Kalajoki is a coastal town in Northern Ostrobothnia, best known for Hiekkasärkät, a long sweep of sand dunes and beach on the Bothnian Bay. In Finland, where much of the coast is rock, forest and reed, the place feels almost improbable.
The resort strip around the dunes is not subtle, but Kalajoki has more than summer cabins and water slides. The old Plassi district keeps traces of the fishing and tar-trading town, while offshore the Kallankarit islands have an unusual autonomous fishing-community history that still feels particular to this coast.
Use Kalajoki as a beach-and-nature stop between Kokkola and Oulu. It is best in summer, when boat trips to the islands run and the northern light lasts late into the evening.