How to get to the Moomin Land in Finland

Moomin Country is a world famous theme park dedicated to the characters in children's books by Finnish writer Tove Marika Jansson. Located on the coast of the Archipelago Sea in the town of Naantali, this park reminds adults of childhood, and gives children an unforgettable experience. The country of the Moomins in Finland is open mainly in the summer, and it is recommended to carefully plan a visit there.

A little about Moomin Park

The history of the Moomins begins on the island of Pellinka, where the Marika family spent their holidays. They rented a fishing lodge, and spent the whole summer vacationing with the whole family in a village with a population of three hundred people. The forests near the house, tiny islands and the cold north sea subsequently inspired the matured Tuva to recreate the fairytale world of childhood.

Moomin Park was opened to visitors in the early 90s by businessman and TV producer Dennis Liveson. Being a fan of the books of Tove Jansson (Jason) from early childhood, he visited Kylo Island and decided that it was here that he needed to bring the fairytale town to life.

You can get to the park via a low bridge - this makes a visit to the Valley of Funny Hippos even more isolated from the serious adult world. In 2021, the park underwent a global restoration, everything here exactly matches the book descriptions.

The houses of the Moomin family, Hemul, pumpkins, ships, the pink dragon, and even the Moomin’s kitchen - everything is open here for both adults and young guests.

In the summer of 2021, the park celebrated its 25th anniversary with other traditional events:

• Solstice Day - June 24;
• Alice's Day - July 14;
• Sleep Day - July 27;
• Tove Marika Jansson's birthday is August 9;
• Music Week - August 19-28.

Interesting places in the park

If you are planning a visit to Moomin Country, then be sure to check out everything that the Valley is ready to offer you:

1. Theater of Emma, ​​which has performances for toddlers twice a day. One piece is in Finnish and Swedish with English and Russian translations, while the other is a universal musical performance. The theater is located right at the entrance to the park, the cost of visiting it is already included in the ticket price.
2. The police station is responsible for order in the town, and from time to time the hooligan Khaisuli gets here, who was excluded from the Russian translation of books.
3. The Hemulen House is a cozy botanist's cottage close to the pier. Here you can learn everything about Finnish flora and rare northern butterflies, play with garden tools and chat with Hemulen himself.
4. The Moominhouse, also known as the Moominhouse, is the most striking in this park. It is designed in the form of a blue turret with a gabled roof, many windows, rooms and secret places. Here you are allowed to go everywhere and touch absolutely everything: you can look into the kitchen of Moomin-Mom, into the study of Moomin-Dad, explore the pantries and attics.
5. The fire station, although not a real one, is made in strict accordance with the book descriptions. Kids can get acquainted with the fire alarm device, learn how the fire fighting equipment of the town works.
6. Alice's Trail leads visitors between fairytale locations such as an abandoned house, a wooden labyrinth, a fairytale cave, and a suspension bridge.
7. The giant pumpkin lies right next to the path to the pier - this is the very Moominmama pumpkin that has grown incredibly large. A door and a window were made in the pumpkin, so now you can hide in it.
8. The pier ends with a tiny house of the caretaker, next to the entrance to the pier there is an installation "Mermaid", which allows you to be a fabulous creature, at least in photographs. Edward Boble, who looks like a pink dragon, appears near the pier in early summer and remains there until early September.
9. The boat Moominpappa stands on the very coast in a pine plantation. Children are delighted with the fact that you can not only climb onto the ship, but also leave it along a slide-tunnel. There is also a children's playground and a shallow sandy beach where you can sunbathe in the warm season.
10. Sniff's cottage, also known as Snork, is closed to visitors, as it is too small, but through the window you can see its cozy interior.

How to get to the Land of the Moomins

You can come to the fabulous Valley by car, get there by regular bus or by boat.

• You can come to Naantali from Helsinki along the E18 highway - it will take about two hours, and you will need to spend about 18 euros on fuel.
• If you are planning to get there from Turku, take the buses no. 6, 7 or 110 of the Folli company in the main market square, the cost of a full ticket is 6 euros.
• Onni Bus F1 buses leave from Turku bus station (approximately every 20 minutes), you can buy a ticket from the driver.
• In summer, special buses leave from the port of Turku with the inscription Moominworld instead of the route number, and also every 20 minutes, the cost of a full ticket is 6.5 euros.
• Another way, more unusual, is to sail from Turku to Naantali on a steamer, which departs twice from the pier in Turku from Tuesday to Saturday. Departure times are 10:00 and 14:00, return flights are at 12:00 and 14:00, respectively.

The boat has a restaurant and entertainment program for toddlers, which are included in the fare.

The cost of an adult ticket is 24 euros, a ticket for children costs 12 euros, lunch on the steamer costs 14 and 7 euros, respectively. You can buy tickets for the flight at the box office near the pier or on the official website of the carrier company Ukkopekka: https://www.ukkopekka.fi/en.

Moomin Park opening hours and ticket prices

Moomin Country is open to the public all year round, but if you plan to entertain the little ones, it is recommended to come between June and September. The park is open for summer time and short daylight hours: from June 9 to August 12, it is open from 10:00 to 18:00, and from 13 to 27 August from 12:00 to 18:00.

In February, the Mumin family wakes up from hibernation for a whole week to celebrate the winter holidays, which last from the 17th to the 25th. Detailed prices for tickets to the park are shown in the following table.

Winter fun in the Valley

Only a week is devoted to winter entertainment here, so in Moomin-country they try to catch absolutely everything. In February, you can go ice skating, skiing, sledging and snowshoeing, sit in a dog sled, and ride horses. All equipment can be rented while walking in the park.

Moomins play snowballs and hide-and-seek with children, ride down hills and take pictures with pleasure. The park's official website offers tickets for current winter events.

Interesting Facts

Despite its short existence, Moomin Park is very popular with tourists from different parts of the world. In October 2005, he was ranked fourth in the list of the best theme parks in the world according to the British newspaper The Independent.

In the same year, the Finnish Travel Fair chose Moomin Park as the best travel destination in the country.

In 2007, The Games & Parks Industry, an American leisure and entertainment magazine, awarded the Valley the prestigious Golden Pony Award.

Tove Jansson herself participated in the creation of the park, who more than once visited her beloved Valley when she was already in old age. This park is the only park of its kind without attractions: the entertainment value is provided by the characters themselves, who live in it.

Please note that the opening and closing dates of the park may change, depending on the weather conditions in the country, so check the period of its work on the official website.

Where to eat

In the Land of Moomins, there are about ten cafes, pastry shops and small kiosks where you can buy hearty and tasty food made from local organic ingredients. Some dishes are prepared according to the book menu of fairytale heroes, others are taken from the national cuisine of Finland.

In addition to hot dishes in the park, you can buy sweets traditional for amusement parks: cotton candy, waffles, sweets, donuts, ice cream of various flavors, popcorn, licorice.

In any cafe, employees meet young parents halfway and warm up food for babies taken with them. Mumiland also offers visitors dishes from the Moomin-Mama cafe, for example, traditional pancakes with jam.

All food excludes allergens, since the predominant number of visitors to the park are children.

In specially designated areas, there are grills on which you can cook food you have brought with you.

Accommodation for the duration of the trip

Unfortunately, you cannot stay overnight in the park - there are no hotels on the island. To make your stay comfortable, you need to book a room or apartment in Naantali hotels in advance.

• Basically, the hotel fund is represented by small guest houses - the closest to the fabulous country is Majatalo Harriet (just a ten-minute walk to the island). This is a two-star hostel, which costs about 45 euros per day.
• If you are interested in a budget vacation, then pay attention to Naantalin Perhehotelli, which is located on the other side of the city, but the reviews of guests about it are extremely high and the cost of a daily stay is about 25 euros per person.
• For those who are accustomed to resting luxuriously, the Naantali Spa Hotel and Bridget Inn are the best apartments in the city, which cost 80 and 90 euros respectively.

The large port city of Turku offers more accommodation options. Here you can stay both in the Centro Hotel Turku, located in the very center of the city (130-140 euros), and in the small Ruissalo Hotel near the port (about 50 euros per room).

Finally

The fairyland of the Mumin is considered the best theme park in Finland and in a few summer months manages to receive hundreds of thousands of guests. An unforgettable experience for both adults and young travelers. The founders of the park managed to recreate the atmosphere of a cozy fairy tale that reigns in the pages of children's books by Tove Jansson, so the popularity of the Valley is increasing from year to year.