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Highway 4 (Finland)

Photo: Pöllö, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Highway 4 (Finnish: Valtatie 4, Swedish: Riksväg 4) is by far the longest numbered road in Finland. It stretches 1295 km from Helsinki to Utsjoki, almost the full length of the country from south to north. The highway is also part of the European route E75 from Vardø in Norway to Sitia in Greece.

UnderstandWhen the first numbering system for roads was established in Finland in 1938, highway 4 connected Helsinki to Petsamo on the Arctic Sea.
PrepareWhile this isn't exactly driving along the Kolyma Highway or Dalton Highway, north of Rovaniemi the distances between services (from roadside cafés to car repair shops) are quite long.
Get inTo start your trip in the south, see Helsinki#Get in. There are car ferries coming in from Tallinn, Estonia (the northern end of Via Baltica), Travemünde, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden.
DriveIn the markers, the distance from Helsinki is written in parenthesis, and as such it represents the distance driven if you travel north or the distance left if you travel south.
Other than by carThe itinerary supposes you'll travel by car, though you can very well travel the full length of the route without a car, at least in the summer.
Eat and drinkCities and towns have restaurants and cafes. Other than that, for most of the road there's a place (separate cafeteria/restaurant or service station) to eat and drink at least every 50 km.
SleepHotels and other accommodation is as a rule available in cities and bigger towns; sometimes but not always in smaller towns.
Stay safeFinland is a safe country to travel in.
Go nextWhere to go next depends on where you've ended your trip.

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