I'm 95% sure that I will do this race next year.
Not sure where you are from, but I've checked flights from the U.S and there are a bunch of them that are connecting through a bunch of major European airports, not just Helsinki. I've swam in that neck of the woods (IM Copenhagen and IM Sweden), and the water can be a bit chilly. I think water temp was 59 degrees F at Talainn this year. I read a race report where someone was saying that it was cold enough for them to announce that if were below xx degrees they would cut the swim short. There weren't any jellyfish in Copenhagen or Sweden when I did it.
I've read a 2 race reports. None mentioned issues.
Jelana wrote:
Has anyone done this? I love a good destination race, particularly to locations I probably wouldn't get to otherwise, and the date of the race works really well for me. I'd love to know if there are issues I should be aware of, e.g., difficulty getting the bike there (it looks like flight options are limited to turbo prop planes from Helsinki, not sure how that works with flying the bike), freezing cold or lots of jellyfish in the swim, lodging issues, etc.
Thanks!
__________________________________________________________________________
My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."