Welcome to Moominland, the Disneyland of Finland.
At least in my books.
If you know the Moomin characters from the cartoons or books, you will know they are pretty lovable characters, a bit on the chubby side. You will also see them in every gift shop and at the airport.
They are on mugs, plates, towels, sheets and have even their own island.
Moominland was on my wishlist ever since I started visiting Finland, at that time dating my now-husband. He has lived here most of his life but never visited. I know, shocking.
We had to fix the mistake right away. Now that we have a kid, it looks a bit less silly than two grownups visiting children’s attractions. Rather overpriced one – if I may add! But hey, we are in Finland in the end.
As I mentioned the park is on it’s own island in a beautiful town called Naantali (detailed report in the next post).
There is a dedicated bus that takes you there from few pick-up points in Turku and around. It’s not free, but a lot more convenient option than driving and then spending an hour looking for a parking spot. Moominland has dedicated parking, where you leave your car and then take a bus to the town center. From there it’s only few minute’s walk by the harbour, across the bridge to the land of Moomins.
We arrived early in the morning before it even opened at 10am.
At this point, I was more excited than our 2 year old.
He was more intrigued by the kids waiting around and playing with some fancy ball. Balls are the main focus of all our entertainment these days. All sizes and colours. If you can break something by throwing them even better.
Below is a map of the little island.
There are detailed descriptions of each attraction on their website. Mind you, it’s not a conventional attraction park. There are no roller-coasters, noisy rides and – adults listen up – no alcohol served anywhere. I didn’t want to discourage you from the start, but it’s already out!
We got to the gate where I got a near heart attack.
Three tickets for a family (2 adults + a child over 2 years old) will set you back 84 eur.
So let’s say it’s not something you would do every weekend. Or you can, depending on your budget. If you have a bigger family with more kids you might want to start saving for this already!
We walked passed the main square admiring the pretty pastel coloured mini houses and souvenir shops and headed straight to the centre of the action.
Below is the first encounter with Moomins.
This is Moomin Mamma just being friendly and giving hugs to the kids. She didn’t speak much, but was happy to take a picture, shake your hand or let your kid stare at her awkwardly. One of the girls in the picture tried to open and take her handbag and that’s where she put her foot down.
You don’t want to mess with Moomin Mamma, she runs the place.
We headed straight to the biggest building in town – Moomin House.
You can peek into Moomin Mamma’s kitchen, roam through their bedrooms, try Moomin toys and explore the attic. It was made for kids, but even a tall giant like me fitted there perfectly.
For more pictures from inside scroll lower.
Our next stop was the beach and the pink monster swimming in the water.
He’s name is Edward the Bobble, apparently World’s Biggest Animal. It reminds me of the dragon from Shrek movie.
Another pit stop was at Moominpappa‘s Boat with a massive playground for kids and a small stage for games.
Parents beware – there is water and you WILL get wet. If you can bear the noise and kids fighting over toys in cold water, stay all day.
Next stop (below): Snufkin‘s camp. He was busy reading a story in Swedish, so we moved on to the next camp.
The Whileaway Park would be my number one choice to stay all day.
Comfy hammocks, bird like nests hidden under the shade of trees and beanbag chairs with a chance to catch a fairy character reading you a fairytale.
Looks like it wasn’t just my favourite spot – most of the seats were taken by adults.
Right next to the big Moomin house was also a small Butterfly House with a back garden and a mini house in pumpkin. With fully equipped kitchen and seating. We couldn’t go anywhere near.
If it was discovered by the youngest member of our crew, we wouldn’t move anywhere from there until the park closes.
From the woods we made our way back to the main square with restaurants.
On the way you pass Moomin photo studio where you can get a proper picture with Moomins for something like 25 eur. Bargain!
There are a few options for food, one of them buffet type of restaurant, burger places and lots of small stalls selling sugar-infused snacks and treats.
We took our chances and skipped the whole eating in favour of proper meal in Naantali town.
On our way out we picked up some souvenirs from the shop.
In there you get the see the whole scale of Moomin-mania! Anything from Moomin towels, bags, puzzle, balls, all the way to printed art, pacifiers and branded toys. They even have their own diaper brand!
After half day surrounded by screaming kids, desperate looking parents and a bit too cheerful looking characters walking around, we had enough and headed back to Naantali for a well deserved cold drink.
Here is a quick recap of what you can see in Moominland if it’s on your summer to-do list:
Moominland Finland
tickets: 28 eur by the gate, 27 eur online (kids under 2 are free)
attractions: Moomin House, Emma Theatre, Promenade, Police Station, Fire Station, Whileaway Park, Barefoot trail, Snufkin‘s Camp, Moominpappa‘s boat, Snork‘s workshop, Nature trail, Edward the Bobble, The Bathing hut, Hemulen‘s house, Wishing well, Moomin troll, Hemulen‘s garden shed, the Witch and Alice’s cottage, Labyrinth, the cave of the Hattifatteners, the Groke’s house, beach, Giant Pumpkin, Sniff‘s summer cottage
location: head to Naantali harbour area where you will see a long bridge connecting the town to Moomin island. The tickets can be purchased once you are inside the park.
