Travel and Accommodation during the Thanksgiving Events

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If you are located outside the capital region, the Fulbright Finland Foundation will reimburse your travel expenses from and to your host city in Finland and will book and cover a hotel room for you (November 27-28 at the Scandic Park Hotel in Helsinki).

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Travel for out-of-towners

If you travel to the Thanksgiving events from outside the capital region (cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen), please read the following:

  • Arrival: If you'll join the Fazer visit, plan to arrive in Helsinki on on Thursday by 11:00. You can come drop off your luggage at the Foundation office.
  • Travel arrangements should be made by the least expensive means available (train or bus). Please save your travel tickets and receipts, since those will be needed for reimbursement. More info on reimbursements below.
    • If you are planning to travel to Helsinki by plane, please contact the Foundation in advance to discuss the ticket fares before booking your flights.
  • Your travel costs are reimbursed only if you attend at least the Potluck dinner on Thursday and the Parliament visit on Friday.
  • Departure: please leave enough time between the end of the event and the departure of your bus/train, especially if you need to stop by the hotel to pick up any luggage. We would suggest that you will buy tickets for a connection departing at 17:00 at the earliest if you attend the floorball.

Please note the following regarding travel tickets:

  • Purchase your tickets only from official sites (such as VR for trains, Onnibus or Matkahuolto for buses). Do not use third party services, because they will charge you more and also add a service fee. The Foundation does not cover the additional service fees if you purchase your ticket from a third-party website.
  • local taxi/bus/tram/metro rides within your departure city or the city of the event are not reimbursed.
    • As we cannot cover public transportation in the Capital Region, we recommend you purchase an HSL day ticket for 1 or 2 days for the zones AB. A day ticket is valid for 24 hours from the first use.
  • Students, please use your student ID cards for your travel discounts.
  • the Foundation does not reimburse grantees' family members travel expenses.
  • the Foundation does not reimburse any costs which may occur from changing your tickets, purchasing cancellation insurance, or buying extra services e.g. the seat next to you or a cabin.
  • It is important you purchase your tickets early. If you travel by train, please note that tickets become more expensive depending on how in demand the particular trip is, and how close to the journey you purchase your ticket. We will be able to reimburse a maximum of total 150 € for your travel to and from Helsinki. 

Travel Reimbursements

After the event, keep the receipts and tickets for personal record-keeping and send us the digital copies together with your account number using this SurveyMonkey latest by Thursday, December 4.

Travel reimbursements for grantees with a Finnish bank account

Grantees with Finnish bank account will be reimbursed after the event.

Travel reimbursements for grantees without a Finnish bank account

The reimbursements for all Fulbright Finland Foundation events will be paid to your U.S. account at the same time in one lump sum after your grant term (payments are made in December and in June).

The reimbursement amounts in euros will be converted to U.S. dollars based on the bank’s exchange rate on the date of payment. While the Foundation will cover its own bank’s fees for the international transfer, your own bank’s fees will be covered by you (these fees will vary between banks). However, an extra USD 30 will be added to the total to help to mitigate the international transfer fees.

Please note that regardless of the date of the final payment you are required to send your travel tickets and receipts by the deadline after each event. This is because Fulbright Finland Foundation needs the receipts in order to close the accounting for each of the events.

If you open a Finnish bank account later during the year and attend other Foundation events, the orientation reimbursement can be also paid together with another event's reimbursement. 

Accommodation (Scandic Hotel Park)

The Fulbright Finland Foundation will arrange and cover accommodation during the Thanksgiving for one night on November 27-28 (check-out on Friday, November 28) for those grantees spending their Fulbright period outside the capital city region i.e. grantees who do not have an apartment in the capital city region. 

  • Remember to bring your passport for checking in at the hotel.
  • Fulbright Scholar Program grantees will be accommodated in one-person rooms. If you have family members accompanying you, please note that only one room per family will be covered (up to 4 people in one room). If additional rooms are needed, they will be at your own expense.
  • Fulbright Student Program grantees will be accommodated in two-person rooms, shared with another student Fulbrighter. If you want to have a single room or if additional rooms are needed (for family members), extra costs will be at your own expenses. In these cases, you will pay the bill at the hotel, and the Fulbright Finland Foundation will reimburse half of two persons room's cost against the original hotel receipt. Please let Heidi ([email protected]) know if you have any questions or concerns about this. 

You will be accommodated at Hotel Scandic Park (Mannerheimintie 46). The hotel is located in the Töölö part of Helsinki, 1 km of the Fulbright Finland Foundation Office and 1,5 km of the central railway station.

If you would like to reserve additional rooms or extend your stay, you can do so on the hotel website. 

After booking your room, you can also message the hotel at [email protected] after November 10 that you are part of the group reservation on November 27-28, and enquire if you could be accommodated in the same room (if you have booked the same room type as during the group reservation). Please note that booking extra nights is your own responsibility and at your own cost. The Foundation team will not make additional reservations.

Since these events are voluntary, we are unfortunately unable to cover any other accommodation expenses. 

Please check with your fellow Fulbrighters in the capital area to see if they can accommodate you. If you yourself are based in the Helsinki region and can accommodate a Fulbrighter or two, please do let us know!

Questions?