RIB boat, lunch and sauna: review

What it actually is

A rigid inflatable boat, the kind that goes fast and sits low. You are given a life jacket and goggles, which tells you most of what you need to know about the ride out. The boat takes you into the archipelago, lands on an island, and there is a snack lunch and a public sauna. A guide talks about the plants and the birds along the way.

Of the four sightseeing products here, this is the only one that puts you ashore. The archipelago loop, the evening cruise and the private boat all return to the quay they left from. If getting off the boat matters to you, that narrows the list to one — or to island hopping on the public and JT-Line boats, which is a different way of solving the same problem.

The meeting point, which is not Market Square

This one meets at Café Marina Bay, Kanavaranta 4, on the Katajanokka side of the canal, not on the Market Square quay with the other boats. It is a short walk, but it is a walk, and it is the single most likely way to miss this boat. I grew up in Katajanokka within sight of the ferry berths and I still tell people to put the street address into their phone the night before, not the name of the tour.

What the reviewers say

Twenty-nine reviews is not many, but they are unusually consistent about what the day gives you. Sylvia from the Netherlands put it better than any description: “The real Finnish life experience, nature and sauna combined with a beautiful RIB trip.” Jennifer from the United States: “Such a beautiful way to see this city and the surrounding islands. Great tour guide, good food.” Kim from the United States went to the thing people quietly worry about on a fast boat: “We had such a memorable day. We felt safe and in good capable hands.”

That last one is worth holding onto. A RIB is a small, fast boat and if you have not been on one you may be nervous about it. The reviews say confidence rather than thrill, which is the right note for a boat carrying visitors.

The reservations, plainly

I will say the sample size once more, because a 5.0 is the easiest number on this page to over-read. Twenty-nine people is a village, not a census. What it tells you is that nobody has had a bad day on it yet, which is genuinely good news; what it cannot tell you is how it performs on a cold, grey morning in early May with a full boat. Judge it on the description and the weather, and use the rating as a tiebreaker.

Who it is genuinely for

People who have had enough of looking at things and would like to do one. People who came to Finland partly for the sauna and would rather have it on an island than in a hotel basement — see sauna and swimming. Travellers who have already done the ninety-minute loop on a previous visit. Anyone with a free half day and reasonable balance.

Who should not book it: anyone who gets motion sick, anyone who needs a handrail and a seat with a back to it — read accessibility first — and anyone off a cruise ship with a fixed sailing time, because three and a half hours plus the walk to Kanavaranta leaves very little margin. That is the arithmetic on the cruise port page.

Frequently asked questions