By
Rebecca Gibson |
This article was first published in the Itinerary Planning Special Report. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
Located on Finland’s southeast coast between the country’s capital Helsinki and St. Petersburg in Russia, the Kotka-Hamina region is an ideal port of call for any Baltic cruise.
The region boasts two cities – Hamina and Kotka – which offer easy access to areas of natural beauty, award-winning urban parks, unique historical sites and an inner archipelago. Welcomed by thousands of friendly locals, cruise guests can attend cultural events and enjoy relaxing or exhilarating shore excursions, allowing them to experience the ‘soul’ of Finland within just a few hours.
Cruise guests’ top five favourite activities include: river rafting; taking a mini cruise around the inner archipelago on a tall ship; enjoying a boat trip to Czar Alexander III’s Imperial Fishing Lodge in Langinkoski; touring Kotka and attending a church concert; visiting Hamina’s old town for a concert; and relaxing in Kotka’s parks.
Ships of any size can dock at ports in Kotka’s city centre, Hamina or Mussalo. All three are managed by Port of HaminaKotka. Being the biggest universal port in Finland, HaminaKotka provides perfect service to the Finnish exporting industries, transit traffic and major international projects being a part of developing the cruise business in the region as well. The port offers a total of 76 berths.
When it opened in 2017, Port of HaminaKotka welcomed around 8,600 cruise guests who arrived on both small and large ships. In the summer of 2018, the port handled calls from small vessels, but it will welcome ships of all sizes again in 2019 and 2020. Inaugural visitors have included AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Noble Caledonia, Phoenix Reisen and Saga Cruises – some of which have scheduled return calls. By 2021, Port of HaminaKotka hopes to welcome 15-20 calls and 30,000 cruise guests annually.
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