What makes a life feel truly happy? For the eighth consecutive year, Finland has been named the world’s happiest country by the United Nations, a ranking that looks at income, health care, generosity and corruption. Now Finland wants to show visitors one of the places its people go to recharge: the Finnish Lakeland.
Visit Finland is inviting a handful of travelers to experience a slower pace through a program called Chill Like a Finn. Six pairs will be selected for a seven-day, all-expenses-paid stay in Lakeland — a region of shimmering lakes, old-growth forests and soft hills — to learn how Finns restore balance in everyday life.
The week is designed around simple, restorative activities: mornings exploring Kolovesi National Park or taking a wild swim in a quiet lake; afternoons sweating it out in a traditional sauna, reading or napping in a hammock; and evenings spent beside candlelit dinners and crackling fires. The itinerary is deliberately low-key, aimed at unplugging and letting nature set the rhythm.
Heli Jimenez, senior director of international marketing at Business Finland, notes that while many travelers now visit Finland in search of the “secret” behind its happiness ranking, Lakeland remains relatively undiscovered by international tourists. She says the region is where Finns themselves go to relax and that the Chill Like a Finn experience is about rediscovering balance: slowing down, disconnecting from constant online noise and letting the outdoors do its work.
Who can apply and how: entrants must complete a two-step application that includes a social-media video challenge at ChillLikeaFinn.com. Winners will travel in June for their week-long stay. Applications close on 29 March 2026. Full details, terms and application steps are available at ChillLikeaFinn.com.
If you’ve been craving meaningful, restorative travel and a gentler pace, this program offers a chance to try the Lakeland way of life — free of charge, for one week, with an itinerary that emphasizes the small rituals many Finns credit with their sense of well-being.