Turku & the Archipelago
Finland's oldest city and the largest archipelago in Europe by island count. A summer region, and the strongest case in Finland for being on a boat.
Thousands of islands, one short season
Turku was Finland's capital until 1812 and is its oldest city, with a medieval castle at the river mouth and a cathedral that has stood since the thirteenth century. West of it the coast breaks into the Archipelago Sea, tens of thousands of islands and skerries running out towards Åland.
The region works on water. A car and the ring road of ferries covers a good deal of it, but the version to sell is a boat: crewed sailing between islands, day charter from Turku or Naantali, and small harbour restaurants that only exist in July and August.
Be honest with clients about the season. Most of the archipelago closes from October. Outside the summer months Turku is a good city stop with a strong food scene, and the islands are not the reason to come.
All of Finland →
On the water, stay, experience, dine
Sailing and day charter
Crewed sailing between islands for two nights and upwards, or a boat to yourselves for the day out of Turku or Naantali. Booked from the spring, since the fleet is small and the season is ten weeks.
Island houses and harbour hotels
Private houses with their own shoreline and sauna, small harbour hotels on the larger islands, and a handful of manor properties inland from the coast.
Island hopping and open water
The archipelago ring road by car and ferry, sea kayaking between skerries, and the outer islands where the trees stop and it is rock, water and birds.
Summer harbours and city kitchens
Turku has the best restaurant scene in Finland outside Helsinki, built on Baltic fish and archipelago produce. On the islands, small summer kitchens that open in June and close in August.
What clients come here for
Archipelago Sailing
Shoreline Sauna
Swimming and Long Evenings
Coastal Birdlife
Old Towns of the Coast
Manor Houses
Turku & the Archipelago by season
Opening Up
The archipelago comes back to life, light runs to midnight, and the water is still cold. Quieter than high summer and easier to book.
High Summer
Everything is open, the water is swimmable and the harbour restaurants are running. Also when Finns take their own holidays, so the good boats and houses go early.
Last Light
Warm water, autumn colour and empty islands, with most island services winding down through the month.
Ways to shape this journey
Starting points, not packages. Every programme is rebuilt around the client in front of you.
City and Islands
Two nights in Turku for the castle, the cathedral and the food, then two on the water with a crewed boat.
Design this journey →South Coast and Archipelago
Helsinki, the coast road west through Porvoo and the manor country, then Turku and out into the islands.
Design this journey →Regions that combine well
Helsinki & the Archipelago
A design capital on the Baltic — serious architecture, a sauna culture that never left, and an archipelago that starts at the harbour steps.
Finnish Lakeland
Europe’s largest lake system — summer sauna culture, brown bear watching in the eastern forests, and a slower kind of Finland.
Stockholm & the Archipelago
A capital built across fourteen islands, opening into an archipelago of thirty thousand more.
Send us a brief for Turku & the Archipelago — we'll do the rest
Tell us about your client — who they are, what moves them, and how they like to travel. A senior specialist responds personally.