Turku (Åbo) is the 6th biggest city in Finland and the main city in the western archipelago. Turku offers everything you could expect from a major city: shopping, night life, culture and much more. The main marina in is very conveniently located in the city center on the western shore of the Aura river. It is however quite crowded in the summer and it is a few nautical miles away from the open sea. In this first post of two on Turku marina alternatives, the Ruissalo marina is your first option when you arrive in Turku. The second article about yacht clubs in Turku offering guest berths can be found here. (Prices indicated are 2013 prices)
The Ruissalo marina
Three of the marinas are located on the island of Ruissalo, to your port (or north-west) as you sail or motor towards Turku. The first option is the Ruissalo Marina. The Ruissalo Marina is operated by the Ruissalo Spa hotel, located right by the marina. You find the marina at the bottom of a rather long and narrow bay (see map insert below, careful navigation required when you enter the bay, the channel is rather narrow and the nominal water depth is just 2.4 meters), on the west or port side as you enter. The guest births are located along the floating docks, the berths along the shores of the bay are private. Depth of the guest berths is between 2,4 and 1.5 meters.
The guest berths are marked with small blue signs “VIERAS GUEST” but the marina wishes that you call them prior to arrival so that you can be assigned a berth. Quite a few of the berths are long-term booked so finding a free spot is not necessarily obvious. The number to call is +358 2 44 540. The price per night is 25€ and includes the normal service: showers in the hotel, water and electricity. At he bottom of the bay there is a filling station (gas/diesel).
If you enter before 19:00 in the summer, marina reception is the the yellow shop/cafeteria building at the bottom of the bay just behind the filling station. The cafe also serves coffee and light snacks. If you arrive later, you register and pay in the hotel reception. To find the reception you walk around the right-hand side of the hotel looking up from the marina.
The Spa hotel is one of the finest in Turku and offers a nice spa and other facilities. You can get a great buffet breakfast in the hotel for a mere 12€ and then spend a couple of hours in the pools of the spa for 11€. Or fine dine in the hotel’s restaurant. Perfect for the grey day or when you have not seen civilization for many days.
For some on-shore, outdoor activities, there is a disc golf course (frisbee golf) on the hotel grounds and if you have your bag with you, there is an 18-hole golf course (Aura golf) just about 1.5 km away. The Turku city center is some 12 km away. If you want to visit the city center, you can take the nr 8 bus (get an up-to-date bus schedule here) or rent a bike in the hotel reception.
If you want to combine a little bit of urban luxury with peace and quiet, then the Ruissalo marina is your perfect choice!
Map of all the marinas in Turku.
Map icons courtesy of Nicolas Mollet/CC license