Nature Abounds in the Åland Islands
- Cat Holladay
- Aug 18, 2017
- 3 min read
The Finns love nature, and it is plentiful in the Nordic country. Nowhere more so than the Åland Islands. Here, there isn't much to do OTHER than nature, and it makes a perfect weekend getaway to relax and appreciate the outdoors.
The Åland Islands is a group of islands west of Finland (about midway between Sweden and Finland) in the Baltic Sea. Although it is governed by Finland, the grouping of 6,700 islands is autonomous and the primary language is Swedish. It is also completely demilitarized and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish army and they have their own flag. The history on why these islands belong to Finland is complicated, but you can read a bit more about it here if desired.
We took a trip to the archipelago in June, leaving from Turku aboard the Viking Line ferries. For many Americans, the Finnish ferries are luxury cruise liners. Complete with bars, buffets, kids playrooms, duty free shopping, and even sleeping cabins, these ferries provide everything and anything you could want to occupy your 6-hour cruise.
Prices on board in the duty free shop are a bit lower than mainland Finland, and we discovered alcohol is MUCH cheaper. Residents of Finland actually take the cruise as a DAY TRIP to drink, dance, and party - disembarking in Mariehamn only to turn around and get right back on to head back to Turku! Seems like a long day to us, but the Finns DO like to have a good time!
Here are a few photos aboard the ferry - click through the gallery.
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Upon arrival into Mariehamn, the archipelago's main port city, we walked a few blocks to our hotel to drop off our bags. We had been told our hotel offered free bike rental and we had put in a request ahead of time to secure the bikes. However, upon arrival, we were told the hotel only had 2 bikes and they were both checked out. (We were traveling with my mother and aunt - so there were 5 of us.) So we headed "downtown" to wander and look for a bike rental shop. We had previously read that biking was the ideal way to explore the islands, and we have to agree. It was such a great way to see the area, and also to trek across areas we would have never made it to on foot.
We biked through nature trails, parks, campgrounds, waterfront trails, and more in 24 hours.
The biking was easy, relatively flat, and much of it was even shaded - not that we needed to keep cool as the temperature was in the 60s. After biking the first afternoon and into the evening, we found a hillside trail leading to a famed wooden ship we decided to head toward. We never made it to the ship, as half way there were a series of staircases and we didn't feel like lugging the bikes up (and possibly back down again). Instead, we found a nice restaurant on the water, Åss. We too, had fun with the name, but luckily, it went right over G's head.
The food was nice, but nothing spectacular, and the prices were reasonable, albeit on the pricey side. You are paying for the atmosphere and gorgeous water views though, and it was well worth it.
We stayed at the Hotel Pommern, booked through Booking.com. The hotel was nice and there were plenty of beds for all of us. The facilities were modern and the internet was decent. But the real gem at this hotel was the breakfast. It was a wonderful spread of both hot and cold things. Many of the items were locally sourced including the milk, eggs, juice, berries, and meat. We had a fantastic breakfast before heading out on the town before we had to catch our ferry back to Turku.
The weekend was a great reminder to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. If we ever go back, I think we will spend a bit longer, and possibly stay in a cabin. It would be nice to traverse a few more of the 6,700 islands by bike as well.
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