Tallin. Helsinki Stockholm 6 nights early June

Fitz, to be honest, you are awfully short on time to visit all 3 cities with only 6 nights. I have not been to Stockholm for many years, but we were in Tallinn and Helsinki in September. There is quite a bit to do in both cities. You would miss a great deal if you were only to spend a day in each city. I would personally choose one city and save the other two for another trip. At most, choose two.

To answer your question, the overnight ferry would allow you to travel while you were sleeping, so that would be an efficient use of your time. You could also fly. The Tallinn airport is close to Old Town. Helsinki is easily reached by train from the airport. The ferry is a good way to connect Tallinn and Helsinki. There are many ferries a day and the trip is only a couple hours. It is much further to Stockholm.

The Stockholm-Helsinki ferry goes through the archipelago, so in your case I wouldn't spend a day out in the archipelago unless you decide to focus solely on Stockholm (which is worth it; I spent 12 nights there last year).

I didn't have time to get to Tallinn on that trip, or to see as much of Helsinki as I wanted (I had only 4 nights there), but I have the impression a lot of folks are more entranced by Tallinn (which has a medieval core) than by Helsinki (which has some cool Art Nouveau buildings but is generally a lot more modern looking). If you absolutely must cram the three capital cities into so short a period, you might consider doing Stockholm + Tallinn and just day tripping to Helsinki, assuming there's an overnight-ferry option from Stockholm to Tallinn that gets you to the latter early in the day, which I haven't checked.

In situations such as this, I like to consider how easy it will be to travel back to places I'll need to revisit so I can try to see all my sightseeing targets in the tougher cities. Unfortunately, none of these cities is as easily accessible as London or Paris. Of the three, you'll probably have more Stockholm flights available in the future than flights to Helsinki or Tallinn, so that would be one argument for dropping Stockholm this time around. However, I don't know where you'll be before Stockholm. Maybe you already have a transatlantic ticket from the US or Canada to Stockholm.

Are the overnight ferries a good option in order to make this work
with so little time?

Yes, with little time the ferries are a great option since you travel while sleeping and you get an archipelago cruise in Stockholm included in the price.

But, three cities in six nights is way too rushed in my opinion. Is this the entire trip or part of a larger journey? In any case you really should rethink in my opinion.

Also note that the Estonian capital is spelled Tallinn, with two N in the end. That is very important.

I’ve taken the overnight ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki and Stockholm to Tallinn on two separate trips. We loved both cities and they lend themselves to a nice day of sightseeing.

In Helsinki, we took a bus tour that took us to some of the most popular sights in the morning. After lunch, we walked around the city on our own. We felt we got a good taste of Helsinki, which feels different than the other Scandinavian capitals, partly due to the Russian influence.

In Tallinn, we walked to the old town and spent the day walking around with a nice lunch in the main square. We didn’t go inside many buildings or any of the museums because it was a gorgeous day in October and we wanted to be outside. Tallinn is a charming city and also has a lot of Russian influences, which are not appreciated by many of the citizens.

So yes, you can quite easily and economically visit both cities from Stockholm. But should you? It’s a tough call. Stockholm is beautiful and one of my favorite cites. There’s a lot to do. If you visit Helsinki and Tallinn, that leaves you just three days for Stockholm. That is enough, IMHO, to see the top sights and get a good feel for the city. If it were me, I would do it because it’s so easy and all the travel time is at night. Plus you get the bonus of sailing through the Swedish and Finnish archipelagos. In June, you will have lots of daylight to enjoy the Swedish archipelago. If you think it’s likely you’ll get back to Stockholm, maybe just pick one.

One thing about the Viking Lines Stockholm-Turku-Helsinki ferry: There were intrusive public announcements clearly audible in my cabin after 9 PM--maybe after 10 PM. I was disembarking in Turku, so I wanted to get to sleep early. (It was dark a lot earlier in August than it will be for you in June.) You might want earplugs.

The ferries depart around 8 PM. I had a cheap, interior cabin so no view. I checked out the ship deck plan and wandered around, looking for an accessible lounge with large windows (like I had on a Hurtigruten coastal ferry in Norway), but I didn't find one. I may have just missed it. My recommendation is to try to find out the best viewing spot for the trip through the archipelago before you travel. Maybe you need to make a reservation for dinner in a specific restaurant. There were nice views going into Turku, which I saw through a window near the elevators. I don't know about the water approach to Helsinki because I traveled Turku-Tampere-Helsinki by train.

I don't think any of us thought to ask you where you are headed after Sweden/Finland/Estonia. Are you flying home? From what airport?

As always I would not plan a trip without using this forum. I am so grateful that each of you replied with your wisdom. 6 days is all we are allowed before we join an 9 day tour of the rest of Scandinavia, flying home from Bergen.
At our advanced age and huge remaining bucket list, there does not appear to be much of a return option, so hit and run appears to be the plan this trip. Combining Ricks suggestions in his book and your thoughts and suggestions, we will consider flying into Helsinki, 2 nights in Helsinki, a day trip to Tallin by ferry, overnight Silva ferry to Stockholm (view of archipelago along the way) and 3 days there.

If there is a site or experience that stands out to you as “not to be missed”. I am excited to hear about it.
Again thank you friends for your advice.

Safe and fun travels for all,
Fitz

The Vasa Museum in Stockholm seems to be extremely popular. It was far from my favorite museum, but while neither ships nor pre-20th-century history really interest me, even I could see that the museum is very well done. It's clear most visitors like it a lot, and it's not the sort of thing you'll have many other opportunities to see in your lifetime. There are both introductory tours and audioguides available.

The city has many other museums on a variety of topics; perhaps there are some that directly align with your interests. Just Google "museums Stockholm" and see what pops up.

If you 're asleep during the inbound trip through the Stockholm archipelago (which I assume you will be, since that occurs very, very early), or if it's too dark to see, I'd recommmend trying to get out on the water for a bit to see the city from that beautiful vantage point. I'm not the best person to suggest how to do that on a short trip. This, incidentally, is the disadvantage of not starting in Stockholm. In the summer, outbound ferries transit the archipelago while it's still light.

Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm, is very picturesque, but it's Tourist Central, especially on a handful of restaurant- and shop-lined streets like Osterlanggatan and Vasterlanggatan. If you jog one block off those streets, you'll probably find yourself in a different century. Allow time to do that.

6 days is all we are allowed before we join an 9 day tour of the rest
of Scandinavia, flying home from Bergen.

I assume the tour will include a bit of Stockholm as well?

Combining Ricks suggestions in his book and your thoughts and
suggestions, we will consider flying into Helsinki, 2 nights in
Helsinki, a day trip to Tallin by ferry, overnight Silva ferry to
Stockholm (view of archipelago along the way) and 3 days there.

That is not what I would recommend. Flying to Stockholm and take the ferries both ways will give you better archipelago views. If you don't want to take the ferry both ways, I'd suggest flying to Tallinn. And you should in my opinion spend more time in Tallinn, it is worth a lot more than a day trip. So staying in Tallinn and doing a day trip to Helsinki would be better I think. It would also be a bit cheaper. Or two nights in Tallinn, then a morning ferry to Helsinki and later the same day a ferry an overnight ferry to Stockholm.

Also, I tried to point it out earlier, but LEARN HOW TO SPELL TALLINN! Using only one N in the end is not just a simple spelling error, it is improper, bordering on offensive.

If there is a site or experience that stands out to you as “not to be
missed”. I am excited to hear about it.

What are you looking for and do you have any special interests?

The Vasa Museum in Stockholm seems to be extremely popular.

It is a great museum and in general worth a visit, but it also depends as mentioned on your interests.

If you 're asleep during the inbound trip through the Stockholm
archipelago (which I assume you will be, since that occurs very, very
early), or if it's too dark to see, I'd recommmend trying to get out
on the water for a bit to see the city from that beautiful vantage
point. I'm not the best person to suggest how to do that on a short
trip.

It won't be too dark to see. Sunrise in Stockholm June 1st is 3.43, and it just get earlier later in June. But a shorter ferry trip in around Stockholm is a great way to see the city from the water.

This, incidentally, is the disadvantage of not starting in Stockholm.
In the summer, outbound ferries transit the archipelago while it's
still light.

Yes, starting in Stockholm would be a better idea as it would give you a view of the outer archipelago.

Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm, is very picturesque, but
it's Tourist Central, especially on a handful of restaurant- and
shop-lined streets like Osterlanggatan and Vasterlanggatan. If you jog
one block off those streets, you'll probably find yourself in a
different century.

Gamla stan is certainly worth some time. Just beware of tourist traps, there are some really horrible cafés and restaurants there.

Before you set your itinerary, check how many cruise ships will be in port during your time in Tallinn. I would hate for you to do a trip and that days turns out to be a really busy day. Much better if you can spend the night in Tallinn so you can walk around when the crowds are lower. I would also recommend spending more time in Tallinn than Helsinki. I also agree that Tallinn is cheaper than Helsinki.