Summer is approaching, and once again there are many great destinations for anyone interested in steamboats. Below, I’ve listed a selection of steamboat destinations that I can personally recommend. It’s also worth noting right away that the list is not in any particular order. Prefer watching instead of reading? Check out the video below.
Steamboat Regattas on Finland’s Waterways
This year, the largest steamboat regatta, the Saimaa Regatta, will be held in Joensuu on 11 July. Some of the vessels will already arrive at Jokiasema on Friday, 10 July, but the main day of the event is Saturday, 11 July, when the vessels will dock at Joensuu Passenger Port. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the vessels during the open ship hours. Typically, this takes place for about a couple of hours after the steamboats have docked, although the exact schedule has not yet been confirmed.
Here’s a Hurma video to give you a glimpse of last year’s regatta:
The Päijänne event will be held in Sysmä on 18 July, the Näsijärvi event in Murole sometime in August, and this year’s sea regatta will take place in Turku on 15–16 August. For more detailed schedules, it’s best to follow the Finnish Steam Yacht Association on social media (Instagram, Facebook) and on their website.
The Stunning Island of Ärjänsaari and s/s Kouta
Have you visited Ärjä yet? If not, this is the year to do it. In my opinion, Ärjä is one of the finest destinations you can reach by steamboat. The steamboat Kouta (1920/21) operates cruises from 1 July to 1 August, Wednesday through Saturday. On a day cruise to Ärjä, you’ll have about two and a half hours on the island—just the right amount of time to explore or simply relax on the sandy beach and go for a swim. You can find more information about cruises to Ärjänsaari on the shipping company’s website.
In addition to cruises to Ärjänsaari, Kouta’s programme also includes evening cruises on the Kajaaninjoki River and Lake Oulujärvi. As a special highlight this year, Kouta will cruise around the entire lake during the week after Midsummer together with the Vaara Collective. The programme will feature theatre performances both in ports and out on the waters of Oulujärvi. If you haven’t visited Lake Oulujärvi before, this is an excellent opportunity to do so.
can find more information about the steamboat Kouta and its cruises on the company’s website.. Here’s my footage of Kouta from summer 2025:
The Heinävesi Route aboard s/s Heinävesi
The service along the beautiful Heinävesi canal route, which resumed last year, will continue this year to the delight of all steamboat enthusiasts. The steamboat Heinävesi (1906) operates on Tuesdays from Kuopio to Savonlinna and on Thursdays from Savonlinna to Kuopio. You can travel the full route or choose shorter sections of the journey. In addition, local cruises are available in both Kuopio and Savonlinna.
Restoring Heinävesi to operating condition was already a cultural achievement in itself, and placing it on the four-canal route of Heinävesi brought proper scheduled steamboat service back to Lake Saimaa. So if you’re planning to experience a steamboat on Saimaa this year, Heinävesi is an excellent choice – the route is one of the most beautiful in Finland, and the vessel itself has been continuously improved.
More information can be found on the shipping company’s website.
Poet’s Way and s/s Tarjanne
The steamboat Tarjanne (1908), which has operated the longest continuously on the same route in Finland, will once again run its scheduled service this year between Tampere and Virrat. This year’s season runs from 3 June to mid-August (3 June–15 August). On Wednesdays and Fridays, the journey runs from Tampere to Virrat via Ruovesi, and on Thursdays and Saturdays from Virrat to Tampere. The trip can easily be done as a day excursion by combining it with a coach connection by Manninen (Tampere–Ruovesi–Tampere, Tampere–Virrat–Tampere or Ruovesi–Virrat–Ruovesi). You can find the schedules for the route service here.
Since the 2023 season, Tarjanne’s steam boiler has once again been fired with wood, making a visit to the engine room well worthwhile—as is dining in Tarjanne’s upper-deck restaurant, which is said to have been designed with contributions from Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The restaurant had to be completely rebuilt during the First World War, when Tarjanne became part of the Russian Satakunta fleet. You can find more information about Tarjanne’s history here.
You can make reservations and find more information on the shipping company’s website. Below is one of my Tarjanne videos:
The steamboat Suomi in Jyväskylä
In Central Finland, commercial steamboat traffic mainly centres on the Suomi’s lunch and dinner cruises on Lake Jyväsjärvi and the northern part of Lake Päijänne. Suomi operates from Tuesday to Saturday between 2 June and 29 August, so there are plenty of opportunities to hop on board during the summer. As the service itself is quite traditional and hasn’t seen major changes in a while, the biggest point of interest each year is who will be running the engine room!
More information about Suomi’s cruises is available on the Päijänne-Risteilyt Hilden website. Below is a video from a Suomi dinner cruise in summer 2025:
Bubbling under:
Looking ahead to next year (2027), a significant development may be on the horizon if the steamboat Leppävirta (1904) is successfully restored and begins operating cruises as planned between Imatra and Lappeenranta. This would mark an important new opening for traffic on southern Lake Saimaa. With Ollis and Ari – familiar from s/s Kouta – behind the project, the idea of launching regular service with the vessel feels entirely realistic, even though a tremendous amount of restoration work still remains. You can support the restoration of the vessel by purchasing cruise tickets in advance on the new company’s website.
Here are a few of my tips for summer 2026 – hope to see you on a steamboat!