Southern Finland

Southern Finland (Etelä-Suomen lääni) is a province of Finland. Relatively small in area, the province is dominated by the urban sprawl around Helsinki and is the most populous in Finland.

Southern Finland is divided into six regions.

• South Karelia ( [fi] Etelä-Karjala, [sv] Södra Karelen)
• Päijänne Tavastia ( [fi] Päijät-Häme, [sv] Päijänne Tavastland)
• Tavastia Proper ( [fi] Kanta-Häme, [sv] Egentliga Tavastland)
• Uusimaa ( [sv] Nyland)
• Eastern Uusimaa ( [fi] Itä-Uusimaa, [sv] Östra Nyland)
• Kymenlaakso ( [fi] Kymmenedalen)

• Helsinki (Helsingfors) and its neighbors Espoo (Esbo), Kauniainen (Grankulla) and Vantaa (Vanda)
• Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus), has a medieval castle
• Kotka, a port town on the road to Russia
• Lahti, a fairly grim industrial town
• Lappeenranta (Villmanstrand), a port town by the lake Saimaa
• Porvoo (Borgå), a city with a very nice old town
• Hyvinkää, a relatively small city, the Finnish Railway museum www.rautatie.org is located here

• Ekenäs (Tammisaari)
• Hanko (Hangö)
• Kouvola
• Nuuksio National Park
• Siuntio (Sjundeå)

Between cities and major towns you can use the trains www.vr.fi or buses www.matkahuolto.fi. Hitchhiking is uncommon but possible, but be aware that some roads have very little traffic. If you chose smaller country roads, cycling is a possibility and you can camp wild as long as you regard the "jokamiehenoikeus" (right to access) which states basically "behave".