Helsinki Canal Cruise
Helsinki, Finland
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Admire Helsinki and her islands from the water on a relaxing 1.5-hour sightseeing cruise. Hop aboard a comfortable sightseeing boat, settle on deck or inside the cozy cabin, and absorb the key sights of Helsinki’s shorelines and surrounding archipelagos of beautiful islands. Cruise by top Helsinki attractions such as the mighty UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress; see Finland’s fleet of gigantic icebreaker ships; sail into the scenic Degerö Canal, and hear all about Helsinki’s eventful past from the informative onboard commentary. Free WiFi is available on-board for your comfort.
- Admire the rugged coastline that frames the city
- See top Helsinki attractions such as Helsinki Zoo and Degerö Canal
- Cruise past Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Hear about Helsinki’s rich maritime history from an onboard guide
What's Included
- Onboard commentary via loudspeakers in English, German, Finnish and Swedish
- Written information available onboard in Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Swedish and Estonian
- Free WiFi on-board
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Stromma | Helsinki Sightseeing by boat - Archipelago Cruises | Market SquareKauppatori Helsinki Market Square, 00130 Helsinki, Finland
Market Square, by the yellow flags
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Board your sightseeing boat in central Helsinki, and settle into the comfortable cabin or find a spot on the outdoor deck.
Then, sit back and admire the sights as you sail by Helsinki’s waterfronts and islands. Around 62 miles (100 kilometers) of picturesque coastline extend out from the city, as does an archipelago of around 330 islands, each offering a quiet escape from the Finnish capital’s bustle.
As you cruise, hear fascinating facts about Helsinki’s colorful history and the passing sights from the on board commentary. Watch for Korkeasaari Island, the site of Helsinki Zoo; and pass the UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress: an immense 18th-century edifice that straddles several smaller islands. Snap photos of this sturdy outpost and learn how the Swedes built it as a military defense during the Russo-Swedish War.
Sip on a drink from the onboard bar (own expense) as you sail into the Degerö Canal. Behold the beautiful scenery along this man-made waterway — constructed in the late 1800s to provide an easier passage to one of Helsinki’s inner archipelagos.
Have your camera ready as you drift by Helsinki’s fleet of icebreaker ships. These massive vessels help to keep Finland’s seaports open during winter and make an impressive sight.
After your roughly 1.5-hour cruise, arrive back at the starting dock where your trip ends.
Then, sit back and admire the sights as you sail by Helsinki’s waterfronts and islands. Around 62 miles (100 kilometers) of picturesque coastline extend out from the city, as does an archipelago of around 330 islands, each offering a quiet escape from the Finnish capital’s bustle.
As you cruise, hear fascinating facts about Helsinki’s colorful history and the passing sights from the on board commentary. Watch for Korkeasaari Island, the site of Helsinki Zoo; and pass the UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress: an immense 18th-century edifice that straddles several smaller islands. Snap photos of this sturdy outpost and learn how the Swedes built it as a military defense during the Russo-Swedish War.
Sip on a drink from the onboard bar (own expense) as you sail into the Degerö Canal. Behold the beautiful scenery along this man-made waterway — constructed in the late 1800s to provide an easier passage to one of Helsinki’s inner archipelagos.
Have your camera ready as you drift by Helsinki’s fleet of icebreaker ships. These massive vessels help to keep Finland’s seaports open during winter and make an impressive sight.
After your roughly 1.5-hour cruise, arrive back at the starting dock where your trip ends.
1
Stromma - Sightseeing By Boat
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Kauppatori
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Sea Fortress Suomenlinna (Pass By)
Santahamina (Pass By)
Hevossalmi (Pass By)
Villinki (Pass By)
Vartiosaari (Pass By)
Laajasalo (Pass By)
Kulosaari (Pass By)
Korkeasaari Zoo (Pass By)
Katajanokka (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- In case of the Degerö canal not being accessible for our boats for example due to too low water level, the City Highlights Cruise acts as an alternative route to Beautiful Canal Cruise route.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 100 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
William_C
This quiet electric boat cruise is a great way to see Stockholm from the water. 13 islands make up the center of Stockholm, and our captain Evan and guide Ian gave us a great cruise around the main islands surrounding Old Town. A beautiful ride under the bridges.
Reviews
4.2
based on 289 reviews
Ellen_S, Sep 2025
Great boat tour and very thorough. We enjoyed our time on the tour. Easy to find at the waterfront docks.
Jeff_K, Sep 2025
Nice, leisurely tour on a comfortable boat seeing sights around the harbor. I would prefer a live narrator talking about the sights over a canned audio track, but it worked fine.
Kittie_W, Aug 2025
This was such a beautiful cruise with amazing commentary the whole ride. There was plenty of seating inside and outside, along with a bathroom, bar and food for purchase. The ride was smooth the whole way, we saw so much of the islands in one cruise. It was fun having to have the top deck cleared to go under the bridges, it was so close we could reach up and touch them! But the crew made sure we were all lower and safe from hitting them. The crew also answered all of our questions and were very polite.
Ankit_K, Aug 2025
Good solo couple of hours activity! Go here when you do have spare time, quite simple tour 1.5 hours long that passes you by islands and speaks about their history; good picturesque for sure. Some beverages on board available. Good service and timing options and quite low cost.
Janae_S, Aug 2025
It was a great way to get our bearings and hear some history. It was a nice ride. It was difficult to hear though.
Lori_C, Aug 2025
Very nice cruise at a great price. Beautiful scenery with lots of information about Finland. Excellent introduction to this beautiful country!
james_l, Aug 2025
Very enjoyable experience on a 1.5hr boat ride around the islands. Interesting to see the local houses, boats, beaches, etc. Weather was beautiful. Sunny and 21C. Everyone sits on top of the boat. They do have drinks, beer and wine. And they have a water closet. The boat departs from the very active city center waterfront area which is the place you want to be anyway.
Maureen_P, Jul 2025
It is somewhat difficult to clearly hear the commentary. Nonetheless I enjoyed the views of the islands, vacation homes and the small narrow canal and its history. Thank you.
ShamalaR_R, Jul 2025
A pleasant cruise with commentaries in both English and Finnish about the sights we saw. As it was summer, 5:30 pm or later cruise, would be a great treat (I took the 5:30 pm cruise). If you're planning to take an earlier cruise during summer, it can be very hot.
Michael_R, Jul 2025
The boat trip through the Helsinki archipelago was a valuable experience. It was nice to see some of the islands from the water. However, the explanations over the loudspeaker were not always easy to understand.
Jack_W, Jul 2025
Even though quite beautiful this does get to be a bit long. The folks on board were engaging when asked but the canned audio provide most of the information.
Jan_S, Jul 2025
I wouldn't call it that canal cruise. It was a harbor cruise. A few interesting things to see, but not real earth-shattering. I had viator credits to use so it made it quite reasonable, but I would not pay $35 for this. The ship was very comfortable, with plenty of seating. They even had blankets for a few people that needed them. The day that I went was very cold and windy and I sat the entire time on the upper deck so the blankets were a welcomed addition.
george_d, Jul 2025
I was at the appointed location early. I was told the cruise would not be happening because the water levels in the canal were too low. I rebooked it for the next day. It did not rain since then.
Later, realizing that the more likely reason was that I was probably one of the few, if not the only person who had booked this, I tried to get a hold of Viator and the company to cancel it, and I’m still trying.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback.
I am sorry to hear that the water level affected your cruise. We could not drive through the canal, but took an alternative route. I hope you were also told about the possibility to come with your original voucher at an other time.
If you still have trouble in cancelling with Viator, please send us an e-mail to sales@stromma.fi
Kind regards,
Soile
Stromma Finland
Jeffrey_H, Jul 2025
More than a canal experience. Great opportunity to see the country and waterways surrounding Helsinki!
Mitch_B, Jul 2025
As others have said and I only read too late to get a refund, this is not a canal cruise. This is an Open water cruise. They justify it by saying that the water levels are too high inside the city So it has to be changed.. however, they have used this excuse many times as many of these reviews will say. Highly advise you not to do this cruise as it is super boring. I've never heard so many different Finnish words to say " there's an island to the right of us" or " there's an island to the left of us".... Oh look, we're in the middle of an archipelago, there's going to be lots of Islands.
Advice on how to spend your money better than going on this "canal" cruise:
Go get paint, paint a wall, watch it dry
Go get laundry detergent, put your laundry in the machine, watch it spin around
Sit on the dock and wait for the Sun to come up
Walk around in a small circle 1500 times
Take a 1.5 hour shower
All of these things will be more enjoyable than this excursion.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Hi,
Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear you found the alternative route we did on 4th July boring. We understand your frustration regarding the change to an open water cruise due to high water level, and we regret that this adjustment did not meet your expectations.
We are constantly working with the content of the commentaries to provide an enjoyable experience. Your feedback is valuable and we will certainly take it into consideration in our future development work.
There are not many canals in front of Helsinki. During the Beautiful Canal Cruise we drive through one of them in the eastern archipelago. Some of our guests have been dissapointed, that there is only one canal in our Beautiful Canal cruise route. We try to improve our communication in this matter. The eastern archipelago is a beautiful route with the Degerö canal as one of the highlights on the route.
We appreciate your honesty and hope that you might give us another chance in the future to provide a more enjoyable experience.
Thank you once again for your feedback.
Kind regards,
Soile
Stromma Finland
Crelissa_C, Jul 2025
Very nice. A little hard to hear the audio on the upper deck. Friendly staff. Good information and on schedule at a good price.
Margo_B, Jul 2025
Very comfortable and gorgeous view from the outside upper deck. It was sometimes hard to hear the descriptions but there was a printed guide available for backup. Really enjoyable way to see the waters around Helsinki.
Rodney_B, Jun 2025
Excellent cruise around the Archipelago. The boat has both an indoor and outdoor area so you have good protection in the event of poor weather, which my cruise did. Excellent commentary and lots of interesting sites to see so overall quite a good experience.
Fiona_R, Jun 2025
Really great cruise. Gave us free ponchos and supplied blankets as weather had gone dull.
Such a great tour, got a really good journey around the bay.
Staff lovely.
The indoor section is small so be prepared to be outside! Get a much better view if you are.
Kayla_N, Jun 2025
Great way to see the islands! Boat was clean and you can sit on top or inside. Drinks and snacks are available to purchase
William_C, Jun 2025
This quiet electric boat cruise is a great way to see Stockholm from the water. 13 islands make up the center of Stockholm, and our captain Evan and guide Ian gave us a great cruise around the main islands surrounding Old Town. A beautiful ride under the bridges.
Andi_K, Jun 2025
It’s not a canal cruise. When I think of canal I think narrow waterways with beautiful scenery on both sides. This was open water. We looked at trees and rocks. Not very exciting. Not at all what we expected.
Barbara_S, Jun 2025
Great to be out in the archipelago but the tour was disappointing as it was impossible to hear much of the commentary - so no idea what we were looking at most of the time. No safety drill nor indication of where life belts might be if needed.
Brenda_B, Jun 2025
Fantastic views. Commentary was great. Crew was very friendly. It was rainy but did not hamper the experience.
Chandley_S, Jun 2025
The tour is an audio tour without earphones. There are speakers at the front and rear, so depending on where your sit, the people talking around you and the wind/weather it was VERY difficult to hear what was being communicated. I would recommend the tour for the sights only and see the landscape but not for wanting to lear about what you are seeing!
Neil_C, May 2025
Ok but commentary too quiet and struggled to hear. Seemed more keen on plugging the food and drink below rather than the tour
Cynthia_V, May 2025
In several different languages. People kept talking whole narrator was speaking. Therefore, difficult to understand the narrator.
YOSHINOBU_T, Sep 2024
We were lucky to enjoy the tour on a sunny day in the last day of September. The view on the open deck was fascinating, but it was a bit cold. It reminds me of the cruise in Stockholm.
Paul_B, Sep 2024
I found the cruise very enjoyable. It revealed more interesting places around Helsinki that would not have been seen unless you were on the boat. The running commentary was informative and in English. Sitting outside was better for the view and the refreshing sea breeze.
tom_p, Sep 2024
Nice tour of what is going on around the harbor, and what might be worth doing. Sit in the raised area. Better view.
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