People are increasingly taking ferry rides for picnics, special saunas and just getting from one point to another.File photo of Lonna island in Helsinki Harbour. Image: (c) LonnaYle News13:41Helsinki's local ferries have drawn an increasing number of passengers this year.As an example, ferries to the fortress island Suomenlinna in Helsinki Harbour have seen passenger numbers grow to 998,000 in the first six months of this year, reflecting a jump of 62,000 compared to the first half of 2025.The ferries to the popular tourist destination are operated by Helsinki's public transport authority HSL and tickets cost the same as bus, tram and Metro services in the city."Passenger numbers on the Suomenlinna ferry are generally greatly influenced by the number of tourists in the city as well as the weather, as good weather clearly leads to growth in ferry user numbers," HSL's transport planner Henrik Kiiskinen told Yle in an email.More passengers are also increasingly using the Kruunuvuorenranta ferries, which shuttle passengers between the Laajasalo district to the city centre on jaunts lasting about 20 minutes. The increase continued even after the Kruunuvuori Bridge was completed in April.File photo of the newly-opened Kruunuvuori Bridge. Image: Kristiina Lehto / YleThat route saw just under 102,000 passengers in the first half of this year, an increase of nearly 15,000 year-on-year.Helsingin Uutiset has previously reported that many people would first cross the long pedestrian and bicycle bridge and then make the return journey by ferry. That means the bridge has not driven away ferry passengers, but actually brought in more.The route even set a visitor record when as many as 2,800 passengers travelled on the ferry during May Day, Aleksi Manninen, HSL's public transport planning unit chief, told Helsingin Uutiset.Waterbuses operated by FRS Finland, which shuttle passengers to Suomenlinna and other destinations including sauna spots, have also seen an uptick in passengers, according to the firm's managing director, Roni Huttunen."[Trips to] saunas have been trending for a few years now. Two new saunas have opened on the city of Helsinki's islands along the Eastern route. There was already the Neitsytluoto sauna and now there are new saunas on Malkasaari and Kotiluoto, which are managed by the Uusimaa Recreation Area Association," Huttunen explained, adding that the Lonna sauna is also extremely popular.File photo of a Suomenlinna ferry in Helsinki Harbour. Image: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle"People find the routes over time," Huttunen said. "When a route has been around for some time, it becomes more known to people and sometimes they may want to experience it again as well."Huttunen said he'd like more people to head to Kaunissaari in particular, which is located off the coast of Sipoo."It's a bit of a hidden treasure. Many have already discovered it, but one would hope even more would find it."