Find paradise on earth in Pori's Yyteri beach

Yyteri beach, known for its beautiful sandy dunes, is Finland’s longest sandy beach (6 km long) on the western Baltic coast. The Yyteri dunes are part of the Bothnian Sea National Park and the beach is part of the internationally acknowledged Natura and nature conservation area. It's located in Pori, about 3-hour drive by car from Helsinki.

The beach is excellent for families because of its safety, clean sands, warm and shallow water, and many facilities for everyone. There's also information available about the quality of water displayed outside changing rooms located at the entrance of the beach. In the summertime, one can enjoy nature hiking, golf, many events and activities such as surfing and other water sports or beach volleyball.

The place is also known for a variety of birds, ie the migrating arctic species that stop at the areas of Yyteri silt to eat and rest. This makes the area a wonderful location for observing thousands of birds- the season starts soon after the winter and melting of the ice, and lasts until October.

Services:

Yyteri is open every day during the year. Aside from the common area, there's also a nudist beach, and a dog beach (Merisatamantie 13). Facilities include toilets, restaurant,s snack spaces, changing rooms, barbecue space, car park, lifeguard, and the popular Yyteri Hotel and Spa nearby.

Activities:

Yyteri offers many activities for families with children and other visitors to enjoy aside from the excellent sandy beach. There's the Yyteri tower for wonderful views, bird watching in nature, booking boat tour, surfing; Adventure Park Huikee offering courses, different games and challenges, fat-bikes for easier getting around on soft sand; pools of the Refresh Hotel, hiking routes and trails, and the 18-hole golf course in the city.

Hiking paths and trails:

Yyteri is mainly known for its beautiful stretch of sandy beach and dunes, but it is also recommended for birdwatchers because of the Yyteri wetland which is particular favorite of the waders. Many species of birds breed in the area close to the bay. On their migration route, waterfowl and some of the predatory birds fly straight across the bay, whereas others follow the line of the forest. From the Hilska birdwatching tower, it’s possible to see the estuary of Kokemäenjoki river and across to the other side of the Baltic Sea. The tower is a great place to see ducks, gulls and terns. Kallo is also a good place to spot species from the open sea, such as Velvet Scoter, Black Scoter and Common Eiger.

The wetlands are about 3-5 km distant from the sand dunes. There's a longer route heading to the Bothnian Sea National Park. The wetlands area have duckboards all over. There are several platforms that make the access easy to the wetlands and the path is marked with signs as well. For people who love nature, there are more than 30 km of hiking routes and 15 viewing towers for birdwatching or nature views- these are all free entry. One of the bird tower even has access by wheelchair (Riitsara Langoura Tower).

How to get there:

*By car

The Yyteri beach is situated outside of the city of Pori, 15 minutes drive (18 km) from Central Pori, 90 minutes east from Tampere or two hours north of Turku. The car park is only a short walk from the Yyteri beach and situated at the end of the Yyterinsantojentie road. There's another car park available at the Yyteri Refresh Hotel at Sipintie 1. Both car parks are free of charge, then one can follow the duckboards to get to the beach.

*By bus

It's also possible to get to Yyteri by bus. There's a direct bus from the city center of Pori to the beach. The buses run almost once every hour, and tickets can be bought from the driver using cash. For timetables and more updated information, visit porinlinjat.fi

*Cycling

There is a well-maintained cycling path heading to Yyteri. It's possible to borrow a green city bike at the Porina service point Yrjönkatu 6 open everyda . One can borrow bikes for free, but with a deposit, for one day or one week, and you can have the deposit back after bike is returned. Helmets and lights can be borrowed as well.

Where to stay, accommodations:

If staying over the night, there is an accommodation close by, a well-known hotel and spa, cottages for rent, and camping areas. Yyteri is a nice beach location for a day trip, but there are plenty of options for accommodation if anyone wants to have a longer vacation, including hotels, guest houses, cottages and cabins, resort and camping areas by the sea, apartments and villas.

*Yyteri Hotel & Spa

Well-known Yyteri Spa Hotel is situated at 250 m from Gulf of Bothnia (Sipintie 1), and provides a wide range of facilities including hot tubes, swimming pools and sauna, games’ room, library, seaside terrace, rooms with sea views, and the Yyteri Surf center in walking distance.

*Yyteri Camping & Cottages

Yyteri Resort is very close to the sandy beach; 20 km from central Pori (Yyterinsantojentie 1), and offers plenty of options; cottages, summer camp areas, tent places, and many caravan sites with electricity. Cottages have bathrooms (shared or private), refrigerators, coffee makers, and stoves. There's a restaurant during summer at the camping places offering food and snacks, cold drinks or ice creams, as well as some activities for the whole family to enjoy such as fat-bikes (to go around easier in the soft sands of Yyteri), and minigolf (Yyteri Golf Course).

*Yyteri Guest House (Yyterin kievari)

This is an accommodation for holiday and business which provides facilities for meetings and other occasions. It's situated next to Yyteri beach and close to nature (Yyterinsantojentie 10A).

*Yyteri Apartments (Aamuhuoneistot Apartments);

These are high-quality, equipped and fully-furnished buildings which are situated very close to the sandy beaches, and they are suitable for business purposes or holidays (Juhanintie 2).

*Yyteri Beach Resort (Villas)

The Yyteri Beach Resort is in the middle of the beautiful sand dunes of Yyteri beach and provides villa lodgings for families and travellers (Hiekkarannantie 189).

Check out more information on different options of accommodation.