Ferry from Germany to Helsinki?

I don't know much about your question, but I looked at The Man In Seat 61's website for some guidance. He has a page on getting from London to Helsinki by train, and includes information about ferries from Travemuende and Rostock to Helsinki. Here's info about the Travemuende to Helsinki ferry; scroll down to learn about the Rostock one: http://tinyurl.com/br799xg With only a week, he may prefer to fly, particularly if he has to go far in Germany to get to Rostock or Travemunde, or if his travel days don't coincide with the days the ferries run. To find flights, look at Skyscanner: http://www.skyscanner.com/.

It's a long way. Your son would do better to fly one of the budget European air carriers.
Flying might be cheaper in the long run.

Lara, Great if he were to go by ferry. From Germany to Helsinki there are two departure ports...Travemünde and Rostock on Finnlines and Talink Silja. Of course, if he's pressed for time, there's always flying, ie , Berlin Tegel to Helsinki. Going by ferry takes ca 21 hours. I would do one leg by ferry.

Thank you for your replies and suggestions. We'll do some further research and make some decisions!

I've taken the ferry (Finnlines) from Travemünde to Helsinki and it's the best and most relaxing way to travel. Yes, of course it takes longer than flying. Any cruise takes longer than flying. But it's so relaxing. There are two types of ferries: Cruise ferries and - what I call them - ferry ferries. The first ones are like cruise ships. You've got all the entertainment, pools, beautiful cabins etc. The latter ones are more functional, more a means of transportation than of entertainment. Actually I prefer those latter ones. They're more genuine. Anyways, Finnlines are ferry ferries. But it's the nicest two days ride there is in the Baltic Sea. They do have clean cabines with bunk beds or even double beds, cafetierias and restaurants on board. And plenty of deck chairs to enjoy the beautiful weather on the Baltic in Summer - and the very, very late sunsets in late June (around 11pm, sunrise is around 3am). Your alternative route could be to take the cruise ferry from Kiel to Gothenburg, take the train to Stockholm and another cruise ferry to Helsinki. Stena Lines and Tallink sell one joint ticket for this combination (excluding the train ride). The German port of Travemünde is actually the sea port of Lübeck and you can easily get there by bus from Lübeck central train station. The train or shuttle bus ride from Hamburg airport to Lübeck is one hour. Kiel is also a one hour train ride from Hamburg central train station and there, too, are shuttle busses from Hamburg airport directly to the ferry port. From Kiel central train station you can walk across a bridge to get to the ferry port.