- Population
- 2,431
- 2.4K
- Elevation
- 68 m
- above sea level
- Local time
- UTC+02:00
- Europe/Helsinki · UTC+02:00
- Places inside
- 1
- listed under Sulkava
- Airports
- SVL Savonlinna Airport37 km
- LPP Lappeenranta Airport74 km
About Sulkava
Sulkava is a municipality. Location: Savonlinna, South Savo. Population: 2,431. Elevation: 68 m.
Sulkava is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Savo region. The municipality has a population of 2,310 (31 December 2025) and covers an area of 769.20 square kilometres (296.99 sq mi) of which 184.52 km2 (71.24 sq mi) is water. The population density is 3.95 inhabitants per square kilometre (10.2/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Juva, Puumala, Rantasalmi, Ruokolahti and Savonlinna. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Travel notes for Sulkava
From Wikivoyage
Sulkava is a town and municipality in the South Savonia region of Finland, surrounded by Lake Saimaa and divided in two parts by Lake Saimaa's main watercourse, between the main Saimaa basin and Pihjalavesi. Like much of South Savonia, Sulkava is a summer cottage region: the municipality is said to double its population during the holiday season.
In the 18th century the international border between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire divided the parish in two. The parts are connected by the spectacular Vekaransalmi Bridge, completed in 2019.
Like most of the Finnish Lakeland, Sulkava is surrounded by Lake Saimaa, which is very scenic and clean. Boating is very popular, and boats are available for rent.
Sulkava is most known for hosting Finland's greatest rowing event, the annual Sulkava Rowing Race (Sulkavan Suursoudut), held in July with thousands of rowers. The main class in the race is the "church boat", now standardised to 14 rowers plus helmsman, formerly used to get to the church services.
Understand+
Sulkava is a small rural town, with some 2,400 inhabitants in 2022. The centre hosts two supermarkets, a marina, some restaurants and even an EV charging station, but outside the direct town center (and the small village of Lohilahti), Sulkava is a rural place.
The city of Savonlinna, many multiples larger, is only some 30 minutes away by car. This means that many services are not available in Sulkava, as locals will simply drive to Savonlinna for anything complicated.
Sulkava is a tourist destination during the summer, getting most popular during the Finnish holiday season from early June to mid-August. Visiting in, say, January, you will find most services outside of the necessities closed.
Visit Sulkava, info@visitsulkava.fi.
Get in+
By car:
From highway 5, turn to Savonlinnantie (road 14) towards Savonlinna, the nearest city. After 3,6 km, in Juva, turn to Sulkavantie (road 434, later 436 and 435), which after 34 km passes 2 km north of Sulkava centre. From Savonlinna, drive north-west on highway 14, turn to Sulkavantie (road 435) after 17 km, in Kallislahti. After 17 or 21 km more, turn towards Sulkava.
By bus:
There are bus connections from Savonlinna, Mikkeli, Juva and Puumala.
1 Sulkava bus station. (updated Nov 2023)
By yacht:
2 Sulkava marina and harbour (Sulkavan vierasvenesatama), Alanteentie 18. Sulkava marina and harbour. One of the most charming marinas on Lake Saimaa. Facilities include gas station, restauranta, sauna washing and machines for visiting boaters. (updated Nov 2023)
Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged
Places bordering Sulkava
- Juva
- Puumala
- Rantasalmi
- Ruokolahti
- Savonlinna
Population of Sulkava over time
| 2007 | 3,087 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 3,033 | |
| 2009 | 2,965 | |
| 2010 | 2,938 | |
| 2011 | 2,876 | |
| 2012 | 2,844 | |
| 2013 | 2,794 | |
| 2014 | 2,790 | |
| 2015 | 2,724 | |
| 2016 | 2,661 | |
| 2017 | 2,588 | |
| 2023 | 2,368 |
Censuses and official estimates; source: Wikidata.
Climate of Sulkava
Best months for sightseeingBest months for sightseeing: June–August.
This month · November
A cold month
Day 1° · Night -4° · Rain 56 mm
- Hottest month
- July (day 22°)
- Coldest month
- February (night -12°)
- Wettest month
- August (79 mm)
- Driest month
- February (32 mm)
Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).
Show values as a table
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°C) | -5° | -5° | 0° | 6° | 15° | 20° | 22° | 19° | 13° | 7° | 1° | -3° |
| Average low (°C) | -11° | -12° | -6° | -2° | 5° | 10° | 13° | 11° | 6° | 2° | -4° | -9° |
| Precipitation (mm) | 42 | 32 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 57 | 67 | 79 | 61 | 63 | 56 | 52 |
How to get to Sulkava
The nearest airport is Savonlinna Airport (SVL), 37 km to the northeast as the crow flies. For international flights: Lappeenranta Airport (LPP) (74 km). The nearest large city is Tallinn, 324 km to the southwest.
Airports
- Savonlinna Airport (SVL) Savonlinna 37 kmnortheast
- Lappeenranta Airport (LPP) Lappeenranta 74 kmsouth
- Joensuu Airport (JOE) Joensuu 123 kmnortheast
Nearby large cities
- Tallinn Population: 394K 324 kmsouthwest
Straight-line distances; road distances are longer. Airport data: OurAirports.
Day trips from Sulkava
Within 100 km: 2 natural sites, 33 lakes, rivers and coasts.
25–60 km12 places
- Saimaa Lake 50 kmS
- Immalanjärvi Lake 56 kmSE
- Puruvesi Lake 59 kmNE
- Jukajärvi Lake 40 kmNW
60–100 km23 places
- Puulavesi Lake 96 kmW
- Rauhajärvi Lake 84 kmW
- Vahvajärvi Lake 97 kmW
- Korpijärvi Lake 85 kmSW
Straight-line distances.
Places in Sulkava
1 placeBar: population relative to the most populous place in this list.
Sources & licences
Data last updated: · 2 independent sources