archepelago

Can I plan on driving the road route to Korpo and back to Turku in a day?

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Yes. Along the archipelago road (road 180) the distance between Korppoo and Turku is about 75 km (about 47 miles) and includes two short ferry journeys (5 - 10 minutes each).

Ferry timetables

Parainen-Nauvo: www.lautat.fi/index.php…

Nauvo-Korppoo: www.lautat.fi/index.php…

Korppoo-Nauvo: www.lautat.fi/index.php…

Nauvo-Parainen: www.lautat.fi/index.php…

There%26#39;s also a touristic Archipelago Trail route there: http://www.visitfinland.com/w5/index.nsf/(pages)/The_Archipelago_Trail . This trail is much longer, 290 km (some 180 miles) and circles around the islands before returning to Turku.

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Thanks- and the longer route- can I drive it in a day? would you recommend it over the shorter route? And while I have your attention----we are continuing on to Kalajoko and Oulu. I realize it is a long drive- not really so by our Canadian standards where it is nothing for us to drive 1000 km a day or more- but since I don%26#39;t know how slow your roads are, can you give me an idea of how long it might take. I want to get off the highway on the coastal roads and see some of the villages too.

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There are nice old picturescue towns on the west coast. Might like to visit eg Rauma and Pietarsaari (Jackobstad).

Regarding time to travel by car. If you stay on the bigger roads you can use 80 km/h as an average. It takes about 5 hours to drive 400 kms + plus of course the breaks and side trips you take on the way.

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OK, if you plan to drive more extensively, then I suggest you combine parts of the Archipelago trail with the Idyllic Wooden Towns of the West Coast itinerary:

http://www.visitfinland.com/w5/index.nsf/(pages)/Idyllic_Wooden_Towns

(if you intend to do these in a row, i.e. not returning for the night to Turku).

You could follow the Archipelago Trail to Kustavi and Askainen and from there turn to road 196 leading to Uusikaupunki which would then connect you to the Idyllic Wooden Towns touring route (see the link above).

In general in summer the speed limits on major roads is 100 km/h (ca 62 miles/h), on smaller roads outside densely populated areas 80 km/h (about 50 miles/h). On motorways 120 km/h (approx. 75 miles/h). On the way from Turku to Oulu the only parts on a motorway are the short legs (about 15 km each) out of Turku, just before Vaasa and then before reaching Oulu (and on the Oulu motorway the speed limit is 100 km/h due to the amount of traffic on that road).

In winter time the speed limits are dropped on many roads from 100 km/h to 80 km/h and on motorways the top speed 120 km/h to 100 km/h.

All in all, you can estimate the average speed to be around 80 km/h.

Further info on driving in Finland: http://www.lvm.fi/web/en/31 and www.tiehallinto.fi/servlet/page…

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The drive from Turku to Oulu (if you follow only the main road 8 - deadly boring) takes about 8 h + breaks. The distance is 620 km.

From the main road 8 you cannot see the sea at all, so I suggest you follow the route of Idyllic Wooden Towns touring route as it runs through the more coastal, a bit smaller but anyhow tarmac roads. Occasionally also the touring route goes along the main road 8.

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So if we decided to do the entire route from Pargus to Askaisen, how long would it take. Without too much actual tarrying on the islands, and with ferry schedules could we do it in a day?- and would it be worth it?

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Scenicwise it is a very beautiful route. The fact whether it can be done in a day depends on the ferry schedules and how your itinerary fits to them (i.e. how long waits you would have in the ferry ports).

You will find further information on the Turku Archipelago at www.saaristo.org/index.php?page=101%26lang=2

All public ferry timetables in Finland (but not those of the big shipping companies such as Silja Line, Viking Line, Eckerö Line, Tallink etc.) are available at http://www.lautat.fi/?lang=eng

There are buses doing e.g. the legs Turku - Parainen - Nauvo - Galtby - Houtskär - Mossala in ca. 3.5 h ( www.vainionliikenne.fi/at09-2/at-40.htm ) . If you can catch a ferry from Mossala to Iniö and onwards to Kustavi without very long waits, you can make the whole route in a day.

Some of the ferry crossings on the route are chargeable but most of them are free. The Archipelago Trail route description tells you which are free and which not.