Finnish Archipelago Cruise Helsinki – Turku 12-18 July 2027

Helsinki → Turku

12–18 July 2027

Finnish Archipelago Cruise

Helsinki – Turku | 12–18 July 2027

Bavaria 50 “Branwyn” | €2,250 pp | €2,900 for your own cabin

Whole boat enquiries welcome.

Imagine a place with hundreds, if not thousands, of islands. A place that has somehow remained largely untouched by mass tourism, where the landscape changes every few miles and where there always seems to be another island, another little channel or another perfect anchorage just around the corner.

Welcome to the Finnish Archipelago.

We have sailed in many beautiful parts of the world and it is pointless trying to rank them, but the uniqueness of the Finnish Archipelago is undeniable. Nowhere else quite offers this combination of thousands of islands, sheltered waters, narrow passages, open Baltic horizons and tiny, hidden anchorages.

Shaped by ice and water during the last Ice Age, the Archipelago is a maze of islands, skerries, channels and natural hideaways. Summer is short this far north, and July is when the islands come alive: long light evenings, warm rocks, green forests, quiet bays and villages waking up for the season.

This cruise takes us from Helsinki towards Turku, exploring the southern and western parts of the Archipelago at an easy pace. There is no fixed daily mileage and no need to rush. We sail when it feels right, stop when we find somewhere beautiful and let the weather and the wishes of the crew shape the route.

Our Bavaria 50 “Branwyn” is particularly well suited to this kind of cruising. With her relatively shallow draft, she can reach many of the channels, anchorages and little corners that are inaccessible to deeper yachts. Five cabins, a generous cockpit and comfortable saloon make her an ideal home for a week of relaxed summer sailing.

The route can take in places such as Hanko, Barösund, the Högsåra area, Nauvo and the countless islands and anchorages in between, but nothing is carved in stone. We know the area well and can adapt the itinerary to the weather, conditions and, most importantly, what you feel like doing.

And then there is the food.

The Archipelago has developed a wonderfully uncomplicated food culture based on what is around: fresh fish, new potatoes, smoked and cured salmon, perch, Baltic herring, crayfish, local vegetables, berries, mushrooms, dark archipelago bread and, increasingly, excellent local meat and craft products.

We might have dinner ashore at Farmors Café on Högsåra, enjoy the excellent archipelago table at Restaurant Origo in Hanko, stop at Ravintola Scola in Barösund or enjoy an evening around Nauvo Marina at L’Escale or the restaurant at Hotel Strandbo. Farmors Café, for example, is known for down-to-earth Nordic cooking using seasonal ingredients and herbs from Högsåra.

Other evenings may be even simpler: drop the anchor in a quiet bay, swim from the boat, open a bottle of wine and cook dinner together as the sun slowly disappears.
That is really what this week is about.

No racing. No timetable. No pressure. Just sailing, good food, beautiful islands and the freedom to decide what comes next.

Why This Is Different

This is not a sailing holiday built around getting as many people as possible onto a boat. With a maximum of around six guests, the experience remains personal, relaxed and genuinely intimate.

You are not joining a large group or a scheduled sailing tour. Branwyn is your private yacht for the week, with a comfortable environment where everyone quickly settles into the easy rhythm of life on the Archipelago.

Our experienced skipper brings extensive local knowledge of the Finnish coastline and, importantly, the freedom to use it. The itinerary is deliberately flexible. Weather, conditions and the preferences of the crew all play a part in deciding where we go and where we spend the night.

Breakfast and lunch are included, leaving the evenings completely open. We may find a table at a good local restaurant, visit a small harbour or simply drop the anchor in a quiet bay and prepare something aboard.

Branwyn’s relatively shallow draft is a particular advantage in the Finnish Archipelago. It allows us to explore narrow channels, secluded anchorages and small islands that are inaccessible to many larger or deeper-draft yachts. Rather than following a predetermined route from marina to marina, we can seek out the places that make the Archipelago special.

Some days may involve several hours of relaxed sailing. Others might consist of a short passage followed by swimming, exploring ashore, lunch in the cockpit and a lazy afternoon at anchor. There is no pressure to keep moving simply because the itinerary says so.

The result is much closer to a private yacht holiday than a conventional sailing tour.

A small group, a comfortable yacht, an experienced skipper and thousands of islands to choose from.

No crowds. No rigid schedule. No need to be anywhere at a particular time. Just the freedom to enjoy the Finnish Archipelago at its own pace.

Price
€2,250 per person
€2,900 for one person in their own cabin

Price includes boat and skipper, all boat running costs, fuel, gas, mooring fees, insurance, personal safety equipment, foul-weather gear (no boots), breakfast and lunch on board + bedding.

Not included are travel to and from the cruise, dinners and personal expenses ashore.
A 30% reservation fee secures your place. The reservation fee is non-refundable after 1 May 2027. The remaining balance is due two months before departure.

“I am sitting on the deck, with my back resting on a fender. The sun is out there, giving me a full look-over, and I’m glad for the sunglasses, as the sea is full of glitter. There is music flowing, a friendly face sitting next to me, and a sense that everything is exactly as it should be is filling every crook and cranny of my soul. I’m in Finland, and as Tove Jansson would say: “I’ll have to calm down a bit. Or else I’ll burst with happiness.”

“I’ve signed up for a Finnish summer cruise on a cold, English December day. A week earlier, I chatted to my friend about wanting to return to the landscape that looked like something from a Jackson Pollock painting. Then an email landed in my inbox, promising Finnish sun (it sounded like an oxymoron to me) and the Baltic, where I swam on a family holiday in Poland many moons ago. I was overwhelmed by the serendipity of it all. A friendly chat with the skipper, and there was very little room left for any doubts about what to do and where I wanted to be that summer.

The sailing bug that bit me only the year before poked its little head, and I was again packing my gear with giddy anticipation and silent terror of the unknown. As it turned out, from the very beginning, I should have left any ballast of worries and fears on the English soil. It always comes down to one thing – people. If you can call a stranger a friend within the first minutes you meet them, you know that the universe is well and truly looking after you. Seb, our skipper, went out of his way to make sure I was well looked after and began my Finnish adventure with the smoothness of a calm sea. His warmth and humour immediately put a little seed of trust in my soul, and I knew that as spontaneous decisions go, this one would be one to remember. Soon we were joined by our First Mate Vilhelm, a bundle of knowledge and unlimited enthusiasm; Eira – skipper’s daughter, the nicest, fiercest kid out there; and the funniest and warmest of couples – Mary and Colin. We were ready to slip the lines and discover the beauty of the Finnish Archipelago.

The capricious weather offered us the sun, but there was very little wind in that deal. The sail went up, and the sail went down, but I didn’t mind. With my eyes filled with an ever-changing colour palette, from hues of blue of the sea and the sky, to the shades of green and grey of the coastal line, I was soaking up the beauty of what was in front of me. The Finnish Archipelago was simply showing off. In the background of it all was Seb’s and Vilhelm’s commentary – history, culture, politics, all spiced up with impish humour and some sailors’ tales thrown in for good measure. What was most heartwarming was seeing those two men so incredibly proud of where they come from and how much they wanted to share their love for all things Finnish with us.

It’s hard to pin down what was my favourite thing, moment or even a place. Maybe playing volleyball with Eira and feeling like a kid again; perhaps tucking into a delicious meal cooked by Vilhelm, or getting locked in the loo in one of the harbours and thinking that if that’s the only way for me to stay here forever, so be it! I felt at home in my cabin on our German tub, as I lovingly called our boat, and I could easily have sailed for many more days, going from harbour to harbour, and just happy to watch the world go by while at sea.

I came home with this bittersweet feeling of something gained and something lost, but most of all, with a heart full of wonderful, warm memories and that one thing you can never put a price on – new friends. And Finland – you have surprised me in so many ways; I am already looking forward to seeing you again! Till then. With love.”

Ewa, the guinea pig on the very first Finnish Archipelago cruise