Messilä Camping

The beach and setting were nice, and the sauna came with the price. We spent one night in a tent and paid 32€. The restaurant was pleasant, with good food, mostly burgers, fries, and pasta. For tent campers, though, the toilets and showers were quite a walk away, and there weren’t many places to relax apart from the restaurant and bar.

The toilets were okay, but €50 is far too much for this place. It’s a long way from town, and you have to drive around looking for somewhere to park. Three stars at best.

The staff were at least not unfriendly, but the stay had no charm. We arrived on a weekend without booking and were put in a better parking area, outside the campground itself, which seemed to be for permanent guests. They wouldn’t let us move just 10 meters to a greener spot. The toilets and showers were below standard, perhaps because there was a party in the restaurant that evening. It felt like leftover après-ski partying from last winter. Sorry, I can’t recommend it.

For 59€ I got a tent spot for two nights as one person, nearly twice what I’m used to paying at around 30 campsites across Scandinavia. The price might have made sense if the place were better, but it wasn’t. The old facilities need renovation, there are too few toilets and showers for the size of the site, especially with beach and marina day visitors using them, and they weren’t very clean. The hand soap and paper towels were all gone. There’s no kitchen, and quiet hours don’t seem to matter, with kids yelling and running around at 11:30pm. Swan poo covered the tent area, making it almost impossible to find a spot big enough for a tent without any. They’re animals and don’t follow human rules, sure, but put up a fence or don’t rent that area to campers. At this price, it’s unacceptable. Then lawn mowing starts shortly after 7am, so no alarm is needed. Amazing.