Helsinki ferries are attracting more passengers as residents and visitors increasingly use the city’s maritime routes not only for transport, but also for picnics, island saunas and short leisure cruises. Nearly one million journeys were recorded on the public ferry to Suomenlinna during the first half of 2026, while other routes across the Finnish capital’s archipelago also reported growth.
The ferries operated by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL, Helsingin seudun liikenne) carried approximately 998,000 passengers to Suomenlinna between January and June. This was 62,000 more journeys than during the same period in 2025, according to figures reported by Yle.
The increase reflects the continuing popularity of the UNESCO-listed sea fortress, but it also illustrates how maritime travel is becoming part of everyday life and recreation in Helsinki.
Helsinki ferries combine public transport and sightseeing
The Suomenlinna ferry is formally part of the city’s public transport network. Passengers can travel from the Market Square (Kauppatori) using the same tickets accepted on Helsinki’s buses, trams and metro.
The route serves tourists as well as the people who live and work on Suomenlinna, an inhabited group of islands located a short distance from the city centre.
Henrik Kiiskinen, a public transport planner at HSL, told Yle that passenger numbers are strongly affected by both the number of tourists visiting Helsinki and the weather. Periods of warm and dry weather generally encourage more people to make the crossing.
The latest increase follows an already busy summer in 2025. Between June and August of that year, more than 1.1 million journeys were made on HSL’s routes to Suomenlinna and Kruunuvuorenranta. In July alone, the Suomenlinna ferry carried more than 400,000 passengers, according to figures published by HSL.
Passenger satisfaction has also remained high. In HSL’s 2025 survey, 98% of respondents gave the Suomenlinna ferry operator one of the two highest available ratings, while 94% said the ferries operated punctually.
The new bridge has increased interest in the ferry
Passenger numbers have also risen on the ferry connecting Kruunuvuorenranta, in the Laajasalo district, with the city centre.
Almost 102,000 journeys were recorded on the route during the first six months of 2026, nearly 15,000 more than one year earlier. The increase continued after the opening of Kruunuvuori Bridge (Kruunuvuorensilta) in April.
The bridge, the longest in Finland, opened to pedestrians and cyclists on 18 April 2026, creating a direct route between Laajasalo, Korkeasaari and central Helsinki. Around 50,000 people visited the Crown Bridges during the opening weekend, according to the City of Helsinki.
Rather than replacing the ferry, the new connection appears to have increased its recreational use. Some passengers cross the bridge on foot or by bicycle and then return to the city centre by boat.
The ferry carried a record 2,800 passengers on May Day, according to HSL public transport planning manager Aleksi Manninen, quoted by the local newspaper Helsingin Uutiset.
The service currently provides a roughly 20-minute maritime connection between Laajasalo and the centre. Its long-term role may change when passenger services begin on the Crown Bridges light rail network, which is scheduled to connect the district with the rest of Helsinki by early 2027 at the latest. The project is currently ahead of its original construction schedule, the City of Helsinki said in March.
Island saunas draw passengers into the archipelago
Commercial waterbus operators have also reported higher demand, particularly on routes serving Helsinki’s eastern archipelago.
Roni Huttunen, managing director of FRS Finland, told Yle that trips to island saunas have been growing in popularity for several years. New public saunas have opened on Malkasaari and Kotiluoto, alongside existing destinations such as Neitsytluoto and the particularly popular sauna on Lonna.
The islands can be reached on waterbus services departing from locations including Meritullintori and Kalasatama. The FRS Finland eastern archipelago route links the city with Laajasalo, Vartiosaari, Kotiluoto, Malkasaari and several smaller islands.
According to Huttunen, maritime routes often need time to become familiar to residents. Once people discover a destination, they may return for another journey or recommend it to others.
He also identified Kaunissaari, an island located off the coast of the neighbouring municipality of Sipoo, as a destination that remains less widely known despite already attracting regular visitors.
Maritime mobility is becoming part of Helsinki life
The increase in ferry journeys highlights how Helsinki’s relationship with the Baltic Sea extends beyond conventional tourism. Boats serve permanent island communities and growing residential districts, while also providing access to recreation, nature and public saunas.
New bridges and future tram connections may alter how residents move between the city centre and the eastern districts. The early figures from Kruunuvuorenranta, however, suggest that improved land connections do not necessarily reduce maritime travel.
Instead, Helsinki’s expanding transport network may encourage journeys that combine walking, cycling and ferry travel. For many passengers, the boat is no longer simply a way to reach an island. It has become part of the destination itself.
