Kimitoön

Kimitoön (Finnish: Kemiönsaari), literally Kimito Island, is a municipality in the Archipelago Sea, Finland. The main island (which gives the municipality its name) is a large coastal island with rural landscape typical for southern Finland. It is surrounded by inner archipelago and outer archipelagos of minor islands, similar to that in the rest of the Archipelago Sea.



In the summer 2023 the official tourist information points are at Sagalund's museum in Kimito and DB Marina in Dalsbruk. For detailed info see the official website Visit Kemitoön.

Understand
The island Kimito is the second largest island on Finnish seas after Fasta Åland. The municipality consists of about 3,000 separate islands, of which, in addition to the main island, Hitis, Örö and Bengtskär are especially important for tourism. Kasnäs is an important hub for travelling to the outer archipelago. The area has been permanently inhabited since at least the 12th century, the Hitis islands are probably home to the oldest settlements. A separate Kimito parish was first mentioned in written documents in the 1320s and the marine pilot station of Jungfrusund in 1490. The current Kimito church was completed in 1496.

In the village Dahl there was a deep natural harbour and plenty of iron ore, which is why an iron factory was established in the village as early as in 1686. The factory was in continuous operation until 2012. Such 326-years history is rare in the metal industry, even worldwide. This industrial history have significantly affected the appearance of the village, now known as Dalsbruk (Finnish: Taalintehdas), and the building stock in the village is fairly exceptional and worth of seeing. The famous locksmith company Abloy had a lock factory in the village of Björkboda until 2019. Nowadays there is a lock museum in the village. In the Västanfjärd area there were several small limestone quarries and lime kilns since the 1600s until the last one ceased its operations in 1952.

Finnish businessman and significant art patron Amos Andersson lived in the Söderlångvik manor 1927—1961. Today, the manor is a museum with a remarkable art collection on display.

Kimitoön as a municipality was created in 2009 by joining the small municipalities of Kimito (Finnish: Kemiö), Västanfjärd and Dragsfjärd, all partly on the main island. Earlier many of the island groups and some other villages were independent municipalities. Kimitoön forms the eastern part of the Åboland region. The western part is now the "city" of Pargas (of which only a tiny part is urban).

In 2022 there were 6,500 inhabitants out of which 67 % speak Swedish as their mother tongue and about 30 % are Finnish speaking. Kimitoön is a popular 'summer cottage municipality'. There are more private summer cottages in the municipality than apartments inhabited all year round, which increases services and events in the area during the summer months.

Villages
Reachable by road without ferry crossings:
 * (Finnish: Kemiö), a traditional rural village (or a couple of them) with a medieval church and some museums. The new centre by the main roads hosts large grocery stores and other service.
 * , village between Kimito and Dalsbruk with lock factory and museum.
 * , cosy village with wooden church and a restaurant.
 * (Finnish: Taalintehdas), the most urban settlement of Kimitoön, nice village with ironworks and a related museum, famous for its Baltic Jazz festival. Marina.
 * , small village in the south-eastern part of the main island, with two churches and some shops.
 * , starting point for many trips to the outer archipelago and a tourist trap. Spa hotel, marina and ferry harbour in the south-west.

Reachable by a ferry or your own boat only.
 * (Finnish: Hiittinen), island group and a former municipality south of Kimitoön. The quite large village of Hitis has retained much of its traditional character. The adjacent Rosala has a Viking centre. Ferries from Kasnäs or Dalsbruk.
 * , island near Kasnäs, with a road ferry passage.
 * , a larger remote island, ferry from Kasnäs.

Talk
Kimitoön has a Swedish speaking majority, like the rest of Åboland, and a large Finnish-speaking minority. Most people also speak the other national language decently, and people know English as in the rest of Finland.

Get in and around


There are three roads to Kimitoön: from the north via Sauvo from national road 1 (E18) or regional road 110, both between Helsinki and Turku, from the east via Perniö over the Strömma canal (said to be the only place in Finland where tides can be observed) and from north-east along small roads via the Kokkila–Angelniemi ferry. The main village, Kimito, is some 60 km from Turku, 155 km from Helsinki via Raseborg.

The main island is 60 km long from the north-east – Angelniemi of Salo not counted – to Kasnäs in the south-west and 40 km wide from Mjösund in the north-west to Lammala in the south-east. In addition to the main island and islands connected to it by bridges, there are a few larger islands with proper villages, a handful of islands inhabited by one or a few families – and countless smaller islands and islets. The inhabited ones are reachable by ferry.

By car
Many roads have cracks and potholes, but getting around by car is generally unproblematic, except for the remote islands, which don't have public parking.

By bus
There are coaches by Vainion Liikenne (timetables summer 2023) on the route Turku–Kaarina–Paimio–Sauvo–Kimito(–Dalsbruk/Kasnäs) a few times a day: lines 721–723 (€16 to Dalsbruk; the S variants combine with a coach from Turku harbour, satama). Some of the services to Kimito or Kasnäs combine with Vainio's Salo–Perniö–Kimito–Dalsbruk services (€18; mostly line 520).

From Helsinki, Vainio (link above) is usually the best option. Take their Turku–Salo–Helsinki service and transfer in Salo for line 520 or their own service, possibly again in Kimito for Kasnäs (€18–25 from Salo to Kasnäs, €26–36 from Helsinki). When there isn't a service from Salo to Kimito (or the coach doesn't stop in Salo), instead transfer in Kaarina or Turku to one of the 72x lines (ask the driver about transfer details). There may be other options for the transfer, using another coach company for the first leg and transferring in Salo, Paimio, Kaarina or Turku.

There may also be coaches from Helsinki via Raseborg (and Perniö).

is in the centre by Arkadiavägen, is on a looped road next to the church and graveyard, and  is in the harbour next to the Ramsay's quarters. All of these are just bus stops with roof but without room indoors, so it makes sense to dress for the weather.

Connections to Kasnäs were significantly improved in the summer of 2023. In summertime there are two or three daily bus connections on the route Turku–Kaarina–Sauvo–Kimito–Kasnäs (€20–24). Note that buses to Dalsbruk do not visit Kasnäs and vice versa (except the 723H service), but there may be a transfer option in Kimito or a bus between the two.

J & M Launokorpi drives Kimito–Västanfjärd in schooldays (i.e. not during the summer). The connection is scheduled for school children but is open for anyone to use for €4. Otherwise you probably need to leave the bus at the Västanfjärd th stop and call a taxi.

By bike
By bike you can follow the same routes as the cars, but the roads are narrow and cycleways few, so this is less nice if there is much traffic. If coming from the east, there is a biking route mostly avoiding the main roads, Kustrutten from Salo either via Kirjakkala, Teijo (Tykö) and Mathildedal ironworks, Teijo National Park, over the Strömma Canal and via Dalsbruk to Kasnäs with ferries to some of the islands, or via Finby and Angelniemi to Kimito and Dalsbruk (the latter route may have been superseded by ferries via Bengtskär to Hanko). The route mostly follows small village roads, with some legs by the main roads, some through the forest. Not suited for racing bikes, but normal bikes will do.

By boat
With yacht you probably arrive via Hanko in the east or via the waters of Pargas or Nagu in the west. The main inner fairway between the Gulf of Finland in the east and Pargas, Nagu, Turku and Åland in the west and north-west goes south of Dalsbruk and Kasnäs, north of Hitis and Örö. The outer archipelago south of these is difficult to navigate and lacks official channels. There are many marinas, and except Kimito, most places of interest are reachable by boat with some walking.

There are probably passenger connections from Hanko to Kasnäs in summer, for those who want a cruise. Vitharun has ended its services, hopefully somebody else continues them. You could also take a boat to the Bengtskär lighthouse and "return" with another boat to Kasnäs (check both legs before booking).

There are ferry connections to the main remote islands. The ones to Högsåra and Rosala are car ferries, on the other islands there is no parking and no road to drive.

See



 * Churches. The is a medieval stone church first documented in 1447 but there are coins from the 14th century found in archaeological excavations. The wooden  was built in 1686 while  and  are both wooden cross churches built in 1750-1760. The  was built 1921–1922 and is a bit off-town. Like some other buildings in Dalsbruk the church is made of slag, a by-product of ferroalloy production.
 * Churches. The is a medieval stone church first documented in 1447 but there are coins from the 14th century found in archaeological excavations. The wooden  was built in 1686 while  and  are both wooden cross churches built in 1750-1760. The  was built 1921–1922 and is a bit off-town. Like some other buildings in Dalsbruk the church is made of slag, a by-product of ferroalloy production.

Do



 * Go on a sea kayaking tour
 * Sailing: Go on an afternoon trip or charter a yacht and go for a week or two of sailing in the Archipelago Sea. Along the main boating routes you could sail to Kustavi or Uusikaupunki through the inner archipelago and back through the outer, or you could sail to Mariehamn. If you have more than a week, also Hiiumaa in Estonia, the Stockholm archipelago and Gotland may also be good options – although there is indeed enough to explore in the Archipelago Sea alone. Bareboat chartering is the default, and requires adequate skills. They will love to tell you about the archipelago and local culture, and to recommend routes and sights.
 * Go on a sea kayaking tour
 * Sailing: Go on an afternoon trip or charter a yacht and go for a week or two of sailing in the Archipelago Sea. Along the main boating routes you could sail to Kustavi or Uusikaupunki through the inner archipelago and back through the outer, or you could sail to Mariehamn. If you have more than a week, also Hiiumaa in Estonia, the Stockholm archipelago and Gotland may also be good options – although there is indeed enough to explore in the Archipelago Sea alone. Bareboat chartering is the default, and requires adequate skills. They will love to tell you about the archipelago and local culture, and to recommend routes and sights.
 * Sailing: Go on an afternoon trip or charter a yacht and go for a week or two of sailing in the Archipelago Sea. Along the main boating routes you could sail to Kustavi or Uusikaupunki through the inner archipelago and back through the outer, or you could sail to Mariehamn. If you have more than a week, also Hiiumaa in Estonia, the Stockholm archipelago and Gotland may also be good options – although there is indeed enough to explore in the Archipelago Sea alone. Bareboat chartering is the default, and requires adequate skills. They will love to tell you about the archipelago and local culture, and to recommend routes and sights.

Eat and drink
There are decent or good restaurants at least in some of the See/Do/Sleep places and in Dalsbruk. Restaurants with limited supply (including places for pizza and kebab) also in Kimito and probably in a few of the other villages.

Sleep


There are no real hotels, but there are nice places to stay overnight. Bathrooms usually shared. Be prepared to pay with cash unless you know cards are accepted. There are cottages for rent in many locations (ask around).

Some businesses arrange camping in their tents or hammocks in "exotic" surroundings, i.e. in the Finnish nature.

On the main islands, there should be no problem to find places for wild camping according to the right to access. You should probably carry your potable water. Campfires require landowner permission.

Accommodations below ordered by location.

Connect
Mobile phones should work as in the rest of rural Finland. At sea there may be areas with deficient coverage.

Stay safe
Be careful when at sea and when getting a lift on a Saturday night. Do not let children or pets into water with algal bloom. Otherwise there are few risks. The only non-obvious one is probably the ticks, which may carry TBE or Borreliosis. There are adders, lynx and wolves, but you are unlikely to stumble across them.

Go next



 * , a large island with valuable nature south of Hitis. Until 2015, the island was closed for outsiders as a military base (first fort by the Russians 1915), which has retained many otherwise threatened features. There are meadows with rare butterflies, old forests and nice cliffs and beaches. Also the military history is interesting. It is now part of the Archipelago Sea National Park (from the beginning of 2015) and most army facilities have been converted for tourism use, with services arranged by private partners; minor areas are still off limits. Ferry connection from Kasnäs. Accommodation in hotel rooms, cottages (private or shared), at a campsite or in your yacht in the guest harbour.
 * , a skerry in the outer archipelago, with the tallest lighthouse in the Nordic countries. Tours from Kasnäs via Rosala (the Viking centre) and from Hanko, with optional dinner, sauna, accommodation etcetera at the lighthouse. Service is provided also for those arriving with own boat, but the island is difficult to reach, due to location and lack of shelter.
 * , with old ironworks, and the '''Teijo National Park, near Strömma, in the municipality of Salo