Go.
Finland is safer today with a sketch score of 90, and all major government advisories remain at the lowest level of 1. Watch for the global measles notice while you travel.
Governments, one trip
What they're telling their own citizens about Finland
The real score
The breakdown
See it from your perspective
Go.
The general Sketch Score, unweighted for any specific traveler.
Don't fall for it
Scams to know
Pickpocketing
Organized pickpockets operate during busy summer tourist months. Never leave valuables like phones, laptops, or wallets unattended in restaurants or hotel breakfasts.
Fake Police
Police never accept payment on the spot for fines. Any officer demanding immediate cash is not a real police officer.
Don't do this
Laws that jail tourists
Prohibited Self-Defense Weapons
Weapons for self-defense, including pepper spray, are illegal. Self-defense is only permitted as a last resort without using excessive force.
Drug Enforcement
Police and customs are strict regarding drugs, including cannabis. Sniffer dogs are used at ports and airports, and a positive marking leads to a full search.
Identity Checks
Police, border guards, and customs officials have the legal authority to check your identity and your right to stay in the country.
Staying healthy
What to watch out for, health-wise
Active notices
- • Global Measles
Vaccines
Recommended:
From people who've been there
Local know-how
Staying safe
- •Crime: Finland enjoys a comparatively low crime rate and is, generally, a very safe place to travel.
- •There is organised pickpocketing, especially in the busy tourist months in the summer.
- •Bicycle thieves are everywhere. Never leave your bike unlocked even for a minute.
- •Self defence is generally allowed only as a last resort, and excessive force must not be used. Weapons for self defence (including pepper spray) are not allowed.
- •Finnish police (poliisi/polis) are respected by the public, respectful even to drunkards and thieves, and not corrupt.
- •Customs and the police are strict on drugs, including cannabis.
Staying healthy
- •You're unlikely to have tummy troubles in Finland, since tap water is always drinkable (except on trains etc., and there will be warnings in those cases) and generally quite tasty as well, and hygiene standards in restaurants are strict.
- •At cottages and in the wilderness different considerations apply; quality of water from local sources varies.
- •Pests: The most dangerous pests are the ticks (Finnish: puutiainen or colloquially punkki, Swedish: fästing), which may carry Lyme's disease (borreliosis) or tick-borne viral encephalitis (TBE).
- •There are also a number of irritating insects, but if you are planning to stay in the centres of major cities, you are unlikely to encounter them.
- •Wasps sometimes gather to share your outdoor snack.…
Adapted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA — edited by travelers, not us.
Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / F · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 112 / ambulance: 112 / fire: 112
Zoom in
2 Finland cities on SKETCH.WORLD
Real, resident-submitted Numbeo crime data at the city level — the same national picture above, with crime swapped for what people who actually live there report.
Show the receipts (10 sources)
- us-state — observed 2026-07-12
- uk-fcdo — observed 2026-07-12
- ca-gac — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-political — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-policeTrust — observed 2026-07-12
- cdc-health — observed 2026-07-12
- wikivoyage — observed 2026-07-12
- unodc — observed 2026-07-12
- acled-hdx — observed 2026-07-12
- lgbtq-legal-wikipedia — observed 2026-07-12