R04 Puumala to Kuopio
This route was brought to you by:
RouteXpert Hans van de Ven (Mr.MRA)
Last edit: 14-02-2021
Route Summary Endless long days in the summer, so enjoy the midnight sun. During this tour you will discover the Finnish Lake District, the largest lake area in Europe! The blue lakes and green islands are interspersed with forests, hills, rivers and canals.
In any case, bring equipment to chase away the mosquitoes, because there are plenty of them, and what always remains are the moose that come out of the woods on the road, so watch out!
You will usually drive on good roads this trip, but keep in mind that it will often be gravel roads. This 4-star rated route through Finland's unspoiled nature lets you enjoy every bend and countless lakes.
Hyvä matka!
Starting point: Puumala, Mannilanniemi
End point: Kuopio, Camping Atrain
The route is equalized for Garmin, TomTom and MRA Navigation.
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Animation
Verdict
Duration
8h 20m
Mode of travel
Car or motorcycle
Distance
279.58 km
Countries
RouteXpert Review Once arrived in Savonlinna, a stop is planned for something to eat or drink and to visit the castle.
Construction of Olavinlinna Castle began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortress should be built to protect the strategically important Savo region. The castle was to repel Russian attacks from the east and guarantee control of the Savo region for the Swedish Crown. The history of Olavinlinna is a mixture of clashing medieval weapons, roaring cannons and people doing everyday chores within the security of the castle's thick walls. Today, various events are organized in the castle.
After the stop in Savonlinna, meander further through the beautiful landscape, where in the town of Enonkoski, a stop for coffee and petrol is planned. After this stop you will make another crossing with the ferry, Hanhivirta - Lossi, the ferry services operate this crossing daily from 06:00 to 22:00, if necessary; public holidays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Costs for a crossing are +/- € 25.00. Current information can be consulted via the link "Finferries".
After the crossing again enjoy with a capital G. Forests, forests and more forests, three times gravel roads, 2 before lunch and 1 after lunch. Lunch is planned in Vehmersalmi, where you can also refuel. The end of the route is Camping Atrain in the municipality of Kuopio, this is a traditional campsite on a beautiful pond. You can stay in cottages of different levels, or in your own tent. The campsite has a service building with cooking areas, toilets, showers and a laundry room. In high season the saunas are heated daily and a smoke sauna on request. Breakfast, pizza and coffee products are served in the reception building. For the most current information see the link "Camping Atrain".
General information:
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a state in Northern Europe with a population of 5,571,665. Finland borders Russia to the east, Norway to the north and Sweden to the northwest. To the south it is separated from Estonia by the Gulf of Finland.
The capital is Helsinki, and the second largest city and metropolitan area is Tampere, which is about 180 kilometers north of Helsinki. Finland has been called 'the land of a thousand lakes'; in reality there are about 168,000 lakes. The largest lake is Lake Saimaa. In the southeast, the country is dotted with innumerable lakes and ponds.
Finland has a humid continental climate with short, warm summers and long, cold winters. Precipitation falls in the form of rain, hail and snow in all months of the year. In the south, the summers are warmer than can be expected at this high latitude. The temperature can reach more than 30 ° C. This is due to high-pressure areas that migrate from the Russian steppe to Scandinavia during the summer. In the rest of Finland, the summers are cool with long dry spells. This is mainly due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean with its warm Gulf Stream.
In the far north, summer lasts 73 days and the midnight sun can be seen. Lapland is covered with a thick layer of snow for a large part of the winter months. Much of Finland is covered with snow for more than half of the year. The amount of rainfall in the northern part of Lapland varies from less than 400 millimeters in the southwest to more than 600 millimeters in the southeast. In Lapland 1 to 2 meters of snow can fall annually.
Because there is so little sunlight during the winter months, it cools down considerably. In the polar nights the temperature can drop to -35 ° C.
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Use of this GPS route is at your own expense and risk. The route has been carefully composed and checked by a MyRoute-app accredited RouteXpert for use on TomTom, Garmin and MyRoute-app Navigation.
Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
Nearby routes 
Noord Savonie
About this region
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Foreign names that are the same as their English equivalents may be listed.
Read more on Wikipedia
This article does not offer any opinion about what the "original", "official", "real", or "correct" name of any region is or was. Regions are (mostly) listed alphabetically by their current best-known name in English, which does not necessarily match the title of the corresponding article. The English version is followed by variants in other languages, in alphabetical order by name, and then by any historical variants and former names.
Foreign names that are the same as their English equivalents may be listed.
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Route Collections in this region Top car and motorcycle routes in southern Finland
Finland is the land of tranquility, of unspoilt nature, of a thousand lakes, of reindeer, of moose and of the northern lights. Steer along the thousand lakes like the famous rally drivers do in their rally cars.
Endless long days in the summer, so enjoy the midnight sun. During this tour you will discover the Finnish Lake District, the largest lake district in Europe! The blue lakes and green islands are interspersed with forests, hills, rivers and canals.
In any case, take things with you to repel the mosquitoes, because there are plenty of them, and what will always remain are the moose that just walk up the road from the woods, so pay attention!
You will mostly drive this trip on good roads, but keep in mind that it will often be gravel-covered roads. The routes in this collection through the untouched nature of Finland, let you enjoy every bend and countless lakes.
The Finnish road network was developed relatively late. Until the 1960s, many through-valatite were still unpaved or a gravel road. In 1938 the Finnish road network was numbered for the first time. Since many roads were still gravel roads for a long time, the main roads have often been built over a new route, so that Finnish main roads often have a more optimal alignment compared to other European countries, where they follow historical routes. In 1952 the Olympic Games were held in Helsinki. At that time, the country had almost no through asphalt roads. In 1962, Finland's first highway, the Valatie 1 between Helsinki and Espoo, opened. In the 1960s, only a few short highway routes were built around the major cities. It was not until the 1990s that longer stretches of motorway between the Finnish cities were completed.
Finland has a limited network of highways, called moottoritite, with 4 longer radial highways from Helsinki to Turku, Tampere, Heinola and towards the Russian border. In addition, there are a number of shorter highways around the largest cities, such as Oulu, Vaasa, Imatra and Kuopio. Finland also has the northernmost highway in the world, the Valatie 29 between Kemi and Tornio. The motorway network is being expanded on a limited scale, mainly because the traffic volumes are low. Roads from 15,000 vehicles are often widened to a motorway every 24 hours. The priority is the construction of the Valtation 7 to the border with Russia. There are 3 ring roads around Helsinki, the Kehä I to III, although Kehä II is barely a ring. These have not (yet) been classified as motorcycles.
A Moottoritie (plural: Moottoritiet) is the term for a motorway in Finland. The country has a relatively small network, connecting most major cities in the south. The Moottoritie is a status, Moottoritiet often runs on the main roads, called Valtation. European roads can also be part of this. The Finnish highway network is 995 kilometers long.
Best travel period
The best time to visit Finland is in the months of June, July, August and September. In these months the chance of precipitation is lowest and the chance of good weather is greatest.
Blow off steam in one of the many Finnish saunas
Finland is really a sauna country. Every Finnish family has at least one sauna on average. For the Finns it is the way to relax, and it is very different than in the Netherlands.
What to do? First you have to take a short, cold shower after which you are only allowed to enter the sauna after having dried up. You also get a bunch of branches, also called a Vihta, with which you can hit your skin (ouch!) to increase blood circulation. After this, you dive into a cold water bath to cool off. (The real diehards also rub themselves with snow!) Afterwards you can enter the sauna again.
It takes some getting used to, but once you've done this a few times and feel the difference between hot and cold, you'll feel completely relaxed.
Hyva matka!
Endless long days in the summer, so enjoy the midnight sun. During this tour you will discover the Finnish Lake District, the largest lake district in Europe! The blue lakes and green islands are interspersed with forests, hills, rivers and canals.
In any case, take things with you to repel the mosquitoes, because there are plenty of them, and what will always remain are the moose that just walk up the road from the woods, so pay attention!
You will mostly drive this trip on good roads, but keep in mind that it will often be gravel-covered roads. The routes in this collection through the untouched nature of Finland, let you enjoy every bend and countless lakes.
The Finnish road network was developed relatively late. Until the 1960s, many through-valatite were still unpaved or a gravel road. In 1938 the Finnish road network was numbered for the first time. Since many roads were still gravel roads for a long time, the main roads have often been built over a new route, so that Finnish main roads often have a more optimal alignment compared to other European countries, where they follow historical routes. In 1952 the Olympic Games were held in Helsinki. At that time, the country had almost no through asphalt roads. In 1962, Finland's first highway, the Valatie 1 between Helsinki and Espoo, opened. In the 1960s, only a few short highway routes were built around the major cities. It was not until the 1990s that longer stretches of motorway between the Finnish cities were completed.
Finland has a limited network of highways, called moottoritite, with 4 longer radial highways from Helsinki to Turku, Tampere, Heinola and towards the Russian border. In addition, there are a number of shorter highways around the largest cities, such as Oulu, Vaasa, Imatra and Kuopio. Finland also has the northernmost highway in the world, the Valatie 29 between Kemi and Tornio. The motorway network is being expanded on a limited scale, mainly because the traffic volumes are low. Roads from 15,000 vehicles are often widened to a motorway every 24 hours. The priority is the construction of the Valtation 7 to the border with Russia. There are 3 ring roads around Helsinki, the Kehä I to III, although Kehä II is barely a ring. These have not (yet) been classified as motorcycles.
A Moottoritie (plural: Moottoritiet) is the term for a motorway in Finland. The country has a relatively small network, connecting most major cities in the south. The Moottoritie is a status, Moottoritiet often runs on the main roads, called Valtation. European roads can also be part of this. The Finnish highway network is 995 kilometers long.
Best travel period
The best time to visit Finland is in the months of June, July, August and September. In these months the chance of precipitation is lowest and the chance of good weather is greatest.
Blow off steam in one of the many Finnish saunas
Finland is really a sauna country. Every Finnish family has at least one sauna on average. For the Finns it is the way to relax, and it is very different than in the Netherlands.
What to do? First you have to take a short, cold shower after which you are only allowed to enter the sauna after having dried up. You also get a bunch of branches, also called a Vihta, with which you can hit your skin (ouch!) to increase blood circulation. After this, you dive into a cold water bath to cool off. (The real diehards also rub themselves with snow!) Afterwards you can enter the sauna again.
It takes some getting used to, but once you've done this a few times and feel the difference between hot and cold, you'll feel completely relaxed.
Hyva matka!
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