Korpo

Korpo (Finnish: Korppoo) is one of the main islands in the Archipelago Sea in Finland Proper. The former municipality 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
The local museum.

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
THe Korpoström marina, with Skärgårdscentret in the background

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. Turku 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 is a daily ferry from Långnäs on Åland to Galtby in Korpo. Road ferries connect Galtby with Houtskär and Norrskata. From Houtskär there are connections to Iniö (difficult off season) and farther to Kustavi in the north, connected with bridges to the mainland.

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.

By 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. Marinas include the one in Korpoström and the one in Verkan.

The main road goes by the northern shore via Galtby (a 2 km sidetrip to the ferry harbour), via the main village somewhat farther and to Korpoström in the south. The coaches from Turku terminate in the main village or in Korpoström. In season there is often more than one coach, and one of them may go to Houtskär. Mostly there is just a transfer option by the Galtby ferry quay. Check that you are on the right coach or the details of the transfer.

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.

  • 🌍 Kyrkoby (Korpo). Parish village. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 🌍 Galtby ferry harbour. Ferries to Norrskata, Houtskär and Åland. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 🌍 Korpoström. Marina. Skärgårdscentret. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 🌍 Norrskata. (updated Jan 2018)

To get to the minor islands you take a shiplike ferry from Galtby or from 🌍 Pärnäs 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.

See
Entry to the church yard.
  • Skärgårdscentret, Korpoström. Exhibitions and workshops. In the summer 2018 children are invited to make marine biological research, studying what they find in the water under the microscope, and are guided on the 18th century wartime and civil life in Korpo (check the language issues: can trilingual instruction be provided?). 
  • 🌍 Korpo kyrka (Korppoon kirkko). Medieval church  
  • Local history museum. 
  • 🌍 Rumar hill. with an observation tower, a weather radar display and a nature and culture path  

Do

Buy

Eat and drink

There are restaurants in a few of the villages.

Sleep

Guesthouses or, mainly for longer stays, cottages. There is plenty of woods for wild camping.

Connect

Postal code: 21710 Korpo

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