Vårdö

Vårdö is a municipality in Åland, on the northern route between mainland Åland and mainland Finland. It was on the Great Post Route between Stockholm and Turku.

Understand


Vårdö has a population of some 450 on of land and  of water, down from around 1,000 around the turn of century 1900, but slightly increasing in the 2000s. Most live on the main island, which is the fifth largest of Åland, and a few nearby islands. In the heydays, also many minor islands were inhabited; better nets had caused a spike in herring fishing.

The former parish village Vårdöby (Vårdö and Sund are now one parish) is at the main crossroads of the main island. The biggest village, with grocery store and bank, is Vargata, 1.5 km west of the church. Other villages include Pellas 2 km north, Listerby 2 km south, and Grundsunda 4 km south of the church, and Simskäla on Östra Simskäla, across a ferry connection (10 km + 1 km + 1.5 km). The villages are small and many live scattered around elsewhere.

Nearly half of the population gets their income from agriculture, fishing or forestry; the percentage was the second biggest among Finnish municipalities in 2015.



Get in


From the Finnish mainland, the main connections are via Mariehamn (straight-forward: cruise ferry from Turku) and via Kustavi and Brändö (a tad shorter, over several islands, with two long small-ferry passages). Connections from most of Åland (and from Sweden) join the road from Mariehamn. For the routes via Kustavi and via the Archipelago Sea, see also Archipelago Trail.

The nearest airports are in Mariehamn, Turku and Stockholm.

The road from Mariehamn comes in via Finström, and Bomarsund and Prästö of Sund. A free cable ferry connects Prästö with Töftö of Vårdö (departures each 10 or 15 min in daytime, as needed most of the night; passage 5 min), which in turn is connected by bridges to the main Vårdö islands.

Norra linjen (the northern route) of Ålandstrafiken connects Vårdö with the archipelago municipalities of Kumlinge and Brändö, and Kustavi in Finland Proper (ferry passages 35 min). There are also other ferries between Brändö and islands of the Archipelago Sea. There might be a bus connection from Turku to Osnäs in Kustavi or to Kustavi centre (see Matkahuolto).

From Osnäs there is a 35-min ferry passage to Åva in Brändö, then a 22-km drive across Brändö (a bus or taxi is available for some arrivals, perhaps to be ordered in advance), and a 2.5-hr ferry passage from Torsholma in Brändö to Hummelvik in Vårdö, 3.6 km south-east from the church.

Ängö and Bussö in the south-west are connected to Lumparland by cable ferry (as needed, with pauses, nightly services must be ordered). Bergö in the south is served by ferry from Långnäs in Lumparland. There are no direct connection to the rest of Vårdö from these islands (but by private boat).

The cable ferries are free, while the ferry on the northern route and the one from Kustavi are free only to pedestrians. In the Ålandstrafiken parlance, Simskäla is "archipelago", while Töftö and the main Vårdö island are not.

By bus
There is a bus connection from Mariehamn by Ålandstrafiken, mostly several daily services, twice a day in summer weekends. The buses from Mariehamn connect to the ferry departures and arrivals in Hummelvik twice or thrice a day, driving through most of the main island. In weekdays they drive to the Töftö ferry a few more times. The Simskäla ferry is served by shared taxis twice daily (book in advance: ), combining with the bus services.

By yacht
From Österhamn in Mariehamn, you come in via Lemströms kanal and Lumparn (max draft 2.5 m; check bridge arrangements in the canal). From Västerhamn or the sea you could also sail between Lemland and Föglö (you might want to check the bridge height between Töftö and Vargata).

From the east there is a fairway from Houtskär and one from Iniö, going south of Torsholma of Brändö and north of Kumlinge, and one from Kustavi going north of Åva of Brändö and between Enklinge and Kumlinge. The fairway along Skiftet between the main basin of the Baltic Sea and the Sea of Bothnia (and Uusikaupunki) crosses these. From the Sea of Bothnia you can come via the coast of Geta of the Åland mainland or along the coastal route via Skiftet.

Get around


On the main island, you can get around by car or bike; the distance by road between the farthest points of the main island is 10 km, while the distance by road from Mickelsö in south-west to the ferry to Simskäla in the north is 20 km. The buses from Mariehamn can be used (see Get in), but they are sparse.

There is a ferry from the road of the main island to Östra Simskäla, as needed, with some pauses; ). Östra and Västra Simskäla are connected by bridge. The road across the Simskäla islands is 6.5 km long.

For islands not connected by bridge to the above mentioned ones, you need a boat (when the sea isn't frozen over). There are some businesses providing taxi boat service.

By taxi

 * Vårdö Taxi (Listersby)
 * Vårdö Skärgårdstaxi (Listersby)
 * Katarinas Taxi (Simskäla)

See and do




Buy
There is a grocery store and a bank in Vargata.

Go next
Most visitors are en route either to the Åland mainland or to the Finnish mainland. You could visit the small archipelago communities of Kumlinge or Enklinge on your way east. Westwards, the fortress ruins of Bomarsund (in Sund) are certainly worth a stop.