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Korpo (Finnish: Korppoo) is one of the former municipalities in the Archipelago Sea in Finland Proper. It 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

By car

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. The last short ferry passage is from Pärnäs in Nagu to Retais in Korpo. 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.

During the summer season there are daily connections from Kustavi in the north to Iniö continuing through Houtskär to Galtby in Korpo. The road ferry from Iniö to Houtskär has a fee. See the articles for Iniö or Houtskär for details.

By bus

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. Most of the buses visit Galtby harbour to leave or pick the ferry passengers before continuing to the main village.

Almost all of the Skärgårdsbusses from Turku drive all the way to Korpoströn by request. Tell the driver if you need to get there, otherwise the terminus is next to the Korpo church.

By bike

The Archipelago Trail runs through Korpo, arriving at Retais jetty and continuing from Galtby harbour. There are no separate bikeways on this part of the trail. There is a separate bikeway between the Korpo school and the main village.

By boat

There are daily ferries from Långnäs on Åland to Galtby in Korpo. The trip takes about five hours. During the high season (June 17th - Aug 11th in 2019) you need to change the ferry in Kökar. This connection (as all the ferries operated by Ålandstrafiken) is free of charge for passengers but there is a fee for carrying any vehicles. The Ålandstrafiken's feeing system is a bit complicated and the price depends on not only the type of the vehicle but also whether you have stayed overnight in the Åland archipelago (cheap fee) or are you just trespassing (quite an expensive!).

Road ferries connect Galtby with Houtskär in the west and Norrskata in the north. These are free of charge.

By a 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. Guest marinas include the one in Korpoström and the one in Verkan.

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.

  • 1 Kyrkoby (Korpo). Parish village. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 2 Galtby ferry harbour. Ferries to Norrskata, Houtskär and Åland leave here. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 3 Korpoström. Guest marina. Skärgårdscentret. (updated Jan 2018)
  • 4 Wattkast. An island connected to the main island with a bridge. Many farms with farm-gate sales. Notable for the number of oak trees. (updated Sep 2019)
  • 5 Norrskata. Until 2008 the second largest village in Korpo. Nowadays there are hundreds of summer residents. (updated Jan 2018)

To get to the minor islands you take a ship-like ferry from Galtby or from 6 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.

A ship-like ferry M/S Baldur (ex Eivor) servs the route Pärnäs–(Berghamn)–Nötö–Aspö–Jurmo–Utö daily during the summer season (June 7th – August 31th). Day trips to Nötö, Aspö and Jurmo are then possible in Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but in Wednesdays there is no coach connection any more when the ferry arrives back to Pärnäs. The rest of the days you need to stay overnight on some of those islands. If you want to leave the vessel in Utö you always need to stay overnight, but you may take a day trip to Utö and back if you don't leave the vessel. M/S Eivor is free of charge, but it does not carry private cars. The vessel has a café.

By taxi

See

Entry to the church yard
  • 1 Archipelago Centre Korpoström, Korpoströmvägen 832 (8 km south from the main village), ☏ +358 40-139-1218, . Restaurant. Exhibitions and workshops. In the summer 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?). 
  • 2 Korpo kyrka (Korppoon kirkko), Korpovägen 1 (in the main village), ☏ +358 40-312-4442. June 1st–August 31th daily 10:00–17:00. The medieval church built in early 15th century has interesting architectonic details telling about not so peaceful history. Truly medieval looking murals and a number of medieval wooden statues. The apsidal balcony is the only one left in the Nordic countries. free. Korpo Church (Q10548145) on Wikidata 
  • 3 Korpo Hembygdsmuseum (Local History Museum), Strömmavägen 39 (800 m from the main village's market square), ☏ +358 40-741-0545. June 26th–Aug 11th: W–Su 12:00–16:00; Aug 17th–Sept 29th: Sa–Su 12:00–16:00. Historical collections from the surrounding archipelago from handicrafts to fishing gear. €4, children under 12 years free. 
  • 4 Skäri museet Verkan, Kabeluddsvägen 1 (at Verkan guest marina), ☏ +358 40-741-0545. June 26th–Aug 11th: W–Su 12:00–16:00; Aug 17th–Sep 29th: Sa–Su 12:00–16:00. A small museum with an exhibition concentrated on bootlegging! Also some fishing and bird-hunting equipments and boat engines. €4, children under 12 years free. (updated Jul 2019)
  • 5 Rumar hill. An observation tower, a weather radar display, and a nature and culture path (Q11872665) on Wikidata 
  • 6 Norrskata church, Änkistentie 540. June–July: Sa–Su 12:00–18:00. A wooden church built 1932–1934. free. 
    Aspö harbour
  • 7 Aspö (Aspö). A small and beautiful archipelago island 24 km south from Korpo main village having just 11 year-round residents. The current chapel next to the harbour is the fourth one on the island and built in 1950 after the previous one got destroyed by an autumn storm. Summer café. Nature trail. Accessible by the ferry M/S Baldur from Pärnäs. During the season a day trip is possible in Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays (no coach connection from Pärnäs at Wednesdays). (updated Jul 2019)

Do

  • 1 Åvensor quarry (Ahvensaaren louhos), Åvensor. An old limestone quarry filled with crystal clear water is a popular destination for scuba divers. The calcareous soil makes some rare plant species to grow on the island. Åvensor has daily ferry connection by M/S Falkö but there are no services for visitors on the island. free. 

Buy

  • 1 K-market Korpo Handel, Handelsmansvägen 2 (in the main village), ☏ +358 2 463-5335, . Summertime: M–F 8:30–18:00, Sa 9:00–15:00, Su closed. Grocery store with lots of local products. Delivery service. Cash withdrawals. Fuel. 
  • 2 BMA Miljö, Handelsmansvägen 6 (in the main village), ☏ +358 2 463-1033, . Summertime: Mon–Fri 9:00–19:00, Sa 9:00–18:00, Su 10:00–18:00. Tools, garden items, pet food, souvenirs. Postal service. 
  • 3 Strandboden (in Korpoström). Summertime: 9:00–19:00. Basic food, imported delicacies from Spain. 

There is a very small grocery store in Verkan as well. The market square is in the middle of main village, in front of the church and Korpo handel.

Many agricultural producers in Wattkast village have direct sale to consumers including meat, vegetables, flowers etc.

Eat and drink

There are restaurants in a few of the villages.

Sleep

Guesthouses or, mainly for longer stays, cottages. There is no official camping area on Korpo main islands but plenty of woods for wild camping. For staying overnight on the islands Jurmo or Utö, please see the corresponding articles.

In Norrskata

  • 8 Verandan, Norrskatavägen 285 (in Norrskata), ☏ +358 40-550-6677, . Cottages in Norrskata. Meals available only for those who stay overnight. The cottages do not have cooking facilities. June 20th-August 28th: €55-190, May 1st-June 19th and August 25th-September 30th: €50-170 (incl. linen, breakfast & sauna). (updated Jul 2019)

Connect

Postal code: 21710 Korpo

Go next

This city travel guide to Korpo is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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