Helsinki is the beautiful Nordic capital of Finland, which is visited by millions of tourists every year.Because the destination is expensive, even a short airport transfer sometimes costs around 100 euros. This is the reason many people asks if it is recommended to rent a car in Helsinki or using taxi/cab for the transfers. With our years of experience organizing tours and transfers in Helsinki, we are creating this article to help people come out of this dilemma.

Is it recommended to rent a car in Helsinki?

I remember being asked the same question by one of the Australian travelers. My reply to him was, "Share your itinerary first." You cannot decide if you should rent a car or hire a cab in Helsinki until you know what places you want to visit. Itinerary being one factor, other important factors are also to be considered, which we are going to discuss below:

How important is "itinerary" to decide if you should rent a car in Helsinki or not?

Helsinki is, by and large, quite big and is equipped with options for public transport. Be it train tracks, buses, trams, taxi services, etc, there are multiple public transport options in Helsinki. Now, some visitors only wish to see central Helsinki for 1 or 2 days and then move ahead to other destinations. If Central Helsinki is the motive, then there is no need to rent a car; public transport or a taxi is enough. However, if the intention is to visit near by sports from Helsinki, then renting a car is worth. For example, visiting Porvoo by taxi would cost more than 100 euros per way, and for 100 euros, you might be able to rent a car for 2 nights.

Or if someone acts smart and decides to travel to Porvoo via train but then to visit Old Porvoo town in between transportation is required, renting a car is always better in any case. There are other sights to see as well.For example, if you want to visit Turku, do you think , hiring a cab is a good option ?

Your "Month of Travel" is again important to decide if you should rent a car in Helsinki or not.

If you are travelling in the summer and really want to explore Helsinki, close your eyes and rent a car. There is no problem at all. You will find parking almost everywhere, except on some busy streets. Roads are clean, weather is clear, and long days—what else would you want? I won't recommend spending euros on cabs with drivers.

What about the winter? Well, days are short; expect it to get darker around 4 PM. Snow encounters are frequent, but roads are maintained properly. If you are confident driving on snowy roads, then there should not be any problem renting a car. If you have not yet driven on snowy roads and you want to experience this, then renting a car in Helsinki is the best thing to do.Helsinki is the safest location to do it for the first time. If you are underconfident and have no interest in driving on snowy roads, then forget about it and opt for cabs or public transport.

Finland is right-hand drive; what is your native country's side of drive?

Finland is right-hand drive, which means the steering wheel of cars is on the left side. You should consider if you are comfortable driving on the right side. Many countries have left-hand driving on the roads, but there is no rule that you cannot drive in Helsinki with a left-hand drive system. If you are confident about adapting to new things, you can rent a car in Finland.

However, if you think it would be difficult for you to adapt to this opposite system, then you should think twice.

Some Frequently asked questions about driving a car in Helsinki ?