Enough time to visit Helsinki?
 

I'll be travelling from BKG to OSL in early May, connecting in HEL. AY0096 gets into HEL at 0640, and AY0655 leaves at 1215. Is this enough time to see a bit of the city? Any recommendations for what I should see & do with a couple hours?

Yes, definitely, given that your arrival isn't too badly delayed. You can easily make it to the city centre by eight using AY's own bus going directly to the main railway station, smack middle of the city (it's a bit more expensive than the public bus but conveniently faster so worth the 5 EUR price). Since you should have you boarding pass for OSL and midday isn't a particularly busy time you could hang around until 10.30 or so and take the same bus back. Taxis are faster but will be around 40 EUR each way, rather pricey.

This gives you two and half hours to walk around the centre, if the weather is nice (May often can be) go to the market square at the harbor and have a breakfast outside, the experience is great.

Alternatively if is raining you could head to the Jumbo shopping mall only a couple of kilometers from the airport. Features all the usual retail thingies, a number of restaurants and a water park/spa/cinema complex which is great for washing away any weariness from the travel - it is quite affordable during the regular workdays, more expensive over the weekend and weekday nights... Jumbo is a short 10 minute bus ride or a 5 minute around 10 EUR taxi ride.

Search this forum for a number of earlier suggestions on the same topic (should we get a sticky?).

I vote for the sticky as well! BTW, do we have any mods here...?

Yes, if not going to the Helsinki city center, Jumbo shopping center & Flamingo Spa (connected) are good choices to kill time between flights:

http://www.jumbo.fi/from_airport_to_jumbo
http://www.flamingospa.fi/index.php/...mingo-spa.html

Of course there's the Via Spa in the non-Schengen terminal (45e):
http://media.finnair.com/spa/site/

The spa sounds like a nice way to relax after the overnight flight, but the hours don't work for me as my plane leaves just after noon!

Is there enough at the airport to stay busy for a few hours? I've been to downtown Helsinki a few years ago so there's no real urge, just that I want something to do for that time. The Via Spa is intriguing as I've never had a Finnish sauna before.

Kiitos!

Edit: I'm flying business class so I get Lounge access for breakfast, but am still open to ideas. Via Spa looks good as I don't have to rush back, but it only opens at 10 so I wouldn't have much time.

I was going to suggest the Finnish Aviation Museum but turns out the lazy bums open only at 11 am.

If you are interested in sauna, the Airport Hilton hotel just next to the airport (literally 50 meters) has a fairly decent sauna that is open 24/7. Don't know how you can get access as a non-guest, but I am guessing that showing up at the reception and telling you are a foreigner who'd love to try sauna will get you in for free or a few euros. Might be worth a try.

Cheers,
T.

Connecting AY96 to Schengen flight(AY655), how can make Via Spa which is in non-Schengen area?

Just out of curiousity, how is it nowadays for non-Schengen arrivals... if you want, can you access the departure area to go to the lounge? It used to be an advertized benefit that AY had arrivals services at the non-Schengen lounge for J pax..is this gone for good?

You can access (in fact, you *will* access) the departure area if arriving from LHR, but not from any of the Asian destinations.

Yeah, exactly my thinking...so I guess this "arrival lounge" for long haul J pax concept has been quietly killed...not that it ever was that loudly marketed in the first place...

You have the pointless EU requirements about having to rescreen pax originating from outside the EU (hence the access from flights ex-UK) before allowing them to mingle with departing passengers to thank for this.

Still if they really tried they could've built a restricted section in the lounge for long haul arrival pax where the only way out is through another security check (and immigration if continuing to the Schengen zone).

Do they check boarding passes if you just follow the signs for flight connections, go through security and to the non-Schengen departure area?
If not there's nothing stopping you from going back to the departure area, security might be a little annoying for sure, and of course this doesn't work if you have tax free booze from outside EU.

It's been a while since I've done that the last time, but I think at least back then they didn't, and I know for sure that they don't at "normal security".

Haven't done it myself but can you access non-Schengen departures after transit security or is there immigration in between...? Immigration wants to see the BP, that's for sure..

No you don't, at least in the past, and I would find it very weird if they changed that.

The whole point of separate transit security is to avoid this very thing. This can be a very big thing for say an Indian passenger connecting between US (or UK) and India, as he'd need a visa for Schengen if he would like to go through immigration. Now they can go through transfer security and get on their connecting flight without ever crossing the Schengen boarder and having to worry about visas.

Yeah, naturally, stupid me! So then it's no issue to go to the lounge if someone really wants to do that..it's strange to go to "arrivals lounge" through security but seems that it can be done.