26,000 Islands in a Weekend - The Turku Archipelago

As we've previously posted, Finland is made up of 188,000 islands. 26,000 of those are located in one area and form the Turku Archipelago, a wonderful weekend getaway on the southwest coast of the country.

After renting our car, the little red Fiesta again, we drove about 2 hours from Tampere Friday night and stayed in Turku to get an early start Saturday morning. We've stayed in Turku before, and both times we chose the Centro Hotel Turku. It's tucked away into a courtyard in the center of town and was perfect for a family of three. They have recently renovated some of the rooms so the second time we stayed, we were in a renovated room - much nicer than the older ones. If you have a choice, pick one of those. There were three single beds, pretty typical of European rooms - and of course, the ever-present duvet rather than a top sheet and comforter. Breakfast here is fantastic, a typical Finnish spread, but they have the elusive smoked salmon Adam judges all hotels on, so it gets bonus points.

Friday evening we walked around town eating dinner at an overpriced restaurant along the river. While the food was great, it was really expensive and we left hungry. I hate those types of restaurants. If you're in town, skip Pinella. Instead, go across the river to Target and try their pizza. To die for. Still expensive, but worth it and you'll be full. It was so good, even Adam (who has Celiac) tried it.

We got an early start Saturday and began the drive to Kustavi, our stop for the night. The drive among 26,000 is pretty neat, only a few of the islands are connected by land/bridges. Because of the topography of the land (and sea) the water is often too deep for a bridge to be constructed and therefore, the archipelago relies on ferry transportation. Only a few of the ferries run all year, so when planning your trip, check the schedules accordingly!

We only had to pay for one ferry ride - the ferry from Nordanlands to Hinnskar. It was about 40€ per car. As far as we could tell, this was also the only ferry that seemed to have a set schedule of arrival and departure. We had just missed it arriving in Mossala, so we had to wait a few hours. There was a nice park to wait in though, so we walked through the woods for a bit enjoying nature. All other ferries were free and appeared to depart when they were full, immediately returning with a full load as well.

When we arrived in Kustavi, we followed GPS to our hotel, Spauna. There was no registration or office, so we walked across the street to a small seaside shop and restaurant to ask. Unfortunately they didn't know anything, and we started to get nervous. We called the phone number on the booking and luckily the owner was across the street in his home and met Adam to give him the key. He pointed us to our cabin just a little way up the rock.

The cabin was a perfect weekend retreat. Settled on top of the granite "hills," it overlooked the water. We hiked around the island and relaxed at the cabin. It was a really nice night, even though it was a bit chilly for summer.

Sunday morning, we got up late and moseyed home. On the way, we stopped at the glass village (about 45 minutes outside of Tampere). We had passed signs for this village numerous times, but had never had the chance or time to stop. It was worth the extra hour. There was a playground for G to get some energy out on, the glassworks and school (owned by classic Finnish glass master Iittala). Lots of neat things to see there. Overall, the weekend was quiet, slow and a big hit for all three of us!

Have you explored the Turku Archipelago? Tell us about it in the comments!

#turku #Archipelago