your way to Kalajoki carefully -it´s a long way to go. If driving, the shortest way might not be the most interesting. You can also fly from Helsinki to Oulu and drive or take bus from there, or take train from Helsinki to somewhere close to Kalajoki (no station there).. or fly to Stockholm instead, find your way to Umea and take ferry from there to Vaasa, I think...Ask the Kalajoki TIC.<BR><BR>I wish this helps you in making up your mind.<BR><BR><BR><BR>Minna<BR>

Well, Finland is usually sunnier and warmer than other northern countries in the summer. Our climate is more "continental", meaning less rain, and we often get heat wawes from south-east. But in fact I think it is eastern Finland that gets most sunshine. Heh, yesterday it hit over +30°C of tropical style humid heat (not very comfortable if you have to work). But now there is a thunder storm.<BR><BR>There are many good beaches on the western coast, Kalajoki being one of the best and biggest. Another big one is Yyteri near Pori: huge area, kilometres of sand dunes. I am afraid that the nearest big town from Kalajoki is Oulu, and that is about 100 kilometres north.<BR><BR>So, I suspect that the success of your week is very dependent on weather.

I had to come back because of "alcohol restriction". There is no such thing. But perhaps you mean shopping alcohol. You can buy only beer from supermarkets and gas stations. Wines (a massive, very good selection from all over the world) and hard liquor can be bought only from licenced shops called ALKO. But you usually find an ALKO from every village bigger than 3000 people, and they are usually open from 9 am till 8 p, so that should not be a problem.

Do those hot Finnish gals go naked on this beach? Oh man if they do think about all that tight blonde flesh lying about............

No Karl, those hot Finnish gals do not go naked to the beach. Neither are they all blond.