Iniö and the Turku archipelago ring road
Iniö is a cluster of islands at the north-west corner of the Archipelago Sea with about 250 people on it, and the reason it is worth understanding is that here the ferries are not a transport service you buy – they are the road. Finferries, the state ferry company, puts it flatly: its services are free to use, and the only exception in the whole network is the summer Houtskär–Iniö crossing. So the year-round link, the 5.7 km road ferry from Kannvik on Jumo to Heponiemi in Kustavi, costs nothing, takes no booking and runs eight times a day in winter like a stretch of numbered highway that happens to float. The same is true of the two little ferries inside Iniö, Skagen and Keistiö, which sail when somebody turns up. What closes the loop of the Archipelago Ring Road – Saariston rengastie, 250 km from Turku through Pargas, Nagu, Korpo and Houtskär to Iniö, Kustavi and back – is the one paid crossing, Mossala to Dalen on the 1962 ferry Replot 2, and in 2026 it ran only from 8 May to 13 September, €10 an adult, and since 2025 it has to be booked online. On 14 September the Finferries timetable page for the route simply reads that the Archipelago Trail is closed. From then until May the only way south from Iniö is the yhteysalus, the subsidised connection ships Kivimo and Finnö, which are free but on which every single trip must be ordered in advance, usually by 16:00 or 17:00 the day before – and which reach Houtskär's Näsby from Norrby once a week. Buses get you as far as the road goes: line 125 to the Heponiemi quay, lines 901–904 to Mossala, both on the regional Seutu+ distance tariff. On Iniö itself there is no bus at all. There is one taxi, a bike hire in Norrby, and 7 km of paved road between the village and the ferry.
- Researched
- 22 September 2026
- Reviewed
- not yet
- Ways of moving
- 9, 30 sources
- Not confirmed
- 6
- Fares seen
- 2025–2026
9 ways of moving, each with its rule
We confirmed eight ways of moving to, from or around Iniö: four by water, two by road, one under your own steam and one hired or on demand, from 30 sources. One entry is not a service at all but a rule that decides whether travel happens: a permit, a closure, a border, a season or an authority's say-so. Two need a phone call or a message before you turn up.
The fares were seen in 2025 to 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. We rate 8 of the 9 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 22 September 2026, and ends with six things we could not confirm.
By water
Iniö–Kustavi road ferry (m/s Sterna)
Kannvik on Jumo island, Iniö, to Heponiemi in Kustavi – 5,700 m
Kannvik quay is at the north end of the Iniö road, 7 km from Norrby village, with Café Alppila beside it; Heponiemi on the Kustavi side has no services beyond dry toilets. You do not queue at a ticket office and there is nobody to pay: drive to the end of the line, wait, and drive on when the crew waves you forward. Note the vessel has changed – Wikivoyage and older guides name m/s Aura, but Finferries has run the 63 m, 66-car m/s Sterna on this crossing since 2025. Vehicles should be ready to load 10 minutes before departure, and the right-hand lane at the quay is a priority lane for holders of a permit from the regional Elinvoimakeskus (the body that replaced the ELY centre from 2026) – ambulances, taxis, buses, mopeds and permit holders board first. Live disruptions are posted on the Finferries traffic news page and the free Finferries app; the ferry also appears in the Digitraffic AIS open data feed at meri.digitraffic.fi/api/ais/v1/locations.
- When
- Winter timetable (1 Jan–7 May and 14 Sep–31 Dec 2026): Mon–Fri 8 departures from Kannvik, 06:30 07:30 09:30 11:00 14:45 15:55 18:00 and 20:30 (Mon, Wed, Fri only); Sat 5 from 07:30 to 18:00; Sun 5 from 11:00 to 19:15. The Tuesday and Thursday 09:30 is reserved for dangerous goods. More sailings in the summer timetable, 8 May–13 Sep
- Takes
- 25–30 minutes
- Fare 2026
- Free, for everyone and every vehicle (2026)
SeasonYear-round, including winter. Sailings can be cut or stopped in ice and heavy weather. BookingNone possible and none needed – Finferries states you cannot book a place on the road ferries or cable ferries. Run byFinferries (Suomen Lauttaliikenne Oy) for the Economic Development Centre of Southwest Finland; ferry phone 020 7118 706.
Archipelago Ring Road ferry, Houtskär–Iniö (m/s Replot 2)
Mossala quay on Houtskär to Dalen on Iniö
This is the one crossing in the whole Finferries network that charges, and it is the link that turns the Archipelago Trail from a dead end into a loop. Mossala is 17 km beyond Näsby, the main Houtskär village, behind two short free cable ferries at Kivimo and Mossala; Dalen on the Iniö side is 3 km from Norrby and has no services. The vessel is Replot 2, built in Vaasa in 1962, about 27 cars, and it looks like an ordinary road ferry, which is exactly why people turn up expecting it to be free. Since 2025 you book and pay at booking.finferries.fi before you travel – register an account first, and note that bookings open only two weeks ahead. Turn-up-and-hope still sometimes works if there is deck space, but on a July weekend it will not. If the coach times do not match, a taxi from Näsby to Mossala was around €30–40 as of the last published estimate.
- When
- Four to five round trips a day in season. From Mossala in 2026: 09:15, 12:15 (11:45 on Sundays), 14:15, 16:15, plus 18:45 in July only; crossing arrives Dalen 55 minutes later
- Takes
- About 55 minutes, Mossala 09:15 to Dalen 10:10
- Fare 2026
- Adult €10, child €5 (a booking for two adults and one child priced at €25). Vehicle fares are charged on top: last published figures were car €40, motorcycle or moped €25, bicycle €12, caravan €70–75, all including the people in the vehicle (2022)
SeasonSummer only. In 2026 the route ran 8 May to 13 September; on 14 September the timetable page was replaced with a closure notice. The 2025 season was 9 May to 14 September. BookingRequired. Book and pay at booking.finferries.fi, at most two weeks before departure; vehicles ready to load 10 minutes before. Run byFinferries; ferry phone 020 7118 707, booking support +358 207 118 751 weekdays 09:00–11:00 and 11:30–15:00.
Yhteysalus connection ships, m/s Kivimo and m/s Finnö
Iniö additional route (Kivimo): Kannvik and Norrby out to Åselholm, Kolko, Perkala, Kvarnholm, Nåtö, Själö and on to Torsholma in Brändö, Åland. Houtskär route (Finnö): Näsby and Roslax on Houtskär out to a dozen small islands, to Norrby on Iniö, and to Torsholma
These are the state-subsidised lifeline ships for the small inhabited islands, and they are the reason Iniö has any link at all to Houtskär and to Åland between September and May. They are free, but the timetables are covered in footnotes and almost every sailing is a beställningstur, an order-only run: the printed winter tables say in three languages that all trips must be booked in advance. For Kivimo, order the day before by 16:00, or by 14:00 on Saturday for a Sunday run, and some evening runs by 11:00 the same day; for Finnö, by 17:00 the day before, or by 12:00 the same day for departures after 16:00, with Saturday bookings taken 09:00–15:00 only. Bookings go through booking.finferries.fi, at most two weeks ahead, and a few Perkala runs are subcontracted to Björklunds Båtslip on +358 2 463 5343. Kivimo takes 99 passengers, 25 t and 8 cars; Finnö takes 50 passengers, 5.5 t and 2 cars, so do not assume your car fits. Ring the vessel if anything is unclear – Kivimo 020 7118 794, Finnö 020 7118 793.
- When
- Kivimo runs daily in the winter timetable, several circuits a day out of Kannvik and Norrby. Finnö reaches Norrby on Iniö once a week in the 2026–27 winter timetable, Tuesdays, Näsby 08:10 to Norrby 10:30 and back from Norrby at 12:30; it serves Torsholma in Åland on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays
- Takes
- Kannvik to Själö about 1h 35m; Näsby to Norrby about 2h 20m; the full Kivimo circuit takes several hours
- Fare 2026
- Free (2026)
SeasonYear-round, on separate summer and winter timetables. The current winter tables run 19 Aug 2026 – 30 Apr 2027. No traffic at all on Christmas Day, and reduced or no service on several other holidays. BookingCompulsory on almost every sailing. Register at booking.finferries.fi; deadlines as above. The captain approves or rejects each request. Run byFinferries for the Economic Development Centre of Southwest Finland; booking support +358 207 118 751.
The free ferries inside Iniö: Skagen and Keistiö
Skagen: Iniölandet to Jumo, on the road between Norrby and the Kannvik quay. Keistiö: Dalen to Keistiö island, 1,600 m
Skagen is a cable ferry on the main island road and carries no timetable at all – it runs when needed, 06:00 to 23:00 Mon–Fri, 07:00 to 23:00 Saturday, 08:30 to 22:00 Sunday, with four crew breaks of twenty minutes during the day. It is deliberately timed against the big ferry: it leaves Skagen 15 and 30 minutes before Sterna leaves Kannvik, so if you are driving from Norrby to catch the Kustavi ferry, work backwards from that. The Keistiö ferry from Dalen is a 10-car vessel on a 1,600 m crossing, and unlike Skagen most of its sailings must be ordered – the early 05:50 and 06:50 runs the previous day before 22:00, the majority of the rest at least 30 minutes before departure, on the ferry's own line. A handful of midday runs are driven without an order between 15 June and 30 July. Both are free. On both, pedestrians and cyclists board and leave after the motor vehicles.
- When
- Skagen: on demand through the day. Keistiö: 17 departures from Keistiö and 17 from Dalen on a weekday, roughly 05:50 to 22:30, most order-only
- Takes
- A few minutes at Skagen; about 10 minutes Dalen to Keistiö
- Fare 2026
- Free (2026)
SeasonYear-round. BookingSkagen: none. Keistiö: most runs must be ordered, the day before by 22:00 for the earliest two, otherwise 30 minutes ahead. Run byFinferries. Keistiö ferry 020 7118 743.
Rules, permits and closures
The ring road only closes for four months, and what is left in winter
Saariston rengastie / Skärgårdens ringväg: Turku – Pargas – Nagu – Korpo – Houtskär – Iniö – Kustavi – Taivassalo – Naantali – Turku, 250 km
The trail opened in 1996 and turned 30 in 2026. Two of its links are seasonal: Houtskär–Iniö in the north-west and the Nagu–Själö–Rymättylä shortcut in the middle. In 2026 both ran 8 May to 13 September, and outside those dates the circuit cannot be completed by car at all – you go out and come back the same way, or you cross to Iniö on a connection ship that may not take your vehicle. Everything else on the route is free, unbookable and runs all year: Pargas–Nagu, Nagu–Korpo, Korpo–Houtskär, Iniö–Kustavi, and the little cable ferries. The recommended time for the full loop is three to five days; by bicycle people take about a week. Avoid driving out from Pargas on a Friday afternoon and back on a Sunday afternoon, when the Pargas–Nagu queue can run to a couple of hours. In hard winters the small links stop and islanders improvise – Wikivoyage records hovercraft and ice roads substituting, and a February 2026 Yle headline reported hovercraft taking over on some Åboland routes during extreme weather while no official ice road was laid on the Archipelago Sea that winter either. Treat any ice crossing you see locals making as unofficial and at their own risk.
- When
- Complete circuit possible 8 May – 13 September 2026; partial all year
- Takes
- 250 km, three to five days recommended; 120 km via the Rymättylä shortcut
- Fare 2026
- No road toll; the only charge on the whole loop is the Houtskär–Iniö ferry
SeasonFull loop May to September; the archipelago itself is open all year. BookingOnly the Houtskär–Iniö leg needs booking. Everything else is turn up and wait. Run byRoute promoted by Visit Parainen / Pargas tourist information, +358 400 117 123; ferries by Finferries.
By road
Bus 125 from Turku to the Heponiemi ferry quay
Turku bus station platform 7 – Raisio – Mietoinen – Taivassalo – Kustavi – Heponiemi (Kustavi)
This is the year-round way to reach Iniö without a car. Take line 125 from Turku bus station to Heponiemi, walk onto the free Sterna, and you are on Iniö at Kannvik – from where it is 7 km to Norrby with no bus and one taxi. Only one run a day actually goes all the way to the quay on weekdays: 14:15 from Turku, Heponiemi 16:20, and the same bus turns straight round at 16:20 and is back in Turku at 17:40. Saturday has one at 10:20 reaching Heponiemi 11:35; Sunday one at 15:00 reaching 16:20. Other runs terminate in Kustavi village, 10 km short. Operated by Taivassalon Auto; since 1 June 2026 tickets and timetables moved to the regional Seutu+ system and the student discount was dropped. Buy on board with cash or card. Bicycles are carried at the driver's discretion for a €5 freight charge and space is not guaranteed.
- When
- Mon–Fri three runs towards Kustavi, of which one reaches Heponiemi; one on Saturday, one on Sunday. Three return runs on weekdays
- Takes
- About 2h 05m Turku to Heponiemi
- Fare 2026
- Seutu+ single, priced by distance: €14.60 up to 80 km, €16.20 up to 90 km. Under-4s free, ages 4–11 half price, pensioners 50 per cent off on journeys over 50 km. Wikivoyage put the Turku–Heponiemi fare at about €14 in 2022 (2026 tariff)
SeasonYear-round; school-term and holiday variations, check whether a run is marked koulupäivinä (schooldays). BookingNone, pay the driver. Run byTaivassalon Auto Oy, +358 2 438 9001, under the Seutu+ regional tariff.
Coach 901–904 to Mossala, with a ferry crossing in the middle of the ticket
Turku bus station platform 3 – Pargas – Nagu – Pärnäs – Galtby (Korpo) – ferry – Kittuis (Houtskär) – Näsby – Mossala
One Seutu+ ticket buys a chain you cannot unbundle: a coach to the Galtby quay, a half-hour ferry crossing you often make on foot while the coach stays behind, and a second coach waiting at Kittuis on the Houtskär side. Most services to Mossala start from the Kittuis quay with the departure quoted as a Galtby time, so read the timetable carefully – you are being told when the ferry leaves, not when a bus does. From Mossala the Ring Road ferry takes you to Dalen on Iniö. These are the green-and-white Skärgårdsbuss coaches from platform 3, not the yellow Föli city buses. Timings vary a lot between seasons and there have been complaints for years that the coach and the Iniö ferry do not always connect; check both before committing. In autumn 2026 arrivals at Mossala were 07:30, 12:50, 16:10 and 20:05 on weekdays, with departures from Mossala at 06:25 and 14:10.
- When
- Six to eight coaches a day as far as Nagu and Korpo, one to three a day to Näsby, one or two a day through to Mossala
- Takes
- Turku to Näsby about 3h 15m, Turku to Mossala about 3h 55m
- Fare 2026
- Seutu+ distance tariff; over 100 km costs more than the €17.50 charged at the 100 km band. Wikivoyage put Turku–Mossala at about €20 in 2022 (2026 tariff)
SeasonYear-round, with different summer, school-term and holiday timetables. Reaching Iniö this way only works while the Mossala–Dalen ferry is running, 8 May to 13 September in 2026. BookingNone. A single ticket has no right of transfer between lines, so buy the whole journey when you board. Run byLS-Liikennelinjat / TLO, Skärgårdsbuss livery, +358 100 8840.
On foot, by bike, or otherwise
Cycling the ring road, and hiring a bike on Iniö
Turku to Iniö and back, 250 km of the Archipelago Trail; on Iniö, the paved Dalen–Norrby–Kannvik road plus gravel side roads
The bicycle is the standard way to do this route and the route is built for it: signposted with its own symbol, cycleway all the way from Turku through Pargas, and free ferries that all take bikes with no booking. Only the Houtskär–Iniö crossing charges a bike fare. The classic local trick is to let the batch of cars released by each ferry pass before you set off. Bikes go on the coaches at the driver's discretion for €5, so you can skip a leg. On Iniö itself, Saaristokodit at Villa Högbo in Norrby (Kunnantalonmäki 17, +358 44 055 2253, visitinio.fi) hires 16-speed fatbikes from €20 for two hours and a basic single-speed town bike with a basket and optional child seat from €10 for two hours; day hire runs 15:00 to 15:00 and a helmet is included. Several guesthouses also lend bikes – ask where you are staying. Bring a pump and a chain tool; there is no bike shop on the islands.
- When
- Hire open all year, 08:00–22:00
- Takes
- Most riders take five to seven days for the full 250 km loop; Iniö end to end is about 10 km
- Fare 2026
- Fatbike from €20 per 2 hours, basic bike from €10 per 2 hours; €5 to put a bike on a coach; €12 for a bike on the Houtskär–Iniö ferry in 2022 (2026)
SeasonRoute ridable in full May to September; hire listed as open all year round. BookingBook bikes online at visitinio.fi or by phone; no booking for bikes on the free ferries. Run byVisit Iniö – Saaristokodit Oy, saaristo.kodit@gmail.com.
Hired, booked and on demand
The Iniö taxi, and taxis along the trail
Within Iniö – principally Dalen or Kannvik quay to Norrby village – and Näsby to Mossala on Houtskär
There is no public transport of any kind on Iniö. From the Dalen quay it is a pleasant 3 km walk to Norrby, but from Norrby to the Kannvik quay is 7 km, which is a different proposition with luggage. One taxi serves the island, Lola's Service, +358 50 566 2832, also reachable at lolas.service@hotmail.com; it is the same operation that runs the weekday lunch place in the village. Book it, do not expect to find it waiting. Along the rest of the trail taxis exist but are few and usually have to drive some distance to fetch you, and round-the-clock service is no longer guaranteed; budget about €30–35 for a 10 km trip and ask for an estimate when you book. The most common use is the Näsby to Mossala hop when the coach and the Iniö ferry do not line up, roughly €30–40. In the outer islands, taxi boats rather than road taxis are the equivalent, and those are commercial – unlike the connection ships, you pay.
- When
- On call
- Takes
- Norrby to Kannvik about 10 minutes; Näsby to Mossala about 20 minutes
- Fare 2025
- About €30–35 for 10 km; Näsby–Mossala about €30–40 (2026 estimate from Wikivoyage, last revised for the 2020s)
SeasonYear-round, but thin out of season. BookingPhone ahead. Ask for a price at the time of booking. Run byLola's Service, Iniö; independent operators elsewhere on the trail.
What we could not find out
6 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.
- 01
Vehicle fares on the Houtskär–Iniö ring road ferry could not be confirmed for 2026. The Finferries booking API returns only the passenger price (€10 adult, €5 child); vehicle charges are applied later in the checkout, which needs a registered account. The figures quoted (car €40, motorcycle €25, bicycle €12, caravan €70–75) are the 2022 published fares from Wikivoyage and may have risen. Ring booking support on +358 207 118 751 to confirm.
- 02
Exact Seutu+ fares for Turku–Heponiemi and Turku–Mossala are not published as point-to-point prices, only as a distance table that stops at 100 km. Turku–Mossala is over 100 km and its band is unknown.
- 03
The winter substitutes for suspended ferries – hovercraft and ice roads – are the weakest part of this file. A February 2026 Yle headline seen in a Google News feed said hovercraft take over on some Turku-archipelago routes in extreme weather, and a separate Yle headline the same week said no official ice road would be built on the Archipelago Sea that winter or perhaps ever again; neither article could be opened (yle.fi search is client-rendered and the Google News redirect could not be resolved). Whether any hovercraft serves Iniö specifically, who operates it and what it costs is unconfirmed. Ask Pargas tourist information, +358 400 117 123.
- 04
The 2026 summer timetable for Iniö–Kustavi is no longer on the Finferries site; only the winter table (valid 14 Sep–31 Dec 2026) could be read. Summer frequency is higher than the eight weekday sailings listed here.
- 05
Wikivoyage names the Iniö–Kustavi ferry as m/s Aura and the Houtskär–Iniö ferry as m/s Antonia. Both are out of date: Finferries now lists m/s Sterna and m/s Replot 2 respectively. Wikivoyage also does not mention that the Houtskär–Iniö crossing has required advance booking since 2025.
- 06
Ålandstrafiken connections from Iniö and Kustavi to Brändö were not checked directly; the Torsholma calls listed here come from the Finferries Kivimo and Finnö winter timetables.
What the planner can route today
The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Iniö is this.
- Y
- Scheduled flightsTurku (TKU), 50 km
- Y
- Trains and coachesTransitous carries 5 timetable feeds for this country, 4 with real-time
- Y
- FerriesNorrby (Iniö), 0 km; sailings estimated
- Y
- Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
- N
- Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
- N
- Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere
Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.