Coronavirus (COVID-19): information for visitors and travel trade 

You can find updated information related to the coronavirus and travelling in Espoo and Finland on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

The Koronavilkku smartphone app has now been published to help break infection chains. You can now download Koronavilkku to your phone free of charge from the most popular app stores. 

Visit Finland Coronavirus updates for visitors and Travel Trade (updated 3 Sep)

The Finnish National Tourism Board Visit Finland has formed an internal recovery task force that gathers and shares practical information for leisure traveles and travel trade during and after the Coronavirus pandemic. These pages will be updated on an ongoing basis:

• Practical travel information for travelers to Finland during Coronavirus-pandemic
• Travel recovery information for Travel Trade
  

Update, August 21, 2020:

Leisure travel is possible between Finland and

• Estonia
• Hungary
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lichtenstein
• Lithuania
• Slovakia
• the Vatican

As of 24 August, travel restrictions are unfortunately back in place again for travelers from Cyprus, Denmark Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Norway and San Marino. Restrictions have been previously reinstated for leisure travel from Andorra, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland due to an increase of coronavirus cases in these countries.

Essential, work-related and return travel is possible from all Schengen and EU countries as well as the UK. Except for those countries named above as open for leisure travel, self-isolation for 14 days upon arrival is recommended.

Finland welcomes leisure travelers from a number of countries where the coronavirus situation has eased. There is no border control for travelers from these countries and they do not need to self-isolate on arrival in Finland.

Official information:

• Finnish Government's coronavirus website
• Finnish Government's restrictions during the coronavirus epidemic
• Finnish border guard q&a
• Coronavirus update - Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
• The World Health Organization

Health-related information for visitors in Espoo (updated 3 Sep)

• If a visitor experiences symptoms of sudden respiratory infection such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, and/or has reason to suspect exposure to the coronavirus, medical advice should be sought without delay.
• Visitors are advised to first contact call the Medical Helpline number, 116 117.
• Coronavirus advice for Espoo residents

Wearing a mask is recommended in the following situations and for the following people:

• In public transport, where close contacts cannot always be avoided. 
• Persons seeking the coronavirus test on their way to take the test and before the completion of test results. 
• Passengers arriving in Finland from a risk area making their way from the place of arrival to quarantine or who they have an urgent reason to spend time outside the home during quarantine. 

Events and services in Espoo (updated 3 Sep)

Events with more than 500 persons may be organised in both indoor and outdoor spaces, provided that they comply with the guidelines from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education and Culture on preventing COVID-19 infections.

• Restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 to change as of 1 August

Local services and sights

• Public places, such as libraries, restaurants, museums and shops, are open with sensible precautions
• Masks are not mandatory anywhere, but service providers are committed to increased cleaning and adding hand sanitizer for guest use, and have added information for visitors on maintaining safe distances inside their premises.

The safety of our clients and our personnel is of utmost importance to us. All the local suppliers in Espoo monitor and follow the advice of authorities regarding the corona virus situation and work together around health safety to ensure the safety of the facilities, services and experiences. On the service providers' own pages, you can read in more detail what kind of special arrangements there are, and how the safety of each customer is taken care of.

The visitespoo.fi event calendar is updated regularly but we still recommend that you visit the event organizers' websites for the most current information. 

We also recommend to check the opening hours of sights and services from each service provider’s own website.

Visit Espoo has cancelled all its own events until further notice to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. All stakeholder events organised by Visit Espoo will be held via Skype or Teams, or will be postponed to a later date.

Getting around in Espoo (updated 3 Sep)

The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) recommend to avoid non-essential travel at peak times. Wearing a mask is recommended in public transport, where close contacts cannot always be avoided. 

Public transport is operating in the Helsinki region but services are reduced. From Friday 13 March and until further notice, bus drivers do not sell tickets on buses. This measure is intended to avoid additional money handling and physical contact between drivers and passengers.

More information on the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority website.

Tourism information service in Espoo (updated 3 Sep)

• Our tourism information service is available online and by telephone. You can contact the tourism information service by phone, text message or WhatsApp. +358 (0)43 824 6866, 9 am–4 pm Mon-Fri. You can contact us also by email at visit@espoo.fi or on Facebook through our Visit Espoo site.
• Service points of the City of Espoo are open.
• Helsinki Region Tourist Information is available at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.