- Population
- 3,042
- 3K
- Elevation
- 1 m
- above sea level
- Local time
- UTC+02:00
- Europe/Helsinki · UTC+02:00
- Places inside
- 3
- listed under Virolahti
- Airports
- LPP Lappeenranta Airport65 km
- HEL Helsinki Vantaa Airport147 km
About Virolahti
Virolahti is a municipality. Location: Kotka-Hamina, Kymenlaakso. Population: 3,042. Elevation: 1 m.
Virolahti (Finnish: [ˈʋiroˌlɑhti]; Swedish: Vederlax) is the southeasternmost municipality of Finland on the border of Russia. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of 2,751 (31 December 2025) and covers an area of 558.92 square kilometres (215.80 sq mi), of which 186.97 km2 (72.19 sq mi) is water. The population density is 7.39 inhabitants per square kilometre (19.1/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Travel notes for Virolahti
From Wikivoyage
Virolahti is a municipality in Kymenlaakso, in the southeastern corner of Finland.
Understand+
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.
Tourist information:
Visit Virolahti web page
Get in+
Motorway 7 from Helsinki via Porvoo, Kotka and Hamina (part of the E18) passes Virolahti and goes to the 1 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 Hamina along regional road 170 (old highway 7), see timetables of Liikenne Vuorela. 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 as of the mid-2020s. It should be possible to buy insurance soon after crossing the border.
Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged
Places bordering Virolahti
- Hamina
- Miehikkälä
Population of Virolahti over time
| 2007 | 3,617 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 3,541 | |
| 2009 | 3,530 | |
| 2010 | 3,516 | |
| 2011 | 3,485 | |
| 2012 | 3,487 | |
| 2013 | 3,435 | |
| 2014 | 3,432 | |
| 2015 | 3,347 | |
| 2016 | 3,267 | |
| 2017 | 3,207 | |
| 2023 | 2,927 |
Censuses and official estimates; source: Wikidata.
Climate of Virolahti
Best months for sightseeingBest months for sightseeing: June–August.
This month · November
A cold month
Day 2° · Night -2° · Rain 79 mm
- Hottest month
- July (day 22°)
- Coldest month
- February (night -10°)
- Wettest month
- August (80 mm)
- Driest month
- May (34 mm)
Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).
Show values as a table
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°C) | -4° | -4° | 1° | 7° | 15° | 20° | 22° | 20° | 14° | 8° | 2° | -2° |
| Average low (°C) | -10° | -10° | -6° | -1° | 5° | 10° | 13° | 11° | 7° | 3° | -2° | -7° |
| Precipitation (mm) | 47 | 38 | 43 | 36 | 34 | 50 | 67 | 80 | 72 | 78 | 79 | 68 |
How to get to Virolahti
The nearest airport is Lappeenranta Airport (LPP), 65 km to the northeast as the crow flies. The nearest large city is Tallinn, 200 km to the southwest.
Airports
- Lappeenranta Airport (LPP) Lappeenranta 65 kmnortheast
- Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL) Helsinki (Vantaa) 147 kmwest
- Pulkovo Airport (LED) St. Petersburg 169 kmsoutheast
Nearby large cities
- Tallinn Population: 394K 200 kmsouthwest
Straight-line distances; road distances are longer. Airport data: OurAirports.
Day trips from Virolahti
Within 100 km: 2 natural sites, 14 lakes, rivers and coasts.
0–25 km2 places
- Suntholmit Island 24 kmSW
- Koiluoto Island 10 kmE
25–60 km5 places
- Kaunissaari Island 49 kmW
- Tammijärvi Lake 58 kmW
- Valkmusa National Park Natural site 49 kmW
- Kymi River River 40 kmW
60–100 km9 places
- Urajärvi Lake 78 kmNW
- Lappalanjärvi Lake 66 kmNW
- Saimaa Lake 88 kmNE
- Vuohijärvi Lake 90 kmNW
Straight-line distances.
Places in Virolahti
3 placesBar: population relative to the most populous place in this list.
Sources & licences
Data last updated: · 2 independent sources