Archipelago, a Finnish haven of peace and nature in the Baltic Sea
A haven of beauty and peace, the Finnish archipelago is a popular summer sailing destination. The Baltic Sea winds its way between tens of thousands of islands, large and small, inhabited and uninhabited, all of which are worth discovering as you sail. Discover the Archipelago in pictures.
The Finnish archipelago, or "Archipelago" as the locals call it, is a popular destination for lovers of nature and peace. Located in the Baltic Sea in south-western Finland, around three hours by car from Helsinki, it can be reached by ferry or directly from the sea. Made up of 40,000 islands, some of them just outcrops of rock, the archipelago has the most islands in the world!
Over the course of a week, we sailed from island to island, past rocky, yet densely vegetated islands. All along the way, red or yellow wooden houses with private pontoons, marinas where you can eat, breathtaking landscapes in a maze of rocks. Beware, however, as navigation can be a real slalom in certain areas, and there are many beacons to be seen. Although the tide is low here, navigation must be meticulously prepared to avoid shoals.
On our Finnish trip, the sea looked more like a huge, ripple-free lake, but beware: this isn't always the case. As in the Mediterranean, the sea rises in short, closely-spaced waves. Finally, the month of June in these latitudes gives us the opportunity to discover Finnish nights, where daylight is finally constant, a sort of uninterrupted twilight until sunrise.