Estonia's inter-island ferry services increase schedules to meet demand
In line with the growth in the number of passengers traveling between the Estonian mainland and Estonia's main islands, there has also been an increase in the use of smaller ferry routes. As the number of passengers has risen over the last few years, the summer schedule for inter-island ferry services has also become busier.
The number of passengers using the ferry services connecting Hiiumaa and Saaremaa has increased by 8 percent in the last two years.
The most difficult month to get a ticker for that route is May, when there are still two return trips a day. To get a place on the ferry, passengers have to make travel plans several days in advance.
"We started planning on Sunday and bought our tickets then," one passenger told ERR on Wednesday. "We got a car spot with the last available advance booking, without which we wouldn't be able to come to Hiiumaa. On Sunday we bought the last reservation available for Wednesday."
Statistics show that the proportion of permanent residents of Hiiumaa and the other islands using the services is around half that of tourists.
Vallo Kostabi, captain of the Soela, who has been sailing the route for 8 years, also confirmed that the summer months will now be easier as the number of scheduled services increases.
"Both Hiiumaa residents and other islanders travel between the islands and there are also a lot of tourists. There will be three trips a day from a June 2 and 4 a day from June 23. There will be more trips and a better chance to get from one island to another," Kostabi said.
There has also been an increase in the number of passengers on the Vormsi and Kihnu routes.
"There has really been a small and steady increase every year, and this is not just a development of the last few years, but has been the case for a long time. As demand has increased, so have the trips. On different routes in different ways though. For example, in the case of Kihnu, there are significantly more foot passengers than on other routes. In the case of Vormsi, again, the demand is for vehicles," said Jaak Kaabel, head of Kihnu Shipping.
Vormsi has the busiest schedule of Estonia's small islands with 2,744 trips made there each year, while Kihnu has the highest number of passengers. In 2024, the Kihnu Virve carried nearly 85,000 passengers across the sea.
The smaller islands are popular tourist destinations in the summer, which is why the ferry routes all have tighter summer schedules.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Johanna Alvin
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
