If you are planning a cheap holiday to Helsinki I have collected a few tips during the day that you can keep in mind.

1. Be prepared to cut down on your eating, or shop sensibly. Getting a cheeseburger from MacDonald’s for example and cutting into 3 will give you a full day of calories without the worry of excess (or any for that matter) nutrition. The cost will still be around $10 Au.

2. Avoid expensive tours. By missing the more expensive tourist spots you can save a tidy sum. Try visiting the park for example. The cost for that will be free.

3. Accommodation is another problematic area in Helsinki, so try to look for low cost options. Places with less comfortable beds and no air conditioning are invariably more affordable.

4. Stop drinking alcohol and stick to water. However keep in mind that sudden changes in lifestyle can be dangerous health wise and from a mental well being standpoint a sudden reduction of alcohol in the bloodstream could result in all sorts of hitherto unknown things happening like, well you know um……. forget it let’s just say the risk is just too high and leave it at that!

So in summation forget the hamburger and buy a cheap bottle of wine with the money you saved, take it to the park and spend a quiet day looking at the bird life (Finnish Buzzards and the like) get good and liquered up and when the wine is gone select a nice park bench, not comfortable or air conditioned, but think of the money you saved not to mention the mental health benefits :-).

Suomenlinna is an 18th-century sea fortress and nature area with centuries-old artillery and defensive walls, spread across 6 linked islands.

Panorama.

Cobbled Streets

Still a little light behind the eyes.

Storage Bunkers.

Beach Pffffttt.

Bird of some sort.

Back in town.

Railway Station.

My usual from of transport.

The Boss’s House.

The Boss’s Hat

By the way, while alcohol is expensive here it seems the cost of living is similar to Sydney. Helsinki rates 41st most expensive in the world Sydney comes in at 42. The most expensive is Caracas, Venezuela.