Sauna, sunlight, swimming and slowing down: How Finns spend summer

“It’s the season,” says Emily, a hairdresser in the Helsinki area. “People want change.”

As summer approaches, many of her clients ask for lighter colours. In winter, she says, darker shades are more common.

At the time of our interview, Emily herself is still unsure what her summer will look like this year. One colleague is on maternity leave, and the salon has not yet confirmed whether another employee will be hired for the busy season. Summer is one of the busiest times of year for hairdressers, she says, as people prepare for the holidays.

While summer can be hectic in service industries, many offices and schools begin easing into the holiday season around the same time.

Ice cream kiosks become a familiar sight across Finland during the summer holiday season.Photo: Marjaana Malkamäki, Keksi / Helsinki Partners

In Finland, schools typically close in early June and remain on break until mid-August. Many workplaces also slow down during the same period, especially from late June through the end of July.

For many Finns, the holiday season mentally begins around Juhannus, the midsummer celebration that falls on or near the summer solstice. Apartment buildings grow quieter, traffic increases on highways heading towards the countryside, and grocery stores in small rural towns suddenly become crowded with summer visitors.

July: Finland’s holiday month

Courtyards, patios and terraces across Finland fill with life during the long-lasting evening sunlight of summer.Photo: Unto Rautio / Helsinki Partners

According to Statistics Finland, July is Finland’s most popular holiday month. In summer 2024, for instance, one-third of employed Finns were on holiday for at least one week during July.

Employees in Finland are legally entitled to annual paid vacation, typically about four or five weeks for someone working fulltime at a year-round position. Many people use a large portion of it during the summer months, often taking several consecutive weeks off.

Ensuring that workers have a suitable amount of vacation time encourages work-life balance and a balanced life in general, and forms part of Finland’s “infrastructure of happiness.”

In July especially, offices often operate with reduced staff, while email enquiries elicit automatic replies promising a return in August.

Sauna heat, cool water and lingering twilight are part of the rhythm of a Finnish summer.Photo: Sanna Lehto / Finland Image Bank

At the same time, summer is also an important working season for many young people. According to Statistics Finland, employment rises sharply as summer arrives and students begin temporary jobs during their school break.

Summer is also one of the busiest seasons for weddings, festivals and domestic travel. In 2024, Finns made more than ten million domestic leisure trips between May and August, many involving summer cottages or overnight stays with friends and relatives.

Cottage life and summer routines

Many people in Finland have summer memories of swimming in the sea or in a lake.Photo: Carl Bergman / Finland Image Bank

For many Finns, summer is closely connected with the mökki, or summer cottage.

There are nearly half a million summer cottages in Finland. Many are located near lakes or forests, often within a few hours of major cities.

Some cottages are modern and comfortable, while others remain deliberately simple, without running water or full-time utilities.

Finnish summer holidays often revolve around calm days at the cottage with family close by.Photo: Jussi Hellsten / Helsinki Partners

“I’m not a big cottage person,” Emily says with a laugh. “It’s so much work!”

Still, she remembers visiting her father’s remote cottage when she was younger.

“There was no running water, no electricity, nothing,” she says. “When we went out there, we were really disconnected from everything.”

For many people, cottage life revolves around ordinary summer routines: heating the sauna, swimming in a nearby lake, grilling food outdoors or simply sitting outside late into the evening while the light lingers.

A season spent outdoors

Berry picking is a popular summer activity in Finland, where access to nature is protected through “every person’s right.”Photo: Sabrina Bqain / Finland Image Bank

Cottage life is only one part of Finland’s summer outdoor culture.

Many Finns spend time in nature in more ordinary ways, whether by walking in local forests, swimming at nearby beaches or spending weekends hiking and camping. According to national outdoor recreation surveys, Finns spend time outdoors frequently throughout the year, and walking in nature is one of the country’s most popular leisure activities.

Later in the summer, forests begin filling with berry pickers searching for blueberries, raspberries and lingonberries.

Thanks to Finland’s “every person’s right,” people are generally free to roam in nature and gather wild berries and mushrooms regardless of land ownership.

More than a holiday

Boats, rubber boots and life jackets are familiar parts of childhood summers in Finland.Photo: Carl Bergman / Finland Image Bank

Summer holidays in Finland are not necessarily built around ambitious travel plans. For many people, the extra time simply gets folded into everyday life: visiting relatives, repairing cottages, catching up on projects that have been waiting all winter.

Emily says she will probably spend part of her own holiday helping her friends who recently bought a house.

“They need help with the yard,” she says.

The comment feels familiar somehow. Around Finland, summer is often the season when people finally have time for the things that otherwise remain unfinished: painting a fence, repairing a dock, clearing a yard or helping family members at the cottage. Even holidays meant for rest can end up including a surprising amount of practical work.

For many Finns, the appeal of summer lies partly in finally having time for these ordinary things.

By Tyler Walton, June 2026