Christmas trip to Tallinn

One of the best cities to go during the Christmas time is Tallinn. The beautiful old town with all its small lights, Christmas decoration and the smell of glöggi make it the perfect traveling destination for a short Christmas trip.

The highlight during this time of the year is the Christmas market on the old market square of the city. In the scenic setting many small huts surround the big Christmas tree. You find wonderful handicraft, keep the hunger away with delicious sweet and salty Christmas treats and warm up with a cup of hot mulled wine or glöggi.

And getting to Tallinn is fairly easy. Ferries from Eckerö Line, Tallink and Viking Line operate daily and for as low as 11 € for a return trip. The ferry lines also offer very affordable hotel packages for those who want to stay for more than just a day.

Have a nice trip!

Last chance for a boat ride to the islands

The sailing and ferry riding time is almost over. If you haven't been on the water yet for this summer or still would like to go again during the next weeks you might have your last chance.

Take one of the ferries to Pihlajasaari, Iso Vasikkasaari or one of the other small public islands around the capital area. But don't worry, the ferry to Suomenlinna operates the whole year through.

Enjoy the ride!

Lonna, the new island

This summer Helsinki opened a new island to the public. Lonna might be small but is a wonderful place to go on a sunny day. The former military island is still undergoing some mayor rennovation but most buildings and the rocks surounding the island.

To get to Lonna you need to take a boat from Kauppatori. The JT Line brings you there. You get a ticket from their small blue ticket office. You might be surprised that Lonna is not mentioned on any of the signs and timetable but their ferry going to Suomenlinna (not the from HSL) makes a stop at Lonna as well. Return tickets are 7 €.

On the island you can visit both the new cafe and restaurant that are residing in one of the old storrage buildings now. In the big yard you can also sit outside if you like. On the summer weekends they have quite often have parties in the yard with DJs and delicious bbq snacks.

But you don't have to visit them to enjoy Lonna. Head to the rocks facing Helsinki. This is just the perfect picnic place and it has an amazing view towards the city. Stay till the evening to see the sun slowly go down over the city.

Don't miss it!

A day at Iso Vasikkasaari

The capital area has lots of beautiful islands. Many of them are private but some are open to the public. One of them that it definitely worth a daytrip is Iso Vasikkasaari on the coast of Espoo.

Several times a day a ferry leaves from Otaniemi, Haukilahti and Matinkylä to bring visitors to the island. For the timetable click here. Adults pay 5 € for a return ticket, children just 2€.

Especially on weekends and when the weather is good the ferries are normally full. So try to get on board before Matinkylä. Luckily the island is big enough to never give you the feeling of being overcrowded.

There are nice smaller and bigger beaches and several idyllic places along the water and further inside on the island. On the South-Western side the sailing boats at the wooden pier give you the feeling of being somewhere at the Mediterranean Sea rather than in Finland.

Closer to the harbor you find a cozy restaurant serving meat and fish dishes. You can of course also just enjoy a cold drink in the shade.

Enjoy your stay!

A day in Tallinn

Just 80 kilometers is the distance between Helsinki and the Estonian capital Tallinn. Several boats operate daily between the two cities. This gives a wonderful opportunity for a day or weekend trip.

If you think about a short trip to the beautiful medieval Tallinn you should take a look at the website of Eckerö Line. They offer cheap daytrips with MS Finlandia for only 29 Euros at the moment. The ferry needs 2.5 hours for the ride from Länsisatama to the harbor of Tallinn. There you have five hours to visit the city before the ferry leave back to Helsinki again. If you plan on staying longer check out their very reasonable hotel packages (including the ferry trip).

If you want to travel a bit faster and would like to have more options when to go and when to return you should also take a look at Linda Line, Tallink and Viking Line. They are all a bit more expensive than Eckerö normally.

Take a ferry to Christmas wonderland

For most of us the holidays started yesterday. Now we finally have time to really get into the Christmas mood. Most presents are hopefully already bough and now it’s time to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.

One of the best ways to get the Christmas feeling is to take a ferry to Tallinn. The Estonian capital has one of the most beautiful and picturesque Christmas markets in whole Europe. On the main square in the old town surrounded by beautiful old medieval buildings lots of small huts are welcoming the visitors. Here you can shop for handicraft, have some delicious Christmas food or just enjoy the atmosphere while having a hot cup of glögi.

And don’t worry if you can’t make it there anymore before Christmas. Tallinn’s Christmas market is open till January 8th.

Ferry tickets to Tallinn can be bough starting from 19 Euros. Take a look at the websites of Eckerö Line and Tallink. They also both offer fair hotel packaged if you plan on spending the night.

Have a nice trip!

One day in Stockholm

A really nice trip at any time of the year is to go to Stockholm via ferry. There are two carriers operating between Helsinki and Stockholm: Viking Line and Silja Line. They offer more or less the same trip.

You board the ferry either at Katajanokan Terminaali or at Olympiaterminaali (both really close to Kauppatori) before the ferries both leave at around 5 pm. They drive the night through with a short stop at Mariehamn (Åland) and both arrive at around 9 in the morning at Stockholm. The really convenient thing is that you keep your cabin and can leave all your stuff there during your stay in Stockholm. So no bags to carry around and no second check-in when you come back to the ferry. The ferry leaves back to Helsinki at 4.30/5 pm. That leaves you enough time in Stockholm to get a first good glance at the city and soak in its nice Scandinavian atmosphere.

You should make your decision on which ferry company to use based on the price. The trips don’t really differ that much. At Silja Line the boat is a bit nicer which makes it the first choice of lots of people. But Viking Line is not bad either and has the advantage that the port in Stockholm is much closer to the center then the Silja port.

One important tip though: Never buy the regular price! The two companies have a pretty vivid competition and that’s why you will always find special offers.

If you are really spontaneous you should check out Silja’s recent offer for one day in Stockholm (two nights in a cabin on board) for as low as 10 €. The offer just applies for a few specific days during the next few weeks and since you always pay a whole cabin you should find three friends to join you to really get that price.

Enjoy your trip!