Ugly Tourists in Finland: How Tourists Upset The Finns 

Also if you're in a public space (whether on the train, in a restaurant etc...), and there's plenty of free space to sit, pick a seat that's not too close from the other people there. Nothing worse than having a stranger sitting right next to you when half the place is empty.

Today I found out that I am Finnish by nature but not by passport. Time to ask mum some serious questions.

As a Japanese, I can relate to the Finns. Take off your clothes in the hot springs, don't sexualize it, keep the rules, be punctual, honour your word, don't talk about Korea too positively, don't say Japan is part of China, don't show up to people's homes unannounced, and greet people from a fair distance by nodding or bowing.

As a Swede, I never address Finnish people in Swedish when I visit Finland . That is, I never assume that they speak Swedish. Instead I talk English and if they want to switch to Swedish it is their call. The language issue is sensitive in Finland were many oppose the mandatory courses in Swedish at school -"tvångssvenskan". With that being said, being from Stockholm which is quite close to Finland I wish I would have had the possibility to learn Finnish at school.

My experience is that Finns are indeed extremely reserved and value their personal space. It's hard to tell whether they like you or not in the beginning given that they won't be particularly open with you until they know you well. This isn't the kind of place where you can just go up to someone and start a random conversation although they will help you if you need it. Most speak excellent English. Therefore invading their personal space will not do you any favours. I have actually made friends with Finns by minding my own business, they noticed me and that I wasn't bothering them but they wanted to say Hello. They then came up to me and said hello. But you can be sure that when you've established friendship with them, it is the most genuine and purest friendship you'll ever know and they are very hospitable. Learning their language (which is a very difficult language, Finns know this and they will be very patient with you if you try) and culture will get you far (they will love you)

As a Northern Norwegian, we have so much in common with Finns.

Mixed saunas do happen, though it's more common to have men and women go separately. In swimming hall saunas you're not allowed to use swimsuit in the sauna so the swimsuit doesn't get sweaty. It's also important to remember to shower before and after a sauna in a swimming hall, so the sauna and the pools stay cleaner. If you're invited to a private party and there's a sauna, they sometimes are mixed saunas, but generally you're allowed to use a swimming suit or at least a towel if you wish (just be prepared to bring your own towel). Often an agreement is made if there is going to be a mixed sauna, but it's perfectly fine to suggest that men and women go separately if you don't feel comfortable being naked in a mixed sauna. Sometimes it's agreed beforehand that people bring their swimsuits. Student party saunas are often mixed saunas and it's typical to go naked. If you're invited to someones summer cabin, ask if there is a shower and an indoor bathroom. Be prepared that there is only an outhouse for toilet and no shower in the sauna - many woodburning saunas have a vat for heating water and you dilute the almost boiling water with cold water in a bucket and wash yourself with pouring water overyourself. If the sauna is small and there are a lot of people going to the sauna, it's sometimes agreed that each family has their own turn - couples are considered families and often get their own turn too. Unwritten rule is that if you go into the sauna and know that someone is waiting for their turn, don't stay longer than an hour unless agreed otherwise. Nakedness in sauna is perfectly normal and natural for finnish people. I'm 40 years old and I still sometimes go to sauna naked with my parents when there are family turns, because they are my family. There's absolutely nothing weird about that, though not all finnish people do the same.

I visited Finland a week ago, Rovaniemi. Im spanish but everybody there started thinking i was finnish because of how i act and how i look. I have to tell people "sorry i dont speak suomi". Everybody was extreamly nice, but yes, im a quiet person who keeps the distance. And something that I notice is they love when you compliment they culture, nature, food. I loved their chocolate (Karl Fazer) and i was continuisly saying so, and they loved everytime I said how good finnish chocolate was. They also love when you talk about their beautifull landskape and lakes, and they are amazing, but they love hearing nice things about their country. Also, their salmon is the best of the world, and they will ask if you tried reindeer, and it is delicius, when they listen to that they were happy. They just want to share they culture. I always said kiitos instaid of thank you and also make them happier. Its just little things. If you go to a country apreciate it, its not that hard, specially such a beautifull and friendly one.

We had a foreign exchange student from Finland my senior year in high school (Class of '68). She was from Oulu, spoke 7 languages, and was a wonderful person. She was also at least 2 years ahead of us in her education. I have, because of her, always been especially interested in Finland.

I was almost afraid to watch this! I was in Finland this summer, and worried that I might have done one of these things to irk the Finns, but happily I didn't do any of these upsetting things! I even knew how to say sauna correctly! :)

First, it's really easy to be too loud here! )) Second, about relations with Russia - true! On the other hand, my local friends appreciated when I told them one Russian joke about Finland (or not a joke given the current situation): what is Finland? It's the piece of common sense that once broke off from the Russian Empire. The Finns are awesome!

Keep distance at least 1,50m because of "C"? Finns: Why so close and not the usual 3m.

Very interesting to see this perspective on Finland. Most of your advice is spot on - especially the preference for calm behavior and personal space. Following the rules also, the Finns are extremely law abiding in general. We are baffled if an adult person doesn't know how to queue properly and efficiently. In my opinion, you can nowadays get away with being a little late, but always keeping your word is fundamental. It's a trust based society, your word is your honor and we really don't appreciate idle promises. Suprise visits were actually a big part of the old rural culture here, they used to be a common practice back in the day. It's the modern, urbanized Finns that hate them. City life seems to make a Finn cling on to their social space bubble even tighter, it's a different experience to many other cultures. :) And we are not really upset if you like Sweden better. The Nordic rivalry is a tongue in cheek kind of thing, we don't take it that seriously at all. I think Finns used to have low self esteem with regards to the Swedes in the past, but that's not really a thing anymore in modern Finland. Nowadays we see Sweden as our equal, in all honesty it's a great country and culture to be neighbors with. Really cool that you're enjoying Finland!

As a Finnish-American raised in Northern MN, I grew up only hearing the proper way of saying sauna. Then we moved, and now I always get quizzical looks when I use the word, and generally have to say something along the lines of, "You likely call it a saw-na". This often leads to my having to explain that I'm actually pronouncing it the right way.

This was actually really accurate info. Well done Mark. :)

Today i heard my neighbor talk... I live in my apartment over a year and this was first time i heard some noise... i was such a confused i didnt even know if i should knock on her (i mean if she is okay) or call the police - i was literally worry... turned out she had visitors and they had a fun... who would expect this shit? I used to think my building is such a good quality - apparently my neighbors just didnt talk for year - i love them.

The more I learn about Finland, the more I want to reincarnate there for my next life.

Hi Mark, just wanted to say that your videos have helped spark a love of travel for me. This past year I've gone on two separate 10 day trips to Europe and your videos have helped me prepare and get excited for the journey. I'm thinking of travelling to the Caucasus for my next trip, and from your videos, it doesn't seem like you've been there before. But I'm going to use some of the knowledge I've learned from your other videos to make sure this trip goes great as well! Keep up the good work and the informative videos.

This is a wonderful video, handled in a very understanding, humorous, sympathetic way.

Awesome video 😊

I have been to Turku twice, to attend a folklore summer seminar and then a folklore conference, both at Turku University. I enjoyed this video because it brought back fond memories.

I was gonna say there really isn't anything to upset a Finn with, but when I heard the line jumping a little steam came out of my ears. That's intolerable! :D

Spent 3 dayso in Helsinki and loved loved Helsinki. So appreciated that it was not over crowed with people.

Nice and usefull tips and advices !

Specially in Helsinki you need to understand the escalator etiquette. if you don't want to walk up stay on the right side let people pass you from the left.

Such an awesome channel. I am new here and it’s really nice learn about other cultures so I can leave my ignorance at the door when visiting. Your videos regarding the Netherlands made made my holiday to Amsterdam so much more enjoyable as I took on board a lot of the things what not to do. Thank you. In Scotland we also can’t stand que jumping as well😂

One faux-pas my Korean friend did when we got to know each other, was that since he had studied in France he assumed the cheek kissing was an across Europe habit 😂😂 Thankfully I had lived in Hungary before so I just naturally went along with it but most Finns maybe not so much 🥊

I've come across some of these previously, and while I agree with most of these, there's a little bit of nuance I feel like I must relay to all you foreigners to Finland. The need for space isn't just that we value our own space, it's that we value _your_ space. It's a respect thing. I won't assume everyone in the universe is interested in my innane jibberjabber, and I expect the same to apply the other way too. It's also assumed that if you have an actual issue, a problem, something concrete where someone can help you, then of course you should ask, and it would be very rude not to try and help. But to just small talk about weather or somesuch...why are you taking up my time with that? This is also why comfortable silences are common here. If there's nothing to say, then there's no need to make up some stuff to talk about. People can just enjoy the silence, alone or with someone, and that's ok. The downside to this is that Finns don't easily socialize even amongst themselves without some reason to do so. There needs to be a mutual "permission" to be social derived from the situation we're in for us to chat. That can kinda lead people to feel lonely if they don't have those reasons available to them, so they don't have many social contacts.

I think I need to move to Finland. It sounds amazing!

Good and informative video,👍

This has been said in other comments too, but mixed naked saunas do happen, it just depends on the group. Some places they even have separately a womens sauna and mens sauna earlier and a mixed sauna in the evening so everyone can have the kind of sauna they prefer with least amount of bothering others. Just ask the group about how they do it and remember, never sexualise sauna or others. And this is super important, you do need to have a "pefletti" no matter what sauna you are going into! A small towel or a thing to sit on so that your sweat does not go into the wooden seats. That would be disgusting. Otherwise another great video, cool to see you enjoying a beer in Wissy, gonna buy you one if I ever run into you in there! 😄

Great video!

Thank you for doing these types of videos. Love Finland!

i truly enjoyed your talk show even more than anthony bourdains.. damn it could have been longer, very good presentation,, cheers from finland

I love your travel tips. After watching you I always want so much to visit the country in question. Thanks.

Nice video :) 🇫🇮

I’m Finnish, lived in Finland all my life, and I pronounce sauna the English way when I speak English. It’s not mispronunciation, it’s a loan word, and loan words naturally change in the language they’re adapted to

In regards to that personal space thing, there was joke here during the pandemic when the rules were at least 2 meters apart that was "do we have to be so close to each other", but yes getting overly close or touching isn't really a thing except with people who are close, we won't get mad if you do but it will put us outside our comfort zone in a bad way so I'd suggest a wave or at most a hand shake as greeting unless you're very close with the person and know they won't get uncomfortable from close contact. Also with Sauna thinking it's something sexual or lewd with get native Finns upset really fast, especially the older ones as it's a form of communal bathing and while all public Sauna are gender segregated it's up to the individual or family if private ones are and normally there's absolutely nothing sexual about even private mix-gender saunas (we're not so naive as to not know about the fetishistic aspects saunas might posses to some but that's for porn here not for normal use) in general we Finns don't consider nudity to be sexual in and of itself so saunas are thus not sexual in and of themselves and thinking we're some weird pervos will get us upset.

The Finns are wonderful! Visited last fall & had an excellent time.

No noisy people, no invasion of personal space, living orderly and by the rules, no surprise visits... They truly sound like my kind of people! Oh yeah, and the take-off-your-damn-shoes thing; I totally agree with that! In the Netherlands it's very normal to keep your shoes on when you visit someone, but it pisses me off like nothing else. Like, you wear those things *on the streets*! They're dirty, you more than likely stepped in 100 people's bubblegum that they just spit out onto the pavement, you've worn them in public toilets, you might've stepped in dogshit... What are those things doing in my living room?!

One thing (which is closely related to the topic of being too loud in public) that annoys me, wether it's locals or tourists, is when people shout or make a lot of noise in forests/national parks. My dad taught me that you should respect nature quietly, so others can enjoy it too.

Must be great in the summer with the days and nights never going dark....but it also must be brutal in winter for the opposite reason.

Finno-American here. These all apply to us, too. The cultural heritage is strong.

Several years ago, I spent some time in London, England, staying with a friend who lived there. One evening, we were joined at a pub by a friend of his who was in the Grenadier Guards and whose current assignment was as a guard at the Tower of London. Being very close to the public, I asked him who were the best and worst tourists he encountered. He replied, "the best were Canadians and Japanese. They're polite, quiet and respectful. The worst by far, were Americans. They're rude, arrogant, demanding, mouthy, pushy, loud and show no respect. They need a swift kick in their asses."

as a german tourist thats been to finland i have to say that the only thing ive heard from finns is praising germany... finnland copies a lot of german laws and politics.. thats been going on for decades now. german and finnish people are quite similar i na lot things.. being quiet and reserved for example

It's also important to remember that there are some mixed saunas and in the sauna some people are more comfortable speaking up about etiquette, especially older men, although they might do so in Finnish.

Oh my gosh. I think I know where some of my family habits came from! Several generations removed from Finland, but I so relate to these things

Love this channel

As a Finn, i approve everything this dude said xd

As a Finn, about the surprise visits, as far as I’ve experienced personally, this becomes more okay between family and close friends. Yes, depending on the situation you can still disturb someone with a surprise visit, and yeah, arranging it beforehand is *always* better, but if it’s close family or close friends, you’re more likely to get a milder reaction. Like if my best friend showed up unannounced, I wouldn’t mind unless I was in a rush. But if a less familiar acquaintance showed up I’d be like “WTF you doing here??”

Everything, except the hockey part, is the same in Estonia 😀.

Montreal Canadiens fan here...My favorite hockey player of all time is from Turku, Finland - Saku Koivu!!

The total opposite of Latin cultures! But in Rome, do as the Romans do, and I love, respect and enjoy the company of my Finnish friends, wonderful people indeed, your advice is spot on👍 greetings from France.

It’s nearly 15 years since I went to Helsinki (my 21st birthday present) and I am desperate to get back, went over New Years and the enthusiasm for letting fireworks off in the street was a surprise. I do also crave the Karl Fraser.

Very interesting 🙂

Just do not litter. We like to keep places clean and I will shove it back to your pockets if I see you littering 😃

The reason we wait until the light changes to cross the road is not that we want to obey the law, it's because we don't want to draw attention and the people to look at us. If you cross the road, people will look but propably many of them will follow as now someone else has done it first.

Hey Wolter - great advice! I would like to add one more Don't. And this is quite a strong one. Littering, If a foreigner shows a public display of littering or throwing garbage around. I think people are not hesitant to take action. It'l definitely get you a remark verbally, or even a proper beating if the deed is done in ignorant fashion. Throwing a paper cup or ice cream stick can be frowned upong but any larger gesture than that - oh boy.

4:54 finland and soviets :D as I was saying to my self: winter war and Simo Häyhä, especially now is quite good reminder :)

Saunas are the best. Would you ever consider doing a dos and do nots of haunted houses for Halloween?

Personal space, it's the same everywhere. Don't be an invader, know the boundaries.

Sounds heavenly! Love the idea of quiet and personal space-- And although Im aware of the health benefits of sauna, I could never place my naked behind where other naked, sweaty butts have been sitting. Nor would I be comfortable sitting in a small room full of naked strangers. No offense to those comfortable in these types of scenarios, it just wouldn't be for me

Coming there next week. I have been to the other Nordic nations, and having been there, you would really have to piss someone off as they're a naturally reserved people like me. I like how the public transportation is QUIET. Finland loves their coffee like I do. I'll be with a group though not my preferred way but hey it's paid for haha. I love hockey and I won't wear my Swedish hockey stuff I'm not that dumb. I'm going to see NHL games there. I wanted to catch local games but they're all away. I would love to live there may I ask how you were able to do that? I have wanted to live in Europe/Nordics for a long time but don't have a lot of skills. I talked to a girl from Eastern Europe in Ireland years back she lived in Sweden, and she told me they're "so cold" and I said "nah just a reserved area and country."

7:01 That German touristic thing. In 70ties in Finland came these what we call Hermann Baggytrouser that eat for to person in breakfast table, and stuff some more in their pockets. Not in nowadays .

This Finnish vs Swedish sterotype is a bit old thing. In reality Finland and Sweden has the Best relations between eachother on this entirely planet!

Good video thanks

I'm a loud Finn and I've definitely been asked to speak more quietly on at least one occasion. It sucks to realize that just by talking naturally I'm making people feel uncomfortable.

Deeper dive on punctuality. It goes deeper than just being on time. It also has to do with Your words are your honor type of thing and a trust based society - therefore personal space, stoic demeanor, silence and timing, being punctual are kind of wrapped in the same material.

If you have a chance, go to Ekbert's for a Budapest roll, so delicious. It's the only country I've ever seen it.

Love the thing about the quiet, the silence, and the personal space, the very things I struggle with daily.

4:12 the most American question in terms of geography. Nice video by the way

I'm Swedish, but my dad grew up in Finland so I take much pride in the fact that I'm 50/50. I honestly think that if you are somewhat aware of what the cultures are like, and how people generally are (and what the stereotypes are), you'd get a pretty good idea of who I am as a person just by knowing I'm half Swedish, half Finnish.

👏 Good job

Spot on sir.

"And if you´re a german tourist etc..." Got me! :DD

Much love, Mark!

Yeah, I really understand the planning and surprise visit too, it's just dislocating for your scheduele

6:00 Im Canadian. Honestly this part is insanely true for us. We do that alot honestly. Honestly I kinda learnt that its prolly for the best if u just show up to ur friends house whenever u want. My polish buddy did that alot and it was much more natural that way lowkey. We got a loneliness crisis and we dont need extra barriers to friendship lol

Actually a fun story about saunas and the separating men and women. That happened in water parks and so on when i was a kid. Like 2005. In some places you can still see that the steam saunas for example will have a barrier made in between, that is so women and men are in diffrent "rooms". Before that that was not the case, at all. And the old school style is in many places "private mostly", still to go together.

I am saving up to do my first international trip in a few years to visit a friend that lives in Sweden. Is there any airlines that you would recommend that I choose for my flights

He basically described me.. LOL The line jumpers part!

You should also research about "Great Wrath" and what happened then

Sauna is a place for relaxing. If you are like David Goggins that wants to use it to exercise in hot conditions, then, please, do it alone. I am also against controversial topics in sauna. I am all about controversial topics outside sauna, but sauna is for winding down. There is a sauna in Tampere, where speaking is limited. Even though I am not a nationalist of any sort, I am not fan of Sweden. There are many things that are better in Sweden, but Sweden lacks the taste. Maximize pissing everyone off: loudly praise Sweden in sauna.

As a Finn, I have to say that this is the best "Don't do this in Finland"-video I have ever seen! Really spot on. We are like that :D Thank you :)

Question: I was brought up with the term Swede-Finn, in that my grandparents came from the area of Vaasa and spoke Swedish, and I would say they self-identified as ethnically Swedish. How do the two groups, native Finnish speakers and native Swedish speakers relate to one another?

What a nice guy with a pinch of good humor

I hope to go to Finland in January or February travelling far enough North to see the Northern lights. In other countries, I've found trying to learn a few words of the language is a great ice-breaker especially in a bar. I also explain I'm English and I want a beer I can't get back home. I'm just wondering how an approach like that would work in Finland.

3:47 this applies, just anywhere in world, not just finland. Primarily with unfamiliar people, aka strangers. In my POV. (Point of view), With friends tho, that's a different story.

Finland is great......Loved the miles and miles of forests. Friendly people too.

Hello i am from finland and i agree with this message

i dont think we finns would judge anyone if they wear a tovel in sauna, its just that we can see that you are a tourist if you do, not that its a bad thing, but being naked in sauna is just so normal here so its just kinda funny if you make it to be weird. when it comes to comparing our country to sweden id say we dont really care, for us sweden is kind of a brother country its just a little brotherly taunting and competitiveness but mostly its pretty much just about joking about our swedish friends. but its a different thing with russia, you will definetly get bad looks if you somehow say that finland is a part of russia in anyway.

Yeah, I saw something recently about Finland holding off Russia long ago and I thought aftr all this time, it would be fine now, so thanks for the heads up on that.

You are best. From India 🙏

The winter war is an amazing piece of history. Such respect for the Finnish.

How did you go from France to Finland in 3 days? Or was this recorded a while back?

What happens if you mention a bastu in Åbo or Helsingfors?

As someone who lives in the tourist areas where a lot of people visit during winter. It's a problem with all the handwarmers. Tourists literally just drop them in the snow once they stop warming them. Like, just stop it.

You're kind of hitting the mark in the description box with sauna being a religion, as it is considered a sacred place! Babies used to be commonly delivered in saunas and going to a sauna is not only a celebration, but also a soul cleansing tradition, for example when a loved on has passed. You sweat away your sorrows and burdens in a sauna, it's a very special place. Mixed saunas also exist! Family members, relatives and friends go to sauna together regardless of gender, but as said in the video, it's very much not a sexual setting. Some buildings also have a mixed sauna slot for any tenant to go in if they please. Last piece of etiquette advice for sauna is not to swear in one. Finns often have foul mouths, but a lot of especially the older generations will be very offended if somebody drops an F-bomb in the sauna. All in all a fun, informative video!

Well.... We kinda know that Sweden's better in a lotta ways, but we act like we don't. And yes we love them anyway.

For me, the surprise visits and personal space thing depend on the person doing them. A stranger or someone I'm not very close to? No surprise visits and you better keep your distance. Friends or family? You could practically sit on me and I probably would not mind also surprise visits are okay. This however could be just my thing so better not assume things.