Ride Suomenlinna Ferry, Helsinki

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The HSLferry to Suomenlinnafrom the Market Square (Kauppatori) is a cheap and popular summer getaway. Another HSL operated ferry, mostly used only by the island's residents, leaves from the eastern end of Katajanokka, an ordinary residential area from the 1980s. This ferry is a good option at warm beautiful summer days, as it will never have queues to it. In weekends, however, you have to use the Kauppatori ferry, since the Katajanokka ferry operates only weekdays. The Katajanokka ferry can incorporate several trucks, while the Kauppatori ferry is mainly intended for passengers, incorporating 1 or 2 passenger cars. The Kauppatori ferry has better views, so it's recommended to use it for one trip if you use the Katajanokka ferry for the other trip. The Kauppatori ferry departs from Suomenlinnan päälaituri (literally main pier) and the Katajanokka ferry from Suomenlinnan huoltolaituri (literally maintenance pier) at the islands, the piers having different locations. In addition, private operators provide ferries to Suomenlinna and various other islands during the summer; however, schedules can be sparse. These departure from Kauppatori and the largest private operators are JT-Line (https://www.jt-line.fi/eng/) and Suomen Saaristokuljetus (http://www.suomensaaristokuljetus.fi/frontpage/). The operator JT-Line operates to Suomenlinna. In Suomenlinna the private ferries dock also on the southern end of the islands, while the public ferries have their two terminals only at the northern end of the islands (which is closer to Kauppatori and Katajanokka). If you do not have the energy to walk back to the northern end once you have reached the southern end, you could take the private ferry from there and buy a ticket for the trip onboard. The southern end pier is named King's Port / Kuninkaanportti in the timetables. Helsinki card, HSL's single ticket, day ticket, mobile phone app ticket and SMS ticket are all valid also on the HSL Suomenlinna ferry, but not on the private ferry. There is also ferries to a number of other islands that have less to see than Suomenlinna, but may provide for example a possibility to grill on an open fire or camp overnight, both of which are forbidden in Suomenlinna. These include islands such as Isosaari, Pihlajasaari, Vallisaari and several islands on the eastern archipelago route of Suomen Saaristokuljetus. Check beforehand what each island has to offer: Vartiosaari has for example 50 villas from the beginning of the 20th century and forest, Pihlajasaari has a beach and grilling and camping possiblity but no buildings except 2 or 3, and Vartiosaari has none of the amenities Pihlajasaari has.

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