Särkisalo
Särkisalo has many wonderful little village roads and paths that take you from one village to another, and further into the islands of Niksaari, Ulkoluoto and Pettu. The distances are short, so you hardly get lost. The landsape changes quickly, and you can walk everywhere. See also our folder in the cottage, there is some material about the area. Visit Särkisalo web pages for more information.
There are several summer events in Särkisalo. Check if there is something for you.
1. The local people has placed sitting benches on different routes and at scenic vantage points, "rest benches".
You can easily walk or cycle to different restaurants:
2. Outdoor restaurant Nixor
4. Summer cafe Cafe Vinssi
5. Restaurant and small shop Tiiranta.
For boaters, there is also a summer restaurant in Bromarv: Skatafe (information only in Finnish).
In Perniö, there is a small local food kiosk at the Ylönkylä juncton: Pikantti (sites only in Finnish). The instructions in the shop are in English, it is open 24/7. You can pay with a credit card. The "buy your own shop" concept is itself worth seeing.
Please, check the opening hours on their websites!
6. At Ulkoluoto, Vårdkasberget quards Särkisalo with its over 50 m high overlook cliffs and caves. On the north side of the cliff, there is an ancient beach called Devil's field, which was formed 8000 years ago during the Litorina sea stage of the Baltic sea. You must leave your car on the main road and walk along the forest road and paths for a little over 1 km. There are some photos on site "retkipaikka.fi", but unfortunately the text is only in Finnish. In Ulkoluoto there is also the Finnholmen farm, where you can buy fresh seasonal vegetables straight from the farmer.
You can also move around the sea by rowing. Each of our cabins has its own boat. If the boat is not on the shore of the cottage, it can be found at the harbour, Ylöstalo's slipway, where the boats are sheltered from the weather. Please return the rowing boat back to the boat launch.
You can rent kayaks, too. Valla Outdoors organizes canoeing trips. Please contact Mia at Valla first. You can find the kayaks, for examle, at Meripirtti (no 7).
7. Meripirtti's swimming place is before the Särkisalo bridge, on the left side as you arrive at the main island. It is a public beach, sandy and shallow, suitable for children. There are also changing rooms and a toilet.
8. There is also a swimming place in Förby.
9. The church of Särkisalo
You can find more information on Särkisalo's event calendar. More cycling routes can be found on the site Rannikkoreitti.
10. If you want to make a small dinner trip by boat to some of our thousands of Baltic Sea Archipelago islands, please contact Hendry from ChillOut. He will pick you up on his boat from the cottage pier for an unforgettable archipelago trip.
National Parks
There are three interesting national parks near us, which are worth of day trip:
15. Teijo National Park is only 20 minutes (20 km) from our cottages and you can go on one-day trip for cycling, hiking or canoeing there. You can rent the equipment there, too. There are beautiful lakes, forests and interesting historic ironwork villages.
16. From Kasnäs you can easily reach the Archipelago National Park. Kasnäs is located on the southern corner of Kemiönsaari and is one hour (65 km) from Särkisalo. The Archipelago National Park has more islands than any other archipelago in the world, and it is considered the world's most beautiful archipelago.
17. Torronsuo National Park is Finland's deepest bog. You can walk along trails and duckboards and see the diverse nature of the mire, small forest islands and watch birds nesting and resting on the area. It is one and a half hour (90 km) from Särkisalo.
Kemiönsaari / Kimitoön
21. Kemiönsaari has many attractive visiting places.
22. Söderlångvik with its many sightseeings and events. Their apples are really delicious!
23. Taalintehdas / Dalsbruk has nice trails and routes, a nice harbor with its restaurants and cafes.
The small archipelago churches of Kimitoön are very charming. Särkisalo church is very nice, too.
Scheduled ferry services take you to the archipelago islands year-round. You can make a day trip to a very special islands:
24. Örö, a former fortress island with unique untouched nature.
25. Hiittinen and Bengtskär Lighthouse. Hiittinen / Hitis has a Viking village and Bengtskär is the tallest lighthouse in Scandinavia.
26. Högsåra island, an old maritime pilot village near Kasnäs, the ferry harbor to archipelago islands.
See more of Kimitoön here.
Villages and towns
Salo tourist brochure contains the tourist destinations of Salo area. The newest tourist brochure can also be found in our cottages. On the Visit Salo pages you will find translator and many tips what to do here. If you like outdoor activities, VisitSalo will give you some great ideas. Here you will find different activities in Salo. If you for example like picking berries, you don't need to search for berries yourself. You can visit Pohjolan tila in Kisko.
30. The Salo marketplace has free concerts every Thursday in the summer. The marketplace has been awarded several times as Finland's best market place. The shop Design Hill carries a nice collection of Finnish and Scandinavian -style brands from Marimekko and Aarikka to Finlayson & Iittala. They have more than 30 lifestyle brands in the same place. There is also handcrafted chocolate shop PetriS in Design Hill, which has won many international awards.
31. Teijo, Mathildedal and Kirjakkala are the ironwork villages of Salo. In Mathildedal, there are many activities, nice small shops with Finnish handicrafts and several cafes and shops. It is situated only 1 km from Teijo National Park.
There are small and beautiful archipelago seaside towns and villages:
32. Tammisaari / Ekenäs less than an hour (50 km) with is lovely summer market and wooden houses.
33. Hanko / Hangö one and a half hour (95 km) from Särkisalo, is a small seaside town surrounded by the sea.
34. Fiskars in Raseborg less than one hour (50 km) from Särkisalo. Fiskars offers a variety of events and activities throughout the year. It is a famous craft, design and art village.
And do not forget, it is only 95 km to Turku and 135 km to Helsinki, easy to make one day visit. On the way to Turku, in Paimio there is the beautiful Alvar Aalto's Sanatorium with guided tours. It is absolutely worth seeing!
In Naantali near Turku is located Moominworld.
Salo's local transport Paikku has been free of charge in July. Check the time tables here. From Ylöstalo's cottages it is 2 km to the nearest buss stop at the main road.
