Savor the Nordic Flavors and explore one of Helsinki’s best summer islands! Join us on a leisurely excursion around Pihlajasaari, just off mainland Helsinki. Known for its beaches, coastlines, and natural beauty, this island offers a delightful experience to unwind in nature and taste Finnish cuisine. HIGHLIGHTS: Scenic waterbus ride, Explore an island of Helsinki, Try reindeer, salmon & more, Relaxing nature walk. Meet your guide at 10:15 A.M. in front of Cafe Carusel in Helsinki, and take a short ferry ride to Pihlajasaari. The tour begins with a walk led by your guide. Exploring the sandy beaches, rocky shores, and forests will show why Finnish people are among the happiest. After the exploration, the guide will prepare a picnic-style lunch featuring Finnish flavours (fish, reindeer, pies..) and dessert with organic blueberry juice. We'll leave the island on the 13:15 ferry, returning to the mainland by 13:30. You are welcome to stay longer to enjoy its nature and beach.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 4.
Meeting point: Please meet the guide at the entrance of Cafe Carusel (outside) 5-10 minutes before the tour starts (tour starts at 10:15 A.M.). Kindly note that if you arrive late and miss the waterbus, you will have to wait one hour for the next one and take it at your own cost.
Visit the locals' favorite summer island: Pihlajasaari Pihlajasaari consists of two islands, and we arrive on the western side where we will start our easygoing nature walk. Along the way, you will have opportunities to relax in nature and take pictures of the beautiful island. After exploring the western island, you will continue the walk to the eastern island where the guide will prepare a Finnish picnic-style lunch. Try local flavors, including fish, reindeer mousse, and Finnish breads. We’ll also taste Finnish desserts and organic blueberry juice. Please inform us of any dietary restrictions beforehand.
We'll leave the island on the 13:15 ferry, returning to the mainland by 13:30. You are welcome to stay longer on the island to enjoy its nature and beach.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excurgo comparison of 418 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Baltic Bites - Food & Island Experience in Helsinki lasts about 3h 15min. The itinerary has 3 stops.
Prices start at $114 per person for this Helsinki experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, starting at 10:15 AM.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is Meet the guide at Cafe Carusel entrance (outside). The tour starts at 10:15 A.M. so kindly be on time at the meeting point. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a private experience: only your party takes part. Up to 8 travellers can book together.
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 5.0 out of 5 across 12 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Taiga Times.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Kiki was a wonderful host and guide for me and the small group I was a part of. Answers all our questions, brought all energy, food was amazing and was a wonderful adventure hiking/exploring the island! I also had the pleasure to do another tour with this company! I highly recommend them!
Thank you Alex for your review and kind words! It was a pleasure to have you with us and hope to see you again oneday :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
We started off our trip to Finland with this awesome excursion and we couldn’t have chosen better! My husband and I attended the last Baltic Bites tour of the season and were the only ones which made this even better. Kiia was a wonderful guide and taught us how to pick berries as we hiked around the iskand and gave us great recommendations in and around Helsinki, including restaurants, food from the market, and public saunas to try! The picnic lunch was delicious and was a perfect introduction to Finnish food. Would highly recommend this tour - we only wish we had more time for other Taiga Times tours!
Thank you Caitlin so much for your review and kind words! It was a pleasure to have you guys! I hope the rest of your trip will be good and hope to see you again in the future :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
We took part of this tour with our business, we came all the way from Tallinn and we were a team of 9. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the whole team had nothing but positive feedback! I especially appreciated the ease of communication and flexibility from Kiia's side. On the day of the tour the weather was promising to be pouring so we reorganized our day and went 2h later than the original planned time. Thanks to that we had only sunshine and warmth on our tour. The food was delicious and filling!
Thank you Sandra for your review and kind words! It was a pleasure to have your team with us and hope to see you again one day. :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
Kiia was such a wonderful and thorough guide, telling us all about the history of Pihlajasaari, the plants that grow on the island, the history of the food she served us. Very friendly and happy to answer all our questions about Finnish food and environment!
Hi Jon, Thank you so much for your review and kind words - it was a pleasure to have you! :) Warm regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
Such a lovely way to spend a summer day in Helsinki! Pihlajasaari is so pretty and located only a short (very scenic!!!) boat ride away from the city's hassle. The picnic-style lunch was absolutely delicious and it tasted extra good after a relaxed walk around the island. Our guide, Kiia, was great and her passion to nature and food was really inspiring. I will happily recommend this trip to anyone looking for a relaxed day with a little island twist!
Hi Noora, Thank you so much for your review and kind words! We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the tour and the food :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
Beautiful island walk with delicious local food including. Fun with friends and nice to see some more of Helsinki. Great guiding!
Thank you so much Khadija for your review! We are glad to hear that you liked our tour and enjoyed the day. :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
Just amazing day to spend in nature and yet stay so close to the city. Our guide was very kind, open and told us so many intresting facts about Finland, Helsinki and the lovely island we visited. She also prepared us a lovely picnic with some traditional finnish flavors. Absolutely loved the whole tour.
Hi Tina, Thank you so much for your review and for joining our new tour! We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the day. :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
This tour was a perfect way to experience nature without going far from the city. Kiia took us on a ferry from a convenient meeting spot to a nearby island. She told us about Finnish culture and a bit about the language, and made us feel so welcome. We walked around the island and learned about its history and the types of things locals do there today. We even got to pick and eat wild berries on our walk! When we reached the picnic area, Kiia set up an amazing lunch for us. I appreciated that she asked about food limitations before the tour too. Every bite was more delicious than the last, and we were quite full by the time we left to head back to the city. This was a wonderful way to spend a morning enjoying the outdoors in Helsinki!
Hi Mardi, Thank you so much for your review and kind words! It was a pleasure to spend the day with you guys and welcome back anytime. :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
Incredibly delicious food, amazing views throught, immaculate vibes, and such a lovely host! It was the best way to spend my final day, perfect for a foodie. 100/10, take me back. Thank you Kiia! <3 (Yes, I only made this account to leave this particular review. It was THAT good.)
Thank you for your review and kind words! So happy to hear that you enjoyed the tour so much :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
I would recommend this trip to everybody! First of all, the guides were super friendly, they explained about the food and answered all of our questions. We had such great time with them! Secondly, the food was amazing! If you haven’t tasted Finnish food yet or even if you have - this tour gives the perfect environment to experience the delicious food. Also the island - Pihlajansaari is so worth visiting. Everything went so well and I will definitely come back to Taiga Times tours again soon!
Thank you Minerva for your review and kind words! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the tour. :) Best regards, Kiia / Taiga Times
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltic Bites - Food & Island Experience in Helsinki | 3h 15min | 5.0 (12) | $114 | |
 Helsinki Authentic Walking Food Tour with 8 Local Tastings | 3h 30min | 4.9 (165) | $118 | View |
 CITY Tour with Food Tasting in Helsinki | 3 hours | 4.8 (103) | $194 | View |
 Ferry to Suomenlinna Fortress Island | 1–5 hours | 4.2 (10) | $11 | View |
 A Finntastic Walking Tour with a Local Guide | 2h 15min | 4.9 (917) | $23 | View |
 Helsinki to Tallinn Guided Tour -cruise ticket & pick up included | 13–14 hours | 4.5 (579) | $166 | View |
 Discover Helsinki City Walk - Multiple Tours Daily | 2h 15min | 4.8 (437) | $23 | View |