RIB-Boat Helsinki Experience I

The journey, in full

On this tour city sights are combined with the experience of riding a rigid inflatable speed boat! We meet 20 min. prior to departure at Marina Bay, Kanavaranta 4. Here you will be given your passenger equipments for the tour. On this trip we will stay in the boat for the whole trip. After a short safety briefing we leave for a cruise outside the coastline of Helsinki. Already here you see the most beautiful parts of Helsinki from its best side, the sea. The Presidential Palace, the City Town Hall, the Market Square, the Uspenski Cathedral, Allas Sea Pool are all presented at once from the sea side. As we cruise along the speed limit area you get the basic info about the city an its history from your driver and host. We pass the ferries to Sweden, the 1900 century villas of the Valkosaari yacht club and the residential area of Kaivopuisto where many of the embassies are located. We take advantage of the speed limit area and provide you with more info about the sights we pass. The first islands of Harakka, Särkkä, Uunisaari and Liuskasaari are right at our feet. Passing the Kaivopuisto Boulevard with its boat marina, yacht club and sea side cafés, we might see a few carpet washers, a true finnish summer tradition. Passing the Carousel café, we cross the small bay and stop outside the new public sauna and restaurant Löyly with its award winning design for a brief info moment. Here you will for shure see sauna bathers in swimming suits jump into the water, side-by-side with the coffee drinkers sitting on the terrace enjoying a summer day. You will also see a bit of the old Hernesaari ship yard, the home of the traditional finnish ice breaker building industry. Here is the end of the talks and the speed limit! From here we open up full throttle on our speed tour towards the Suomenlinna fortress islands and you get to feel the true nature of a rigid inflatable speed boat! The Helsinki archipelago with its 300 islands opens up just in front of you. On a nice summer day we will make a turn around the recreational island Pihlajasaari too. Passing the passage between Vallisaari and Suomenlinna we drive again slowly. We pass the historical dry dock of the old shipyard, the submarine Vesikko and the Kings Gate while you will get an over all view about the history and daily life of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. From Suomenlinna we pass in moderate speed the islands of Vasikkasaari, Koivusaari and Saunasaari. Now we see summer cottage colonies, a sauna island and the military island of Santahamina, still operating. The award winning light art installation Silo 648, an former oli silo located on one of Helsinki ́s new maritim housing areas, Kruunuvuorenranta is our next short stop. From here we cross the bay of Kruunuvuorenselkä and head for the ice breaker fleet on summer holiday. On our stop right in front of them you get to hear why Finland is a super nation in ice breaking, how the ships work and are being operated. Our last stop is the pop-up sauna Sompasauna, run by city activists. This unofficial non-dress- code sauna is open to anybody for free until the new housing area of Kalasatama will reach the area in the next few years. But beware, naked human alert! On our transfer back to the departure port we pass the picturesque old fishermens islands of Katajanokanluoto and Ryssänsaari.