The new Nagu/Nauvo Marina.
Seeing that I have spent about 50 years in, on and around the waters of Nagu, I guess I just have to start the services presentation with the Nagu Marina, my “home” marina of you so will.
Nagu (or Nauvo as it is called in Finnish) is an island about 20 nm south of the city of Turku on the south-west side of Finland, in the Archipelago sea. And the Nagu Marina is one of the most popular and also one of the best marinas in all of Finland, and in my view for a number of good reasons.
I can still remember when as a kid I used come along when my parents took our motor boat and came to Nagu village to do our shopping. This was sometime in the 60’s. There was one, rather short, jetty in the harbour (called “ångbåtsbryggan”, “the steamboat jetty” in English) and not much more. Next to the jetty there was a shop where you could buy some food and pretty much everything else you might need in those days: nails, fishing nets, you name it. A very typical shop for any rural area in Finland in those days. There was also a couple of other small shops and a post office and that was about it.
The old Nagu harbor sometime in the late 50’s or early 60’s.
Over the last 20 years, the harbor has undergone a huge change. The single jetty has been transformed into a modern marina in the sheltered bay to the north-east of the Nagu village center. In 2020 the marina underwent a major renovation with a new jetty, a new harbor master office and upgraded services. So now the best of the best is even better! The old shop now houses one of the best restaurants in the archipelago, the L’Escale. And the shore is littered with small shops for clothes and stuff. Across to main road passing through Nagu there are two grocery stores with a reasonable selection. In the summer you can also find an open air food market.
Nagu is not the go-to destination of choice if you want peace and quiet. Instead this is the place to be if you want a great selection of services and an hustle and bustle of international proportions on the shores. Having said that, Nagu has done a great job in still keeping a nicely traditional feeling about it; you are in Finland and in the archipelago and not in a copy of some other place!
The fact that the Marina is very good means that it is also immensely popular. During high season, the 120 births are not enough but normally the marina can fit everyone who wants to visit. This is one of the best aspects of the marina: when the marina is getting full, you will be met by the very friendly personnel on a rubber dingy and he or she will be very happy to show you where one more boat can still fit in. And the friendly service continues even after yo have paid the very reasonable harbor fee.
Special favorite: Make sure you buy fresh fish as Börje’s Fisk, it’s right down by the harbor and has some really nice smoked (and when available) fresh fish on sale! Also get special archipelago bread, tomatoes and potatoes when you drop in.
Get all the other info you need on the Nagu Marina home page: Click here!
For information on Nagu, check one of the Nagu homepages: For tourism, click here and for the official village page (part of the city of Pargas) click here!
Location:
Map icons courtesy of Nicolas Mollet/CC license