Evelyn Shi

Since I have mainly found blogs on how to get from Sweden to Finland and I did the other way around and had some troubles during my trip, I thought I‘d write something about my trip. A visit to the Kvarken Archipelago is definitely recommendable to everyone who wants to experience some nature in the Nordic countries and see some remains from the Ice Age!

I started my trip in Helsinki. From the airport, you need a ABC-Ticket to get into the centre. Otherwise, Stockholm is a walking city. If you still prefer public transportation to get around, the AB ticket is enough to check out Stockholm. I definitely recommend seeing the Central Library, which inspired me to rethinking public space. Public space isn’t just outside, but can also created inside – like in a library, where people can get together and either read, work or chat with a coffee. Kids can play there, there are 3D printers and sewing machines, you can rent conference rooms and even play Playstation.

The AB ticket also includes the ferry to the Suomenlinna island, which is a must-see when in Helsinki. The ferry takes around half an hour and then you arrive at the port of the island, from where you can discover it. Here you can find the history of the island.

There are also people living there. But apparently, you can’t just buy or build a house there – the housing belongs to the State, which also decides who can live there. You have to apply, and they prefer people who can basically take care of the island. Families and artists are encouraged to apply, you can read more about it here and here.

You can walk around the island and see the remainings of the castle. There is a nice spot at the sea where you can enjoy the view.

From Helsinki, I took the train from the Central Station to Vaasa. There is a direct one, or one with one stop. You can buy the tickets at the train station. I was going to go directly to the National Park. But when I arrived, I found out that there were no busses going there anymore. It was off-season and on a Saturday, which was a holiday. So I checked into Hotel Vallonia. The stay was underwhelming, but a dinner and breakfast buffet are included in the price. In hindsight, I should have rented a car in Helsinki to give it back in Vaasa after the trip to the Kvarken Archipelago. It would have been 160€ a day with an extra 160€ for returning it in another city than Helsinki. If you plan in advance, you can probably find a cheaper rate.

Anyways, for the stay in the Kvarken, a car makes your stay more flexible and you get around better. I guess, you can also hitchhike, but apparently, that’s not much of a thing there anymore. I only hitchhiked from the Hotel to the Europcar rental shop, as a taxi costs around 20€ for a 10 minute trip. The car rental at Europcar was very easy, I paid 100€ for a day and 300€ as a deposit, that I got right away when I returned the car. Again, if you book in advance, you can probably find a cheaper rate.

At the beginning of the Kvarken Archipelago, there is a visitor’s center where you can get information on your stay in the Kvarken Archipelago. You can find the information about it and the location here. You can also find the hiking trails online, which is what I did, so I didn’t go to the visitor’s center.

I drove to the Svedjehamn harbour, where I parked my car. From there, you can walk to the Observation Tower Saltkaret, which gives you a great view over the Kvarken Archipelago. It takes around 10 minutes to get there.

I took all my stuff with me and from there, I took the Björkö-Panike trail. You can take a boat to Panike there (but check out the availability, as they might not offer rides off-season). As I parked my car in Svedjehamn, I didn’t take the boat, but walked back. The trail is pretty flat and easy to walk. You can see the rocks that make the Kvarken Archipelago unique, as they are remains of the Ice Age.

When walking back to the fishing harbour, I changed the route to check out the Bodvattnet trail, which turned out to be really beautiful. It’s just a little detour from the Björkö-Panike trail, going around the Bodvattnet rivers. The view was amazing and I decided to camp there. That was definitely the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

In Finland, you can camp anywhere, even on private grounds. It’s called the „everyman’s right“. As long as you don’t bother anyone, you can set up your tent anywhere you like. I set up my tent next to a bench and a table and enjoyed the sunset with a beer and some food that I took with me. It was pretty close to the fishing harbour and just on the Bodvattnet trail, so you can’t miss it.

The next day, I rented a kayak in Vaasa. You can rent them for a couple of hours or a day or several ones. Since it was off-season, I had to go back to Vaasa to pay and get the information on where to find the kayak:

Visit Vaasa
Rewell II krs/vån/floor
65100  VAASA
+358 401 238977
visit.vaasa@visitvaasa.fi
WWW-pages

I drove my car to Vargis, where the box for the Kayaks are situated. It is close to the Panike harbour. You have to get through two gates. They are open, so just open and close the gate when you enter.

You can park your car at Vargis. It’s a really beautiful spot, from where you can also explore some hiking trails. If you plan to kayak to an island (I was recommended to go to Slattskäret, taking the route to the right, starting from Vargis and going on the right side of Rotörskatan to reach Slattskäret to camp there.

If it’s your first time kayaking, check the weather and don’t forget to bring waterproof bags, where you can put your belongings into to store them in the kayak. If it’s too windy, you might reconsider your trip. Speaking from experience here, as I only got to paddle two or three times, before I fell into the water with all my belongings (which were not in a waterproof bag). So I kind of gave up my idea and just camped at Vargis, which was still very beautiful and that was one of the few spots that I found, where you can actually go into the water.

There is a place to make a campfire there, the woods are in the house besides the campfire. So it’s a nice place to stay overnight!

The next day, I got myself a private sauna at the Fisherman’s Cottage back in Svedjehamn. It’s an airbnb and they have a private sauna, which is really beautiful. Just be aware that you have to warm up the sauna yourself, so you have to put on the fire yourself. I decided to stay overnight, as the weather was getting worse and I really wanted to sleep in an actual bed. The owner of the Fisherman’s cottage is very friendly and it was the best way to end my trip in the Kvarken Archipelago.

From Vaasa, I took the ferry to Umeå in Sweden. It costs 40€ and you can find the timetables here. The Wasaline ferry station is a bit outside of Vaasa, a taxi costs around 20€ from Vaasa. You can also take your car onto the ferry. I was really surprised, because the ferry had conference rooms, cafés and even a restaurant – 8 floors for a 4 hour trip!

I didn’t find a way to book a ticket online, as it only shows tickets for vehicles, so I bought my ticket at the ferry station. Don’t forget to ask for a bus ticket in Umeå. When I arrived in Umeå, they had to call an extra bus for me, as I didn’t have the bus ticket in advance. I paid 120 krona (around 12€) to get to the city center. They also accept euro.

As I arrived quite late, I checked in at Hotel Björken, it was the cheapest I could find with a location that is closest to the train station (in my case, Östra – East station, from where you can also get to Stockholm). Breakfast is also included here, but it was also underwhelming. I didn’t have enough time to check out Umea, but I would recommend seeing the Västerbottens museum, where you can learn about the Sámi – the indigenous habitants in the Nordic countries. They live in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. In the first three countries, they even have a common parliament. As citizens of their countries, they can also vote in national elections.

From Umeå, I took the train to Stockholm, which costs around 110€. You can buy the tickets on the Swedish Train website sj.se. I wantd to see the High Coast, the other part of the UNESCO World Heritage of the Archipelago, but I didn’t have enough time (and energy). If you have enough time, you should definitely check it out.

I was recommended to visit Åland too, which is an island between Sweden and Finland. There is a ferry going there both from Stockholm as well as from Helsinki. It is recommended to stay there overnight to discover this part of the Archipelago.

To see the main attractions in Stockholm, you don’t need to use public transportation. If you still prefer using the metro and the busses, you can buy tickets for one or several days. Or you just use your card when you enter the metro station and it automatically books the ticket price from your account. I didn’t do a lot of sightseeing, but I did want to see the „birthplace“ of the Stockholm Syndrome. What used to be a bank, is now a hotel at Norrmalmstorg Square. There’s also a Netflix movie on the robbery called „The Captor“.

I stayed in the Hostel „Castle House Inn“, which is located in the Old Town and pretty comfortable with curtains at your beds. If you want to try traditional food, you can check out the restaurant „Meat Balls for the people“.

Ending with food recommendation, I think that this is a good way to conclude my trip review. It was definitely one of the coolest trips I have done so far, so very recommendable!