Ideas on adding Tallinn, Helsinki ferries to Stockholm visit.

I did an overnight ferry Tallinn to Helsinki I booked a room, it was cheaper than booking a hotel room and the ferry. I only had one day at the end of a tour in Tallinn so I wanted to leave as late as possible. The room was fine mine had two single beds bunkbed style a washroom with shower. While I slept the ferry did Tallinn to Helsinki and back to Tallinn to Helsinki where I got off. I never heard the boat in either dock. I would do it again. Did not take a ferry to Stockholm so I can't help with that but will say it was a great place to visit.

I researched those options in 2019 for a trIp originally planned for 2020, part of which is happening this year. From the scenic perspective, the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki is ideal. The best part of the trip is the Stockholm Archipelago, and (if you're traveling during the summee) you'll see it before it gets dark if you travel eastward. Traveling westward, the ship will pass through the prettiest part of the Archipelago before you're awake.

There is advice in earlier threads about convenience of docks used by the various ferry companies and the desirability of the various ships. You probably need to go back to about April 2020 and work backward from there. I don't remember any recent discussions on this topic.

I haven't yet taken any of the ferries you are contemplating, but I've done four overnight ferry trips in three different countries, and I found the ferry cabins (small and spartan though they were) a vast improvement over an overnight train journey in a couchette.

Tallinn draws rave reviews. I'd want more time there than a day trip would allow. However, you've been there before, and you know your wife's interests.

I don't think you can travel to Visby from any place outside Sweden. As far as I know, there are ferries to Visby only from Oskarshamn, Vastervik and the Nynashamn port outside Stockholm.

You can probably find the names of the ferry companies serving your routes on the Direct Ferries website. As with other forms of transportation, I'd prefer to book directly with the ferry company.

Thanks acraven,

Interesting about the Helsinki-Tallinn ferry. It seemed like a short hop so hadn't thought about an overnight between the two.

I didn't see ferries to Visby from Helsinki or Tallinn but I was hoping. I may still take a couple days to visit Visby but I'll have to figure out the best way to get there and back to the mainland to pick up a car.

Brad

Accommodation on Visby is a very big issue during the summer. I don't know what happens in shoulder season. The ferry frequency is probably reduced.

When do you plan to make the trip?

Swedish schools are generally back in session around August 20 - which, for all intents and purposes, makes that the end of the high season and start of shoulder season. I'll probably be in Visby either the last few days of August or first few days of September.

It doesn't look like everything shuts down in September. I've only checked the ferry schedule for Helsingborg to Helsingor so far. It runs every twenty minutes, at least through my part of September. I still need to sort out ferries for around the Baltic.

If you plan to travel overnight, yes you want a cabin on the ferry. But if you just want to see the archipelago, you a can do a day trip from Stockholm to Mariehamn and back. But getting from Finland or Estonia to Visby will be a bit tricky. Regarding the cabins, the ships offer a variety of options, from small, spartan and cheap cabins to suites.

Of course things don't shut down in September. There will still be ferries to and from Gotland, after all, there are 60000 persons living on the island that are dependent on the ferries. Accomodation will be a bit easier to find, even if some smaller hotels are only open in the summer. The same with the ferries across the Baltic sea, they are much needed public transportation, even during the height of the pandemic they kept operating to carry freight.

I haven't booked quite yet but it looks like I'll take Viking Line overnight to Helsinki; another Viking Line overnight to Tallinn; and finally, a Silja Line overnight back to Stockholm. Prices are quite reasonable for a decent cabin on Viking. Silja cabins are considerably more for similar accommodations.

Visby will be a separate trip. I'll go after Stockholm and take the Destination Gotland ferry (with bus to/from Stockholm central). Two nights lodging was quite reasonable (Scandic Hotel). I'm glad I'm able to add Visby to my itinerary. Afterward I'll pick up a rental car in Stockholm and travel across the country to Gothenburg, then south to Helsingborg, before ferrying across to Denmark.

Booked the ferries. The goal was a day in Helsinki, a day in Tallinn. The plan for the ferries was overnight from Stockholm to Helsinki, another overnight from Helsinki to Tallinn, and a third overnight from Tallinn to Stockholm. After mid-August, Viking stops their Tallinn to Stockholm route. Silja still runs that route, at least through August, so the third leg has to be on Silja.

One change of plans. There wasn't an overnight ferry, on weekdays, between Helsinki and Tallinn. The options on leaving Helsinki were either too early (to spend a full day exploring Helsinki center) or too late (to reasonably settle into a hotel room in Tallinn). I ended up adding a hotel for a night in Helsinki, an early morning ferry to Tallinn and a, same day (late afternoon departure) overnight to Stockholm. That gives us a little more time in Helsinki than planned and a little less than planned (about ten hours) in Tallinn.