Pienten Helsinki
A Hot Summer Day at Mustasaari in Helsinki
This article was first published on 1.7.2018 and updated on 3.6.2024.
If you're looking for activities and an outing destination for a summer day with children, summer Mustasaari in Seurasaarenlahti is an excellent choice! An island full of summer activities perfect for kids, sunshine and sea breeze, and delicious giant cardamom pastries!
Mustasaari is open 4.6.–11.8.2024 as follows:
Tuesday and Friday to Sunday 9 am–5 pm
Wednesday and Thursday 9 am–8 pm
The island is closed on Mondays.
The café operates in Mustasaari's main building.[/caption]
Mustasaari Activity Centre is a summer island run by the Helsinki Parish Association located in the waters of Seurasaari between Töölö and Kaskisaari. The island is open to everyone looking to spend summer days and is especially popular with families with children. The boat trip from Taivallahti adds its own charm to the island outing, as the fifteen-minute ferry journey creates the feeling that you're already venturing further away. Mustasaari also has a bridge connection from Kaskisaari, but the bridge is reserved for maintenance and emergency vehicle use only, so don't rely on maps for this.
Mustasaari is really clean, well-maintained and a pleasant experience overall. The toilet facilities are modern, the café-restaurant service and selection are excellent, there are plenty of services and activities, and an wonderful playground crowns the whole experience. For the smallest visitors, the café has step-free access from the courtyard side of the building, plenty of high chairs and functional changing facilities. There's no shortage of nap spots on the island, and for example, a walk at Hiljaisuuden niemi (Silence Peninsula) will certainly bring sleep.
The café also has a large terrace and additional space has been created outside the building under a covered area. Under the trees are table and chair groups where you can enjoy your own food or café delicacies. The café's famous giant cardamom pastries smell delicious all the way to the ferry dock. In addition to pastries, coffee and drinks, the café sells other delicacies, filled breads, smoothies and ice cream. Lunch is available during the summer season from Tuesday to Sunday.
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Mustasaari's main building.[/caption]
Mustasaari is home to summer guests including rabbits, chickens, a rooster and sheep. The rabbits and chickens live in outdoor enclosures on one side of the large courtyard, and you can see the animals from the café terrace as well.
Rabbits at Mustasaari.[/caption]
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Chickens at Mustasaari.[/caption]
Sheep roam freely on the nearby Hevossaari (Horse Island), which is connected to Mustasaari by a bridge. Hevossaari is a natural island, so navigating the paths and rocky terrain with strollers is challenging. We left our strollers at the beginning of the island and went in search of sheep. Mustasaari's sheep are very accustomed to people, and even the smallest child dared to pet the "baa-baa". On Hevossaari, however, you should remember to watch where you step, especially on the trails used by the sheep 😉.
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Bridge to Hevossaari and the sheep.[/caption]
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Mustasaari's sheep are accustomed to small visitors and enthusiastic petting.[/caption]
Mustasaari also has a sandy beach with showers and changing facilities. However, note that the swimming beach is located in a place favourable for blue-green algae, and algae is sometimes found on the island's shore. You might want to mention this to your child if you're promising swimming opportunities, to avoid bigger disappointments. Good instructions on blue-green algae situations could be found on the café's notice board. A fence had been set up right near the beach, even though there was no algae warning that day. We reasoned that the fence at least partly prevented geese from coming ashore and were grateful for it also because of the children: eating snacks on the beach proceeded peacefully when they couldn't run directly into the water from everywhere.
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Mustasaari's swimming beach.[/caption]
Mustasaari's strengths are the island's child-friendliness, excellent, functional and extremely clean facilities, beautiful archipelago scenery and urban views of Ruoholahti, Töölö and Seurasaari waters, Hiljaisuuden niemi (a bad joke with children?), beautiful nature and a well-functioning whole for traveling with children. The island also offers various summer programs. You can also organize celebrations at Mustasaari for children's birthdays and, for example, meetings.
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Mustasaari's scenery is surprising: natural peace can be found this close to central Helsinki.[/caption]
The ferry to Mustasaari runs approximately hourly, and on hot days you should be prepared for queues at least on the most popular morning departures and early afternoon return trips. Our biggest concerns were about strollers fitting on the ferry, but the worry proved unfounded: the connection vessel easily accommodated dozens of strollers and boarding from the dock to the boat was easy.
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Mustasaari's ferry and ferry dock, with a visitor boat dock for those arriving by private boat.[/caption]
Entry to the island is free, and a round-trip ferry ticket costs €8 for adults and €5 for 7-17 year-olds. Children under 7 can enter for free with a guardian. Payment methods accepted on the ferry include both card and cash.
Mustasaari Activity Centre
www.mustasaarentoimintakeskus.fi
Mustasaari is open 4.6.–11.8.2024.
You can find Mustasaari's ferry schedule here.
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Mustasaari also has shaded and peaceful places, for example for little ones to nap.[/caption]
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