The route
for the most beautiful kayaking in the Baltic Sea
The routes
The Norrhavet route starts either in Jurmo in the east or in Käringsundet in the west. We’ve marked the distances and recommended places to stay overnight on the map, so you can decide the distances you go based on your experience and the weather. If you are a group of more experienced kayakers and you have your own kayaks, just jump in and set off.
The Norrhavet route passes over potentially challenging waters in some places. If you feel even a little hesitant, we recommend that you take a guide with you for all or part of the trip.
If you use a rental kayak and paddling the whole route seems too long, you can rent one from Hamnsundet and return it there.
Maps, distances, and other facts
We recommend distances of 20–30 km/day, depending on the weather conditions, which can be difficult in northern Åland and Teili. You are an experienced kayaker, though, so you can decide on the distances you go based on your knowledge and experience. On a difficult day, you might like to take a shorter trip and return to camp in the evening for the night, or maybe you would rather spend the whole day ashore enjoying the surrounding nature.
Käringsund – Skarpnåtö: 24 km
The route between Käringsund and Skarpnåtö is a protected inland waterway at first, but it also passes over open waters. With the northwest wind, especially, you may have to tackle the kind of waves that give you something to talk about by the fireplace in the evening. The route starts through the channel to the north and runs from there to the north of Udden along the northwest shore of Eckerö. Eckerö Camping & Stugor is mid-way along the route in case you need to have a cuppa. After Udden, the route runs towards Skarpnåtö and the red rocky landscapes of Eckerö turn into a more sheltered and greener archipelago in beautiful Hammarland.
Skarpnåtö – Hamnsundet: 30 km (“outer route”)
Whatever the weather, the route between Skarpnåtö and Hamnsundet is unforgettable. In good weather, the beauty of the outer route is unprecedented as it winds through channels protected by high, wind-torn red granite cliffs and out into the open sea of Norrhavet. Norrhavet can be gentle and embracing, but depending on the weather, you also need to be prepared for the most difficult part of the route. When the north wind blows or the weather is challenging otherwise, you should choose the “inner route” that runs through the lake in the inland archipelago and beautiful Tjudö. See the description of the inner route below.
Skarpnåtö – Hamnsundet: 24 km/inner route
The inner route offers you a completely different nature experience. There, you can see part of Åland and its nature, which complements the Norrhavet route. On this route, you will have to carry your kayak a few hundred meters to and from the Tjudö träsk lake.
If you need a cuppa or some rest, you can stop at Bastö Bykrog before continuing.
The GPX file will be available after the summer.
Hamnsundet – Sandösund: 30 km
The journey passes through the archipelago and homestead of Stormskärs Maja, a character in a series of classic novels by Anni Blomqvist. After the Boxö nature reserve and the sometimes challenging Boxö open waters, the Simskäla archipelago comes into view. There are lush bays and straits between the barren islets. Here, you can stop in Strömmen, between the east and west islands of Simskälä, to visit the Anni Blomqvist museum. Also, weather conditions permitting, and your energy level, you can paddle the 8 km longer route through Väderskär and Stormskärs Maja’s island. To the south of Simskäla, you can already see the white sandy islands and bays of Sandö. If you want to shorten your day trip, you can paddle directly over the open waters of Simskäla along the coast of mainland Åland to Hamnsundet, a distance of 20 km.
The GPX file will be available after the summer.
Sandösund - Bärö 25km
An unforgettable day is ahead! You will spend almost the whole day on the open sea. The horizon is your closest friend, unless you consider the seabirds and a few islets. In nice weather, this is the calmest place you can imagine, but in harsh weather, it is something you will never forget. When planning your day’s trip here, keep in mind that you will need to take breaks and make just short daytrips from the same departure place, while waiting for better weather, in order to get across the Teili waters.
The GPX file will be available after the summer.
Bärö - Lappo 25 km
Denna etapp är en resa genom en mosaik av holmar och små skär och grund som är unik och kännetecknande Ålands östra skärgård. Rutten går vid Enklinge östra strand upp till Lill-Lappo genom Björkö norra skärgård till Lappo och Lappo gästhamn.
Då du rör dig i trakterna Bärö-Lappo-Jurmo färdas du i vikingarnas kölvatten då de här hade en led med namnet Kalandsfarled.
GPX-fil kommer under sommaren
Lappo – Jurmo 27 km
This journey passes through a mosaic of islands, islets and skerries, unique and characteristic of the eastern archipelago of Åland. The route runs along the eastern shore of Enklingen through the northern archipelago of Lill-Lappo’s Björkö towards the village of Lappo and its guest harbour.
When you are in the Bärö – Lappo – Björkö region, you paddle in the wake of the Vikings on the so-called Kalandin waterway.
The GPX file will be available after the summer.
Alternative: Norrhavet – Hamnsundet – Norrhavet – Jurmo route
This is the longest and most demanding of the routes but perhaps also the most unique of all of them. The length of the trip is 65 km, and you can paddle it in two days, although you will have to spend the night in a tent along the way. We recommend that unaccustomed kayakers hire a guide for this route.
Here, you paddle along the edge of the Archipelago Sea and the North Sea amidst islets of seals and diverse, extraordinary bird life and fishing huts. The route passes through the Boxö nature reserve and the northern archipelago of Simskäla, with its unique red granite islets, across the most open and rugged archipelago of Norrhavet. You pass Stormskärs Maja’s island, Väderskär, which in the north opens out into the North Sea.
When you reach the old fishermen’s lodges in Pattskär and Flöjskären, the islets and cliffs turn yellow and gradually become gray granite, typical of the eastern archipelago.
You can stay in an old fishing lodge in Äggörarna in the Hullberga and Jurmo archipelago. Between Hullberga and Jurmo, the route passes through a mosaic of islands, islets and skerries, typical of the eastern archipelago of Åland.
The GPX file will be available after the summer.
