Villas in Southern Savonia

Mikkeli is the shortest drive from Helsinki, Savonlinna and Punkaharju have the castle and the ridge, and Puumala sits on open Saimaa. Nearly every property here is a lakeside cottage with its own sauna, a jetty and often a rowing boat. This is a summer region: snow in the south is unreliable, and June brings the mosquitoes.

Where

Villas: 267
From, per week: £491
Cheapest month: September
Nearest airports: Fly to Helsinki, about three hours from London, and hire a car there. Savonlinna airport has a small number of scheduled flights from Helsinki under a state-supported contract, so check the current timetable. Trains from Helsinki reach Mikkeli and Pieksämäki, but you will still need a car for the last leg.

Where to stay in Southern Savonia

Mikkeli, Ristiina and Hirvensalmi (western Saimaa)

Mikkeli has more of our cottages than anywhere else in the region. It is the regional town, around two and a half hours by car from Helsinki airport, with a market square, large supermarkets and the Headquarters Museum, where Mannerheim ran the Finnish war effort. Ristiina is on Saimaa proper, and the Astuvansalmi rock paintings, thousands of years old, are a short boat ride or forest walk away.

Best for: First-timers who want a short drive and a proper town nearby

Not for you if: You want the big open views of central Saimaa; the lakes round Mikkeli are more broken up by islands and bays.

Punkaharju

The Punkaharju ridge is a narrow strip of pine-covered gravel left by the ice, with a road and footpaths along the top and water on both sides. Puruvesi, to the east, is known for how clear it is. Lusto, the Finnish forest museum, is at the ridge's southern end, and the Kerimäki wooden church is about 20 minutes north. Savonlinna is around half an hour away.

Best for: Walkers, cyclists and swimmers who like very clear water

Not for you if: You need a shop within walking distance: cottages are strung out along the lakes.

Savonlinna, Kerimäki and Enonkoski

Olavinlinna, a medieval castle on an island in the middle of Savonlinna, hosts the opera festival each July. Lake steamers leave from the harbour by the market square. Kerimäki church is often described as the largest wooden church in the world. Enonkoski and Rantasalmi are the gateways to Kolovesi and Linnansaari national parks, where you explore by canoe or boat and may see the Saimaa ringed seal.

Best for: Couples who want a castle, an opera season and lake boats

Not for you if: You plan to come in July without booking ahead: the opera festival fills the town.

Juva and Sulkava

Juva sits halfway between Mikkeli and Savonlinna, around 45 minutes from each, in rolling farmland dotted with lakes. Sulkava is on Saimaa's southern waters and hosts the Sulkava rowing race each July, when teams in long wooden church boats race round the island of Partalansaari. Both villages have a supermarket, a petrol station and not much else.

Best for: Families who want farmland, lakes and fewer people

Not for you if: You want to be on the main Saimaa basin: Juva's lakes are smaller.

Pertunmaa and Mäntyharju (the south)

This is the closest part of the region to Helsinki, around two hours by car. Mäntyharju has the Salmela art centre, with summer exhibitions in old villa buildings, and shares Repovesi National Park with Kouvola to the south. Repovesi has gorges, suspension bridges and a day of marked trails. Pertunmaa is quieter still, with cottages on small forest lakes.

Best for: Short stays and anyone driving straight from Helsinki airport

Not for you if: Saimaa is the reason you came: these are separate, smaller lakes.

Puumala

Puumala is on a strait in the middle of southern Saimaa, where the lake opens out into wide stretches broken by islands. A high bridge carries the road over the water, and the village harbour is a stop for boats crossing the lake in summer. Mikkeli is about an hour by car, Savonlinna a little more.

Best for: Sailors, anglers and people who want wide water views

Not for you if: You get restless without restaurants; Puumala village is very small.

Pieksämäki and Kangasniemi (north-west)

Pieksämäki is a railway town on the line from Helsinki to Kuopio, with the shops you need and cottages on lakes around it. Kangasniemi is a farming parish to the west with many small lakes and very little traffic. Mikkeli is around 45 minutes to an hour from either.

Best for: Arriving by train and staying on quieter forest lakes

Not for you if: You want Saimaa's islands and seals: this corner is outside the main lake system.

When to go to Southern Savonia

Summer is the reason to come. Finns head to their own cottages at Midsummer in late June, and July is the main holiday month, with the opera festival in Savonlinna. The lakes are warmest from mid-July into August. Mosquitoes are heavy from June into July and ease by late August. September brings autumn colour and empty roads, but many lake cruises and summer cafés finish by the end of August. Winters are dark and the lakes freeze, but snow cover this far south varies from year to year.