Kimitoön

The island Kimito is the second largest island on Finnish seas after Fasta Åland. The municipality consists of about 3,000 separate islands, of which, in addition to the main island, Hitis, Örö and Bengtskär are especially important for tourism. Kasnäs is an important hub for travelling to the outer archipelago. The area has been permanently inhabited since at least the 12th century, the Hitis islands are probably home to the oldest settlements. A separate Kimito parish was first mentioned in written documents in the 1320s and the marine pilot station of Jungfrusund in 1490. The current Kimito church was completed in 1496.

In the village Dahl there was a deep natural harbour and plenty of iron ore, which is why an iron factory was established in the village as early as in 1686. The factory was in continuous operation until 2012. Such 326-years history is rare in the metal industry, even worldwide. This industrial history have significantly affected the appearance of the village, now known as Dalsbruk (Finnish: Taalintehdas), and the building stock in the village is fairly exceptional and worth of seeing. The famous locksmith company Abloy had a lock factory in the village of Björkboda until 2019. Nowadays there is a lock museum in the village. In the Västanfjärd area there were several small limestone quarries and lime kilns since the 1600s until the last one ceased its operations in 1952.

Finnish businessman and significant art patron Amos Andersson lived in the Söderlångvik manor 1927—1961. Today, the manor is a museum with a remarkable art collection on display.

Kimitoön as a municipality was created in 2009 by joining the small municipalities of Kimito (Finnish: Kemiö), Västanfjärd and Dragsfjärd, all partly on the main island. Earlier many of the island groups and some other villages were independent municipalities. Kimitoön forms the eastern part of the Åboland region. The western part is now the "city" of Pargas (of which only a tiny part is urban).

There are three roads to Kimitoön: from the north via Sauvo from national road 1 (E18) or regional road 110, both between Helsinki and Turku, from the east via Perniö over the Strömma canal (said to be the only place in Finland where tides can be observed) and from north-east along small roads via the Kokkila–Angelniemi ferry. The main village, Kimito, is some 60 km from Turku, 155 km from Helsinki via Raseborg.

The main island is 60 km long from the north-east – Angelniemi of Salo not counted – to Kasnäs in the south-west and 40 km wide from Mjösund in the north-west to Lammala in the south-east. In addition to the main island and islands connected to it by bridges, there are a few larger islands with proper villages, a handful of islands inhabited by one or a few families – and countless smaller islands and islets. The inhabited ones are reachable by ferry.

By car:

Many roads have cracks and potholes, but getting around by car is generally unproblematic, except for the remote islands, which don't have public parking.

By bus:

There are coaches on the route Turku–Kaarina–Paimio–Sauvo–Kimito(–Dalsbruk/Kasnäs) a few times a day: lines 721–723 (€16 to Dalsbruk; the S variants combine with a coach from Turku harbour, satama). Some of the services to Kimito or Kasnäs combine with the Salo–Perniö–Kimito–Dalsbruk services (€18; mostly line 520). The €16 Seutu+ 24-hr ticket (available by app only) is valid for the coaches from Turku (lines 720–727) and for the internal buses by Vainio (line 530).

From Helsinki, take a suitable Turku–Salo–Helsinki service and transfer in Salo for Kimitoön, possibly again in Kimito for Kasnäs (€18–25 from Salo to Kasnäs, €26–36 from Helsinki). When there isn't a service from Salo to Kimito (or the coach doesn't stop in Salo), instead transfer in Paimio, Kaarina or Turku to one of the 72x lines; check transfer details.

There may also be coaches from Helsinki via Raseborg (and Perniö).