Crossing Finland by Bus: From Savitaipale to Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi, February 25th and 26th, 2018.

Hello from Rovaniemi!

Wow, I’m super tired! I don’t think I’ve ever spent so many hours on a bus in my life. Just a few days ago, I decided to come to Rovaniemi, and here I am! A last-minute trip, rushed and barely (if at all) planned. But hey, they say the road is made by walking, so I’ll figure things out as the days go by. For now, I’ve made it safe and sound to my first destination.

Let’s Start from the End

Right now, I’m sitting in what I could say is my favorite café in Finland: the Coffee House. It’s the same one I went to in Lappeenranta a few weeks ago. I think they have locations not just in Finland but in other countries too, but I just love it! It’s super cozy, with spaces for working on a laptop, comfy armchairs for reading, tables for couples or groups… Though, to be fair, after this long trip, I probably URGENTLY needed a hot coffee.

I’ve been wanting to visit Lapland for years, but I knew I didn’t want to go just at any time of the year—I wanted to go in winter. There are several reasons, but as you can imagine, one of them is the northern lights. So far, I haven’t seen anything because Savitaipale is too far south. (at least we tried). You can read about our first and second attempts here. Let’s see if we get lucky this time! Also, winter is the perfect time to enjoy snow activities that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Trips to Lapland usually start in Rovaniemi, the administrative capital of the region. So far, I’ve only seen the path from the bus stop to Coffee House (thank you, Google Maps), but I’ll keep you updated as I explore more.

The Bus Journey to Rovaniemi

The trip was pretty exhausting, mainly because I had to take four buses (one of them overnight). I could have optimized my route and taken only two, but I was too impatient and booked the first route that seemed reasonable without checking other options. Oh well, I learned the lesson! Next time, I’ll plan better. Because even though I haven’t seen much of Lapland yet, I already know this won’t be my last visit. 🙂

Here’s the route I took:
Savitaipale > Mikkeli > Helsinki > Oulu > Rovaniemi

And here’s how I could have optimized it:
Savitaipale > Jyväskylä > Oulu > Rovaniemi

Now, let’s go through the journey step by step.

1. Savitaipale > Mikkeli

The only bus company operating in Savitaipale is Savonlinja, which runs routes to Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, and Mikkeli. So, to travel anywhere else, you have to go through one of these cities. Due to schedules and connections, I chose Mikkeli as my starting point.

I took the Savonlinja bus at 16:00 and arrived in Mikkeli at 17:00. The ticket cost around €8 when bought online. It varies depending on whether you buy it online or in person and how far in advance you book it. The best option is to buy online as early as possible, as you can sometimes get tickets for as low as €5.

The first time I visited Mikkeli was when I was moving to Savitaipale. It was freezing, and being outside was unbearable. Maybe it’s because it’s further north and the temperature drop is more noticeable—I don’t know. But this time wasn’t any different; the cold was brutal, especially in late February.

2. Mikkeli > Helsinki

I had two options to get from Mikkeli to Helsinki:

1. With Savonlinja: You can buy the entire journey on their website in one ticket, even if you have to transfer in Mikkeli. Some routes have a layover of 10-15 minutes, but others show “0 minutes,” which doesn’t seem very reliable. I assume that if you miss the connection, you can file a claim since they sell the whole trip as a package.
2. With Onnibus: This was my choice, but you can only book the Mikkeli-to-Helsinki leg since Onnibus doesn’t operate in Savitaipale. The wait time was around 30-45 minutes, and my ticket cost €12. You can get it for much cheaper (€8-9) if you book in advance. The trip takes about three hours.

The bus was completely packed, and when I got on, I realized a woman had taken my window seat… but I got it back.

3. Helsinki > Oulu

We arrived at Helsinki-Kamppi at 20:15, and my next bus wasn’t until midnight. Kamppi is also a shopping mall, but by that time, all the stores were closed—only the restaurants were open. I wandered around, read a bit, and pondered life until it was time to board.

My bus was also with Onnibus and departed at 23:59. The ticket cost €32 (including the Oulu-to-Rovaniemi leg), and the journey took almost nine hours.

It is clear that you definitely get what you pay for. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, you have to sacrifice some comfort. For me, just taking an overnight bus is exhausting. Add small, uncomfortable seats to the mix… Also, I noticed that only the four-person tables had chargers, not the individual seats. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention, though, because I was too tired and just wanted to get some sleep.

I tried every possible sleeping position—sitting up, on my side, lying down (there was no one next to me), leaning against the window, using my coat as a pillow… I think I slept quite a bit because I barely remember anything from the ride, although my legs were completely numb in the morning.

When I woke up, I realized the bus was half empty. The few remaining passengers had taken up two entire rows each to sleep—one for their body and another for their legs, blocking the aisle. And I’m not talking about just one or two people, but several. So, when I needed to use the bathroom, I had to carefully maneuver around people and legs. Somehow, I don’t think I woke anyone up.

4. Oulu > Rovaniemi

Final stretch of the journey!

Once again, Finnish punctuality proved to be unmatched. Even after a nine-hour overnight trip, the ticket said we would arrive at 8:15—and sure enough, we were parked at Oulu station at exactly 8:15. The next bus to Rovaniemi was at 8:30, and it departed from the same station, so everything lined up perfectly. The Oulu-to-Rovaniemi trip takes two hours.

Even though I had booked my ticket with Onnibus, the bus itself was from a different company. The vehicle was different, and the name on the side wasn’t Onnibus, though I can’t remember what it was. But this bus had chargers at every seat and WiFi.

At one point during the ride, it suddenly started snowing like crazy. I could see the entire blizzard through the window—it was surreal. It only lasted a few minutes before calming down, but it was quite the sight. Definitely a great welcome to Lapland!

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