Korpo

Korpo (Finnish: Korppoo) is one of the former municipalities in the Archipelago Sea in Finland Proper. It includes a lot of small islands, among them important destinations such as Jurmo and Utö. This guide is about the main island and a few adjacent ones.

Understand


Korpo used to be an independent municipality, including many minor islands (about 2,000 in all). This article focuses on the main island, "Korpo Kyrklandet", where the parish village Kyrkby is located. The island is big enough to host several villages, forest and agricultural landscapes, being some 10 km across.

Like in the rest of Åboland, Swedish is the main language. You will survive on English or Finnish.

Get in


Most visitors come via Turku, which is well connected. If coming from the east you can turn to Skärgårdsvägen from national road 1 (E18) or regional road 110 already in Kaarina. There are connections also from Åland.

The "Archipelago Road", Skärgårdsvägen (Finnish: Saaristotie, regional road 180) leads from Kaarina outside Turku to Korpo, via Pargas and Nagu, with two road ferry passages and several bridges. The last short ferry passage is from Pärnäs in Nagu to Retais in Korpo. There is a gap in ferry services in the night. See also the Archipelago Trail, an itinerary along this route.

From Långnäs on Åland, there is a ferry connection to Galtby. There are more complicated connections via Brändö and Houtskär.

You can come also from the north. During the summer season there are several connections a day from Kustavi in the north to Iniö, with the route continuing through Houtskär to Galtby in Korpo. The road ferry from Iniö to Houtskär has a fee. Off season the connection is complicated, with minor ferries visiting many islands.

By car
The ferry from Åland to Galtby is quite expensive. The road ferries are free, except the one between Iniö and Mossala, Houtskär. The other ferries from Iniö and Brändö to Houtskär do not take cars (as of 2022).

By bus
There are coaches from Turku to Korpo six to eight times a day, operated as the brand Skärgårdsbuss by TLO of Turku, and a few direct connections weekly from Helsinki by Skärgårdsvägen Ab, part of Vainion Liikenne Oy. The voyage from Turku takes about two hours. Transfers in Kaarina or Turku, if needed, as explained in Pargas. Most of the coaches visit Galtby harbour to leave or pick ferry passengers before continuing to the main village.

Almost all of the Skärgårdsbusses from Turku drive all the way to Korpoström by request. Tell the driver if you need to get there, otherwise the terminus is next to the Korpo church.

By bike
The Archipelago Trail runs through Korpo, arriving at the Retais ferry quay and continuing from Galtby to Houtskär and beyond. There are no separate cycleways on this part of the trail. There is a separate cycleway between the Korpo school and the main village.

By boat
There are daily ferries from Långnäs on Åland to Galtby in Korpo (timetables 2022). The trip takes about five hours. During high season (mid-June to mid-Aug) you must change ferries in Kökar. This connection (as all the ferries operated by Ålandstrafiken) is free of charge for passengers but there are fees for vehicles. The price depends not only on the type of the vehicle, but also whether you are staying overnight off the Åland mainland (cheap fee) or are just passing through (quite expensive!).

Road ferries connect Galtby with Houtskär in the west and Norrskata in the north (Galtby–Houtskär, Galtby–Norrskata). These are free of charge.

It is possible to come by the ferries serving minor islands in the north, via Norrskata ("Nagu norra rutt") or Houtskär ("Houtskärsrutten", "Iniö tilläggsrutt"). These connections are somewhat complicated, with timetables shifting by season and day of week and often requiring advance request. They are generally free, but should not be used by car unless necessary (regard your car as bulky cargo).

By a yacht, Korpo is at the main fairways from Sweden or the Baltic Sea (via southern Åland or Finnish Utö to Turku and Naantali). There are lots of other fairways crisscrossing between the islands. Guest marinas include the one in Korpoström in the south and the one in Verkan near the parish village.

Get around
Except school buses and the like, there are no local buses on Korpo. The Skärgårdsbuss coaches can be used when their schedules happen to fit. If you want to get around, you probably need a car or a bike. There are taxis.



To get to the minor islands you take a ship-like ferry from Galtby or from in Nagu (just across the sound), with departures once or twice a day. From Galtby you get to Norrskata and the northern archipelago, from Pärnäs to the southern archipelago, including Jurmo and Utö.

A ship-like ferry M/S Baldur (ex Eivor) servs the route Pärnäs–(Berghamn)–Nötö–Aspö–Jurmo–Utö daily during the summer season (June 7th – August 31st). Day trips to Nötö, Aspö and Jurmo are then possible in Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but in Wednesdays there is no coach connection any more when the ferry arrives back to Pärnäs. The rest of the days you need to stay overnight on some of those islands. If you want to leave the vessel in Utö you always need to stay overnight, but you may take a day trip to Utö and back if you don't leave the vessel. M/S Baldur is free of charge, but it does not carry private cars. The vessel has a café.

There is another ferry serving minor islands of Houtskär and Korpo, on the Korpo route (Archipelago Lines). On Korpo Kyrklandet it calls at Verkan, near the parish village (M/S Fiskö takes two cars, but you might leave those slots for locals). Like on most of these ferries, call ahead to reserve the voyage.

See



 * Aspö.jpg
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Buy


There is a very small grocery store in Verkan as well. The market square is in the middle of main village, in front of the church and Korpo handel.

Many agricultural producers in Wattkast village have direct sale to consumers including meat, vegetables, flowers etc.

Eat and drink
There are restaurants in a few of the villages.



Sleep
Guesthouses or, mainly for longer stays, cottages. There is no official camping area on Korpo main islands but plenty of woods for wild camping. For staying overnight on the islands Jurmo or Utö, please see the corresponding articles.



Connect
Postal code: 21710 Korpo

Go next

 * Jurmo and Utö, very special islands in the outer archipelago, belonging to Korpo.
 * Kökar, the first stop of the ferry to Åland.
 * The Archipelago Trail, which continues to Nagu and to Houtskär