[Allen]

Can anyone confirm if it is possible to fly from the UK direct to Oulu or do you have to fly via Helsinki?

[Tero]

You get a little closer with Ryanair, but then you need a train. See Ryanair routes.

UK charter flights only to Rovaniemi in Decembeer, so no help.

[Allen]

Thanks Tero

I see that Ryanair fly to Tampere - anyone know the length of drive form there to Oulu/Kuusamo area?

[hannu]

Originally Posted by Allen

Thanks Tero

I see that Ryanair fly to Tampere - anyone know the length of drive form there to Oulu/Kuusamo area?

Tampere - Kuusamo
distance 694 km
driving speed 80 km/h
Driving time 8 h 40 min

Tampere - Oulu
distance 476 km
driving speed 80 km/h
Driving time 5 h 57 min

If you want to check some distance between places here in Finland,
see
http://alk.tiehallinto.fi/www2/valimatkat/index.htm

[Didier Godreau]

Hello,

I guess you can have a direct flight from London to Rovaniemi!!
(With SAS SCANDINAVIAN and FINNAIR)

cheers,
Didier

Originally Posted by Allen

Can anyone confirm if it is possible to fly from the UK direct to Oulu or do you have to fly via Helsinki?

[PennineBirder]

Allen
I was up that way in June last year and arrived in Tampere quite late on a Ryanair flight from Stansted. Stayed overnight just outside Tampere and spent the next day travelling north to Oulu - a liesurely drive on good fast roads with a couple of decent stops on the way to do some birding and settling in.

The way we travelled north was via the coastal road from Tampere but there is an inland route that might be a tad quicker. The birding on the way up was decent though with loads of good waders and stuff along coastal wetlands. We found a good lake with breeding Smew, Black Throated Diver and other goodies. If you have time the drive up doesn't have to be a slog.

On my trip we travelled on from here to Kuusamo and further into Norway and the far north (Varanger etc) flying back home from Alta-Oslo-Stansted on NorwegianAir (their equivalent of EasyJet and just as cheap).

If you are on a short time scale we did see a few English birders around Oulu/Kuusamo who were up for a long week-end to tick off the specialities around there - so it is possible and they were on a round trip from Tampere.

Good luck.

Peter

Yorkshire