Experience Southern Finland
SaariTours is a special travel agency, founded by me in 2007. I offer tailormade packages according to your wishes to groups and I also serve individuals. I DO also have readymade packages, developed during the years to guarantee experiences that you’ll not easily forget.
I will come and guide your group from Helsinki to wherever you wish to go in southern Finland.
Let me show you my home town and the neighbouring places, such as the world famous designer-, artist and artisan village Fiskars, or the spring in the midst of a forest, but still by the sea, where the Russian tzar and his Danish wife drank water (like it has been drunk for centuries), an eye-opening war museum close to Hanko, my piano concert in Hanko town hall, beautiful views from the Hanko water tower…
Do you like cycling? You can rent bicycles in Hanko, and I will take you on a tour in the town.
And most especially, I will make you lunch, tell you stories of Hanko and play on my grand piano in my own home. Min 2, max 12 people, 35,00 €/person, or max 22 people, 15 €/person for coffee and pastry in my big garden and piano music in my house.
HANKO – the southernmost town in Finland
Hanko is a peninsula, with 30 km of sand beaches and 130 km of coastline with the sea on three sides. 70 % of Finland is woods, so your views can be limited, but in Hanko, we see the horizon everywhere. No wonder, then, that we have Finland’s biggest tourist harbour, an international, yearly Regatta (sailing competition), 6 other harbours…and people, who are inspired by the open sea, it’s special light and its limitlessness.
SaariTours – Special Traveling Agency
Leena Immonen
Luotsikatu 19
10940 Hanko
Phone +358408407679
E-mail: leena.immonen@saaritours.fi
VAT number: 2083316-5
Tour operator register ID: 540/07/Mj
A lot going on in Hanko
Hanko is a famous summer resort with lots and lots of activities, sights and happenings, but the off-season period is just as inviting! There’s more room in the hotels and the restaurants, the nature is wonderful in autumn and spring. In the winter, you need cover for the cold winds, but if you are like me, who takes a dip in the sea every day (365 days a year), you get invigorating experiences that touch your senses – what could be better? Anyway, “cold” is a question of clothing.
Have a look at all the happenings on the Hanko tourist office site: https://tourism.hanko.fi/en
Guided tours in Hanko
SaariTours offers you a full repertoire of guided tours, tailored tours, tours with bicycle, special promenades with a guide dressed as a historical person, and 1-day or multiday packages with accommodation, program and transport.
As for themes for guided tours, we have a lot of war history, because Hanko lies in a strategical point and has been a war scene during hundreds of years.
Another popular theme is the emigrants. The town was established only in 1874, when Finland’s very first winter harbour was built here (here the sea doesn’t freeze here every year). At the same time, 400 000 Finns emigrated, mostly to the US, and 250 000 of them used the then new Hanko harbour to get over to Stockholm-Hull-Liverpool or Southampton-New York.
A third favourite is the historical spa. A spa was built to attract tourists to Hanko during summertime, and big villas were built to accommodate the guests. We have today about 3 km’s of big villas, all built in the 1890’s and the 1900’s – this is a totally unique sight in Finland, where only ca 5 % of buildings were built before 1942!
A visit to the water tower is for you, who wishes to enjoy great views over the whole town, the peninsula and the horizon. Hanko’s water tower was Finland’s first! The opening hours wary, but you can find out the exact times at https://tourism.hanko.fi/en