Archipelago ring road

 Well, this has been on my to do list for quite while now. I have done it once, 11 years ago when we got married and we spend a few days off on our honeymoon on the road and in Houtskär island. I have always wanted to go back, since the scenery is beautiful and I have tried to make it last summer, but I didn't get to do it. 

So, this year I am prepared a bit more. I have checked the schedule of the ferry between Iniö and Houtskär, which only is in operation from mid-May to end of summer, early September.

You can find the crucial time table from here. I spend more than you should have to find that on that website, it should have been much easier to find.

The archipelago ring road is 160-190 km long on land and 30-50 km is over the sea, totalling 223 km as a whole. There are four ferries; three free ferries and one boarding ferry.

There are few dedicated websites for this, one from the city of Parainen: https://visitparainen.fi/en/the-archipelago-trail/

And the general website: https://www.rengastie.fi/ (only in Finnish).

I can't wait for the summer time to come. 

While I was doing a research for this, I came across an another archipelago route that is in eastern Finland, called Puumalan Saaristoreitti, ie Puumala Archipelago route. (Second source).

This is a new route since it was established in 2017. It is a 60 km long route that travels around Lietvesi part of the Saimaa. This is only for bicycles and motorbikes. The Ferry that goes from between Hurissalo and Lintusalo carries only pedestrians, bicycles and motorbikes. So no cars at all.

I am still tempted to ride that route. But not maybe this summer.