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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Europe and Mediterranean

Europe and Mediterranean

Finland

A quiet northern archipelago of seals, sauna and cold sea swims, and a rare lake seal watched only from afar.

Small wooded island and a sailing boat in the Archipelago Sea, Finland
Archipelago Sea (Turku archipelago), Finland · Photo: kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Exploring

Ethics pass, open for travel. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard. Checked by Ocean Calling on 26 Sep 2026. Sources: Saimaa ringed seal, Metsahallitus (Finnish state), checked 2026; Seals, The Baltic Sea (itameri.fi, Finnish Environment Institute and partners); Oh how I wish to see a Saimaa ringed seal: tips for seal-friendly holidays, Finland Naturally (Metsahallitus).

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The US State Department rates Finland at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, issued 13 March 2026. Australia's Smartraveller also advises normal safety precautions, and notes an elevated terrorism threat level, pickpocketing, and very cold winters. Sources: US State Department travel advisory, Finland · Smartraveller travel advice, Finland Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

FreedivingScubaWrecksWildlife watching

Why Finland

Finland is not a classic dive place, and we say so with care. The Baltic here is brackish, cold and often green, with a few metres of visibility and warm water only in July and August. What Finland gives is calm: thousands of low granite islands in the Archipelago Sea and Åland, grey seals on the outer rocks, and old wooden wrecks kept by the low-salt water, protected by law when older than 100 years. Sauna culture is on the UNESCO list, and a sauna with a slow dip in the sea is a gentle way to meet cold water. In Lake Saimaa lives the Saimaa ringed seal, one of the rarest seals in the world, around 530 animals. We watch it only from a boat or the shore, at a respectful distance, with guides who follow seal-friendly rules. Finland's land border with Russia has been closed since December 2023, far from these places.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

KazakhstanUzbekistanRussiaNorwayGreenlandFranceSwedenBelarusUkrainePolandAustriaHungaryMoldovaRomaniaLithuaniaLatviaEstoniaGermanyBulgariaCroatiaSwitzerlandLuxembourgBelgiumNetherlandsSpainIrelandItalyDenmarkUnited KingdomIcelandSloveniaFinlandSlovakiaCzechiaBosnia and Herz.SerbiaArchipelago National Park, FinlandÅland Islands, FinlandLake Saimaa and Linnansaari, FinlandHelsinki, Finland

When to go

Jun-Sep. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass

Meets the Ocean Calling standard.

Finland protects the rare Saimaa ringed seal with fishing limits and winter landing bans, and the number grew to about 530. Grey seals have seven reserves at sea. Licensed seal hunting also exists, but it is not part of tourism and we link nothing to it. We watch seals only from a boat or the shore, far enough that they keep resting.

Checked 26 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Finland

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Archipelago National Park

Exploring

A maze of small granite islands in the Archipelago Sea, with grey seals and sea eagles, reached by ferry and boat.

🤿 In the water: Sea swims from the rocks in summer, Bladderwrack and shallow Baltic life

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Grey seals (from the boat at a calm distance), White-tailed eagles, Arctic terns and eiders

When: Jun-Aug. Summer ferries and long light days. The sea is warmest in late July and August, often around 17°C, and cold the rest of the year.

Åland Islands

Exploring

A Swedish-speaking, demilitarised island region of Finland, with calm sea swims, old wrecks and grey seals.

🤿 In the water: Historic Baltic wrecks for trained cold-water divers (look, never touch), Sea swims from smooth rocks in summer

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Grey seals (from the boat at a calm distance), Sea eagles and sea birds

When: Jun-Aug. Summer is the season for boats and swims. Wreck dives are cold and dark below the thermocline, with a drysuit.

Lake Saimaa and Linnansaari

Exploring

A great lake maze where the rare Saimaa ringed seal lives, watched quietly from the boat or shore.

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Saimaa ringed seals (only from afar, with a seal-friendly guide), Ospreys

When: May-Jun. In May and June the seals rest on rocks after the ice melts and change their fur. Seal trips run May to October. Sightings are never sure.

Helsinki

Exploring

A sea capital with public saunas by the water, winter sea dips and a small underwater wreck park.

🤿 In the water: Sauna and slow sea dips, summer and winter, Kronprins Gustav Adolf wreck park, about 20 m, open June to autumn (no entry inside the wreck)

When: Jun-Sep. The wreck park opens every year in June. The sea is near 0°C in February and about 17 to 18°C in early August.

Animals

Animals recorded in Finland

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals
Grey seal resting on a seaweed rock in Northumberland, UKGrey sealHalichoerus grypusSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHarbour porpoise rolling at the surface off Berry Head, DevonHarbour porpoisePhocoena phocoenaSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernA young ringed seal of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Taskisenperä marina in Oulu, FinlandBaltic ringed sealPusa hispida botnicaSeen in 4 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSaimaa ringed seal in Rantasalmi, FinlandSaimaa ringed sealPusa hispida saimensisSeen in 1 country in the AtlasEndangeredSilky shark swimming near the surface in blue waterSilky sharkCarcharhinus falciformisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasVulnerableMoon jellyfish in a harbour in Zeeland, NetherlandsMoon jellyfishAurelia aurita and other Aurelia speciesSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasNot EvaluatedShortfin mako shark at Condor Bank in the North Atlantic, AzoresShortfin makoIsurus oxyrinchusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasEndangeredBlue shark swimming in open blue water off the Azores with a diver in the backgroundBlue sharkPrionace glaucaSeen in 50 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedAtlantic puffin spreading its wings on a cliff in IcelandAtlantic puffinFratercula arcticaSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasVulnerableA single silvery herring angled through deep blue water off Skjervoy, northern NorwayAtlantic herringClupea harengusSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernWhite-tailed eagle in flight low over calm water with a fish in its talons, near Raftsund, Lofoten, NorwayWhite-tailed eagleHaliaeetus albicillaSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernRinged seal lying on snow and ice, dark with pale ring markings on its backRinged sealPusa hispidaSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat cormorant perched on a branch, with white head plumes and a glossy blue-black backGreat cormorantPhalacrocorax carboSeen in 90 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a northern gannet face, with pale blue eyes and a golden headNorthern gannetMorus bassanusSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo pygmy cormorants perched on a bare branchPygmy cormorantMicrocarbo pygmaeusSeen in 26 countries in the AtlasLeast Concern
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Swim with humpback whales in Moʻorea, September 2027

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