Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

08 February 2025

5 minute read

While Finland is not a country most people consider when choosing a holiday destination, travel blogger Fatima Vanker says that this winter wonderland, with its pristine Arctic wilderness is a must-visit for everyone.

Finland is a dream for nature lovers, has a superb education system, and is known as ‘the happiest country in the world’. The capital city, Helsinki, occupies a peninsula and is home to an 18^th century sea fortress. The city is great for sightseeing and has a ‘stunning library’. The Finnish Lapland lies about 250km above the Arctic Circle in the North Pole, and tourists would need to fly to Saariselkä to visit the region. Fatima says that this area is so beautiful that she feels “it should be among one of the Natural Wonders of the World”.

Experiencing the Northern Lights was a beautiful experience, but Fatima says that “it’s not exactly how you would see it in pictures,” it’s not as vivid and a lot dimmer than one would expect, and the weather conditions must be perfect to see it. The Aurora hunting excursions take tourists to remote areas with minimal light pollution to get the ideal sighting of the Northern Lights. Visitors can go as far as the Finnish Russian border for good views, and Fatima commented that the view they got from a frozen river at the border was “a mind-blowing experience.” Special camera settings must be downloaded on smart phones to get good pictures of the Lights.

It is important not to have unrealistic expectations of the Northern Lights as they are weather dependent, but the best time of the year to view them are from September to March. The polar night can also be witnessed then; where the sun does not set from the end of November until January, displaying magical colours in hues of pink that light up the skies. The first sunrise on January 7^th is a “jaw-dropping sight”. Certain activities like Husky and Reindeer sledding, ice karting and Aurora hunting can only be done during Winter when there are high volumes of snowfall.

A Shengen visa is required for tourists from South Africa who want to visit Finland. If all the required documents are in order, it’s a “pretty seamless process” and the visa does not take long to process. Fatima says they travelled there via Doha on Qatar airways, then switched to Finnair to get to Helsinki.

Helsinki has an easy and efficient tram system. Tourists need to download the app and pay for their tickets in advance. In Lapland, taxis are used to get around, but it’s extremely expensive, although most hotels do provide transfers for tours.

The Muslim population in Finland is small, but many of the Uber drivers are Muslim and expressed that they were able to practice Islam freely with ease. Finding halal food in the country is difficult, and although there are a few Muslim-owned restaurants in Helsinki, in Finnish Lapland Muslim tourists would have to stick to a vegan or seafood diet.

Of course, one of the biggest challenges of touring Finland is the icy cold weather, but “the Finns say there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”. If you have the necessary clothing for those crazy temperatures, the trip can be quite pleasant.

The salaah times, says Fatima, “were crazy,” with Fajr being around 7am, sunrise at 11.45, Dhuhr at 12.20 and Asr at 12.25! Then Maghrib was around 13.30 and Esha at around 14.00. But Fatima concluded that Finland is definitely the most magical place on Earth to visit, as long as you are prepared for the weather and inaccessibility of Halal food.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Ibrahim Daya and Ml Muhammad Kara on the Weekend Breakfast Show.