Our story

Matti and Jyri have been dreaming of starting a travel company since 2018. They share a vision of bringing tourists to Finland and especially to the beautiful Lakeland of the country. Lakeland has maybe the most diverse and beautiful lake in the Nordics called Saimaa. We want to be as green as possible and use local services. But how?

It has been a long road and took almost 2 years before we could move forward with our plans for a sustainable travel company. Finally, we agreed to buy a boat and start creating adventure tours at lake Saimaa. Steadily plans have moved forward and we brought more associates to join our adventure. We are proud and happy to use local services for all our operations.

Polaris 1

Our boat Polaris 1 is an old Finnish navy vessel and most suitable for the purpose. 18 meters long and 4,2 wide, it houses comfortably 4 to 8 people in its 4 separate cabins. It also has a sauna, shower, and one toilet (the second toilet will be built in the spring of 2024). It is equipped for the maximum comfort of our guests in the cleanest possible way. Its Valmet 612 diesel engine runs with renewable HVO diesel from St1 and with a solar system, you can charge all your electrical devices. Onboard we always have 4 kayaks, 4 SUP boards, and all kinds of fishing gear.

interior

As mentioned earlier, our boat has a sauna, shower, and toilet (the second toilet will be built in the spring of 2024). The kitchen is fully equipped with a dishwasher, fridge, oven, stove, and all necessary small appliances, as well as cutlery. Polaris 1 offers sleeping quarters for eight people in comfortable bunk beds arranged in four separate 2-person cabins.

Food

The Lake Saimaa region has been awarded the prestigious, international European Region of Gastronomy title, which highlights the quality of our local food. We are working with a local catering company to have local specialties onboard.

Sustainability

We have various ways of functioning sustainably. Our boat's Valmet engine runs on renewable HVO diesel from a Finnish provider St1. Additionally, our heating system Wallas Spartan Air and water heater Wallas 40EA are optimized for renewable diesel. By utilizing renewable HVO diesel, our carbon footprint can be up to 90% smaller when compared to fossil diesel. Click the link below for more information about our sustainable actions.

Matti

Matti is a full-time adventurer. He has been living in 3 different countries for more than 10 years, mainly in Switzerland playing floorball and recently coaching as a pro. Being always hungry for adventures and done excursions all over the world, Matti has an experience how real adventure looks like. On our tours, he is in charge of most of the activities and is an overall entertainer.

Jyri

Jyri has more than a decade of experience and training for search and rescue missions in a police K-9 unit, working as a dog handler and navigator in the Lake Saimaa region on and offshore. He is the second captain/deckhand and is in charge of the well-being of guests.

Juuso

Juuso is the newest member of our crew even though he has joined quite a few tours with us as deckhand. He is a young gun and studying tourism.He speaks great English and has proven to be an excellent company for our guests. A great addition to Open Shores Saimaa!

Puosu (CEO)

Puosu is our newest member of the crew and probably the most well-rounded character we ever met. That is the reason he earns his spot as a CEO immediately after joining us.

Mikael

Mikael has more than a decade of search and rescue experience in the Lake Saimaa area. He is the former chief of a search and rescue vessel, responsible also for training SAR crews.For our company, he is a complete all-rounder. On request, he can join for a tour as a chef and co-captain.

Our vision

We are searching for various ways to improve our services and be as sustainable as possible. Also, we depend on our customer feedback to add new products to our adventures. We work with green values and cooperation with St1 for renewable HVO diesel. We are proud to pay a yearly support fee for "Pidä Saaristo Siistinä RY" for cleaning Lake Saimaa's surroundings and the islands.

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