Welcome to the Visit Lake Saimaa website. It offers a wealth of inspiration and information about the Lake Saimaa region, food culture, family holidays, attractions to visit, activities, sauna culture, events, vendace, and the towns of Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus, to help you plan your holiday in Finland and in the Saimaa region.
Are you dreaming of a holiday in Finland, a lakeshore summer cabin, a private sauna, and blissful peace and quiet? Here you’ll find information about how to get to the Saimaa region, on what it offers, and about accommodation (whether you’d prefer a camping site, a cabin, or another type of accommodation).
An active holiday in the Saimaa region
Canoeing, cycling, swimming, hiking… Or would you rather go skiing or ice-swimming? What about walking in the forest, doing yoga on a jetty, or picking berries? The Finnish summer and winter offer a multitude of possibilities for many kinds of activities.
A getaway that’s closer than you think
Finland and the Saimaa region are surprisingly near. You can reach Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, from Central Europe in just a couple of hours by plane, and it only takes a couple of hours more to drive from Helsinki to the Saimaa region, in Eastern Finland. Additionally, there are direct flights from Rotterdam and Frankfurt to Savonlinna, making your holiday in Finland closer than you think.
How to get here
Lake Saimaa is in the province of Eastern Finland, in what many call the Finnish lake district. In this area, the towns of Mikkeli, Savonlinna, Lappeenranta, Imatra, Joensuu, and Kuopio are all only a short drive from each other.
The distance from the capital, Helsinki, to Mikkeli is 230 km (the travel time is about 2.5 hours) and to Savonlinna is 332 km (with a travel time of about 4 hours). You can easily travel to Savonlinna or Mikkeli by car, train, or coach, or you can travel to Savonlinna by plane from Helsinki.
Saimaa is the European Region of Gastronomy
The Lake Saimaa Region has been named the European Region of Gastronomy for 2024
ACCOMMODATION AT LAKE SAIMAA REGION
In the Finnish lake district of Saimaa, you’ll find a wide range of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets, from traditionally styled inns full of ambience and atmosphere to modern hotels and luxurious design villas. Maybe you’d prefer an apartment hotel with all the space and conveniences of an apartment but with all the services of a hotel? In the hotels of Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus, you’re treated as a guest, and not as just another tourist.
