Pohjola Route: Saaga Travel's weekly program takes you on day trips from Oulu

In the summer, Saaga Travel organizes day trips from Oulu to the Pohjola Route destinations. The destinations of the day trips are Ii, Hailuoto, Raahe, Liminka Bay, Koitelinkoski, Kierikki Stone Age Centre and Syöte.

The weekly program will run for six weeks from June 28 to August 7, 2022, beginning the week after Midsummer. Koitelinkoski is in the weekly program for a week longer until Friday 12.8.

Excursions are carried out as guaranteed departures, without a minimum number of participants. The starting point for the excursions is Kaarlenväylä street next to the Oulu market square.

- We piloted these guaranteed departures for the first time last summer. We got good feedback from them. Many destinations in the Oulu region are challenging to reach without your own car. It is also in line with sustainable tourism to favor public transport, says Johanna Salmela from Saaga Travel, who was responsible for developing the weekly program. Johanna Salmela from Saaga Travel.

Pohjola Route: New tourism service development in Oulu Region

-We see the Pohjola Route, launched last summer, as an important new opening for tourism in the Oulu region. Pohjola Route enables a wide range of new product development for both domestic and international tourists. The summer day trip program is one concrete way to experience the Pohjola Route and improve the internal accessibility of the Oulu travel region, Salmela continues.

The timetables of the tour buses are designed together with the destinations so that they serve the tourists as well as possible.

Raahe offers a free guided city tour in accordance with the bus timetables, as well as island cruises and a guided canoe trip. In Hailuoto there is a guided lighthouse tour and in Liminka Bay there is free bird guiding at the bird watching organized by Metsähallitus. You can bring your own bike to Liminka Bay and Syöte.

In Kierikki Sone Age Centre, the public can take part in parking work with master of this traditional skill.

In Syöte and Hailuoto, the bus also runs within the area during the day, which allows you to visit several different destinations during the day.

Ii as a new destination

The village of Ii, half an hour north from Oulu, is participating in the weekly program as a new destination. The content of the Ii trip has been developed together with Visit Ii. The Ii Bus itinerary includes three different destinations.

The excursion begins in the old town Iin Wanha Hamina, with a short guide to the new exhibition of the Local History Museum. After this, it is time to explore the Wanha Hamina on your own. Next, we will move to the Art Center KulttuuriKauppila, where there is a guided tour of the art exhibition.

At the end of the trip, we will visit the new suspension bridge in Jakkukylä, where guests will also be served by the villagers' Bridge Café.

Raahe is full of history and maritime experiences

Day trip to Raahe is scheduled on Thursdays.

Old Raahe is one of Finland's best-preserved 19th-century wooden towns. A day for a cultural connoisseur will be spent exploring the quarters, museums and cafés of the Old Raahe. Free guided Old Raahe walking tours are available on Thursday, July 7, July 14, July 21. and July 28 at 3 p.m. It is also possible to explore Old Raahe on your own using the Glopas voice guide application.

Raahe Archipelago, which was chosen as the outdoor destination of the year in 2016, is only 20 minutes away from Raahe’s Old Town. The three-hour Island Hopping trip, which starts at 12 noon on Thursdays, will explore the three main islands of the Raahe archipelago, two of which will also be visited. The price of the trip includes frying sausages and snacks in one of the islands in the archipelago. On Thursdays, a slightly shorter island cruise is also available, departing at 1 p.m.

On Thursdays, Lappis also organizes kayaking trips to the Raahe archipelago suitable for beginners. Pre-registration is required for cruises and kayaking trips.

Syöte offers versatile opportunities for a day trip

Syöte, Finland’s southernmost fell area 2 hours’ drive from Oulu, is constantly growing in popularity and offers diverse opportunities to enjoy the nature.

- Saaga Travel's Skibus to Syöte is very popular with skiers in winter. The Iso-Syöte ski resort has invested heavily in summertime lift assessed mountain biking, which we believe will be of interest to the same target group. This year, we planned the schedule for the summer Syöte Bus so that those interested in trying out downhill biking would arrive right in time to take part in the Bike Park course, Salmela sheds light on the schedule planning work.

For nature lovers interested in viewing the scenery, Salmela recommends a hike to Teerivaara from Syöte Visitor Centre in the morning, after which it is good to enjoy lunch at the visitor centre. After that, you can take the Syöte bus to the top of the Iso-Syöte fell, from where you can enjoy the magnificent views of Syöte National Park and the surrounding area along the kilometer-long Peak Trail. Finally, you can enjoy refreshments in the panoramic café of Hotel Iso-Syöte.

For those interested in mountain biking, Salmela recommends the 19 km long Syötteen kierros circular trail. The Syötteen kierros trail is a diverse route with terrain and scenery, along which there are also resting places for outdoor lunch or snacks and swimming. There are several bike rentals in the area, from which you can rent both electric and regular mountain bikes. Your own bike rides on the Syöte Bus for an extra charge.

The Murder Valley of Hailuoto tells of a time of Great Wrath

In Hailuoto , in addition to Marjaniemi and the village center, Ailasto, which operates in the old village school environment, has been added to the bus route. From Ailasto it is possible to make a hiking trip to Hyypänmäki ridge. Hyypänmäki is the highest point in Hailuoto, the peak of which rises 31 meters above sea level. The measuring point of the Struve chain from 1842 is located on the ridge.

According to tradition, a hideaway was located in the gorge in Hyypänmäki during the Great Wrath. However, no remains of the building have been found. The name of the place in the current maps is Pakopirtinrotko and it is also known as the “Murder Valley”, which refers to the massacre in Hailuoto during the Great Wrath. At that time, the Russians killed 800 people in Hailuoto in one day. The return trip from Ailasto to Hyypänmäki is a couple of kilometers and directions are available from Ailasto.

Check out the Pohjola Route Day Trips on  Saaga Travel webshop.

Download brochure and time schedule

Further information:

Johanna Salmela, tel +358 40 826 2345, [email protected]

Pohjola Route, pohjolanrengastie.fi