Why Camping At The Finnish Archipelago Should Be On Your Bucket List

Visiting Finland offers many unique adventures and can help you tick off a lot of boxes on your bucket list items, such as seeing the Northern Lights or visiting Santa Claus. But if you haven’t considered it already, you might want to add camping in the Finnish archipelago on your list too as it is a one-of-a-kind experience. Even more importantly, it is a fun and beautiful place to visit.

The biggest archipelago in the world

In terms of the number of islands, the Finnish archipelago, stretching across the western and south-western coasts of Finland, is the biggest in the world with over 20,000 islands ranging in size. While some of them are several square kilometers others are so small they can’t even fit a single tree. New islands are being discovered all the time, either because they were previously missed or because they have only just emerged from below the ocean surface. Saying that you have traveled the world’s biggest archipelago or even camped on an unclaimed island is a truly impressive feat.

Amazing wildlife

A barnacle goose in the Finnish archipelago

Top destination in Finland for water sports

A particular highlight of a camping trip in the archipelago is the experience of exploring the islands and trying out all the different water sports. The islands can be traversed by boat or kayak, with regular ferries between the most populated islands and travel companies such as Aavameri offering kayaking tours. If you think you can handle it, there is also the option of hiring a boat or kayak and exploring the islands freely. Fishing, wakeboarding and even surfing are also popular water sports in the archipelago.

Camping paradise

Finland’s freedom-to-roam laws allow you to explore freely and camp anywhere on the archipelago, so long as you abide to local fire safety laws. Nearly every island has a campsite and firepit. You can even find your own dinner while camping by picking berries and mushrooms or catching a fish fresh from the sea and cooking it on a campfire. It is quite an experience to stay up with the midnight sun or relax in peaceful and idyllic surroundings. Midsummer is a particularly good time to camp in the archipelago, since you can partake in the ancient Finnish tradition of lighting a bonfire on the longest night of the year.

Beautiful scenery

Whether you are kayaking through the waters or relaxing on land, you can always find amazing scenery in the archipelago that is unlike anything else in the world. There is the magical glow of the midnight sun, the clear Baltic Sea waters and the quaint villages that have barely changed since Finland was a part of Sweden.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

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