Virolahti Voyage Tips and guide

Virolahti is a municipality in Kymenlaakso, in the southeastern corner of Finland.

Map of Virolahti

The central town of the municipality is Virolahti. However Virolahti is probably best known for the border crossing to Russia at Vaalimaa. The area around Vaalimaa has a disproportionate number of shopping malls and stores (some of them defunct) for such a small municipality. They Russian tourists who came for shopping trips before the invasion of Ukraine practically closed the border.

• Visit Virolahti web page

	Visa restrictions: In response to Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian tourists are banned from entering Finland.
	(Information last updated Jan 2023)

Motorway 7 from Helsinki via Porvoo, Kotka and Hamina (part of the E18) passes Virolahti and goes to the 60.605227.85271 Vaalimaa border station. From Russia, A-181 (also part of the E18) goes from St. Petersburg to Vyborg and on to Torfyanovka (the Russian border station). Regional road 387 comes in from Lappeenranta.

The eastern end of the King's Road is at the border.

You can get in by car, and there are also buses from Helsinki along regional road 170 (old highway 7). Buses between Finland and Russia stop at Vaalimaa, but they are unlikely to be running because of the sanctions.

Traffic insurance is compulsory in Finland. Russian traffic insurance does not qualify. It should be possible to buy insurance soon after crossing the border.

• 60.5712827.5919591 Virolahti Bunker Museum (Virolahti; along E18 road), ☏ +358 40-585-0166, [email protected]. Jun Aug: daily 10:00–18:00, otherwise by arrangement. The exhibition is located inside a wooden building built to resemble the style of the war period in Finland. Outdoor part surrounding the museum building includes fortification sites in the forest. Fireplace is nearby. €5 adults, €2 children (7–16 years).  

• Salpa Trail. The Salpa Trail is a 50-km one-way hiking route between Virolahti and Miehikkälä. It follows a part of the Finnish World War II defence line (the Salpa line). Along the route there are numerous remains of bunkers, dug-outs and other fortifications and several rest-stops. They are equipped with a compost toilet, compost, a fireplace and a firewood shelter and some of them with a lean-to for an over-night stay. The Bunker museum in Virolahti and the Salpa Line museum in Miehikkälä are part of the route. 

There are campsites and cottages.

• Hamina
• Miehikkälä
• Vyborg