The Insight Guide series is, in general, a really good introduction to any of the countries that they have chosen to focus on. This one on Finland, like all of them, is full of great photo's and good historical, economic, social, and political descriptions.

The tourist descriptions of what to see, places to stay and eat, etc. always seem to be pretty good and accurate.

Insight Compact Guides are great. This one has 12 routes for you to follow as you travel through this stunningly beautiful country. All the major sights are featured with pictures and a rating. I like this feature since - as you will find - the authors are pretty good judges of what is worth seeing and what is not. It's also nice to see the Aland Islands included as one of the trips. My wife and I had a tremendous time cycling around them in the early autumn of 1999 - when the sea and sky were deep blue and the myriad forests a swathe of gold and red.

There are two big selling points for these guide books. One they are very small, light and easy to follow. Two, into a mere 100 odd pages, the authors have crammed a wealth of info/pictures on the country, its history, culture, customs - as well as 12 unforgettable journey's.

Five stars and lots of lovely memories.

Insight Compact Guides are great. This one has 12 routes for you to follow as you travel through this stunningly beautiful country. All the major sights are featured with pictures and a rating. I like this feature since - as you will find - the authors are pretty good judges of what is worth seeing and what is not. It's also nice to see the Aland Islands included as one of the trips. My wife and I had a tremendous time cycling around them in the early autumn of 1999 - when the sea and sky were deep blue and the myriad forests a swathe of gold and red.

There are two big selling points for these guide books. One they are very small, light and easy to follow. Two, into a mere 100 odd pages, the authors have crammed a wealth of info/pictures on the country, its history, culture, customs - as well as 12 unfortgettabe journey's.

Five stars and lots of lovely memories.

But if you happen to be in Finland, the only thing you'll need to sample is the local alcoholic beverages.

I visited this country with my Finnish boyfriend in 2002. THe book was a great help. It helped me decide which tourist spots, shopping areas, historical sites and places of interest to check out. The only part that I didn't like was that it didn't touch too much on the smaller cities of Finland, but in general, it's a good buy. Definitely worth it, but make sure you get "Culture Shock, Guide to Finland" if you do travel to Suomi. Having a cultural view of this beautiful country is important.

I've just been to Helsinki for a few days, and although I didn't get the chance to test this book's usefulness in other parts of the country, it certainly proved worth having just for Helsinki. It tells you all the basic stuff, and some of the interesting stuff. I was able to get from the airport by bus and walk to my hotel from the bus station simply by glancing at the book on the flight to Helsinki. Everything is very clear and nicely laid out, and it's a handy size too. I hope I'll return to Finland; this is the first thing I'll pack.