9 November 2009.
Train times valid from 13 December 2009 to June 2010.
UK to Finland without flying...
Above: Sailing out of Stockholm past all the
islands on the cruise ferry to Helsinki... Photo
courtesy of Michael Herbert & Bernadette Hyland
It's easy to travel from London to Helsinki by train+ferry, a
wonderful journey across Scandinavia with a lot to see on
the way. A great alternative to an unnecessary flight.
On this page you'll find a step-by-step guide to planning,
booking & making a journey from the UK to Finland by train or ferry, with train & ferry
timetables, approximate fares, and the best way to buy
tickets.
London to Helsinki by
train to Stockholm for ferry to Finland:
This is the fastest option, with daily departures taking
less than 48 hours from London to Helsinki. It also
involves minimal sea travel if that's important to you. Take
a lunchtime Eurostar to Brussels, a connecting train to
Cologne and the City Night Line sleeper train overnight to
Copenhagen. Then take a fast train to Stockholm and the overnight Viking Line
cruise ferry to Turku and connecting train to Helsinki.
By all means stop off for a day or two in Copenhagen or
Stockholm if you like, it would be a shame not to!
This route is shown in red on the route
map below.
Details are
shown below.
London to Helsinki by
train to Germany then ferry to Finland: This is a
more leisurely option, taking 2 days & 3 nights and
involving a 2-night cruise through the Baltic. It also gives you
time to explore
Berlin on the way and is a bit simpler to book. Take
an afternoon Eurostar to Paris, the overnight City Night Line sleeper
train to Berlin, a train to Rostock and the Tallink cruise ferry from Rostock to Helsinki. The
Rostock to Helsinki ferry runs 4 times a week,
year-round. This route is shown in dark blue on the
route map below. Details
are shown below
London to Helsinki by
ferry to Denmark, train to Stockholm, ferry to Finland:
This is a variation on the first option, with more cruise
ferries
and fewer trains. Take DFDS Seaways overnight cruise ferry from Harwich to
Esbjerg in Denmark, a train from Esbjerg to Copenhagen and
the sleeper train to Stockholm, then a magnificent overnight
cruise ferry run by Silja Line
or
Viking Line
from Stockholm to Helsinki. This takes 3 nights and
gives you a free day in Stockholm. Don't miss the
amazing Vaasa Museum. Sailing out of Stockholm past
the small islands as night falls is one of the most scenic
and romantic parts of the journey. Departures 3 or 4
times a week, year-round. This route is shown in
yellow on the route map below.
Details are shown below.
Sponsored links:
Route map: London to Helsinki
& Scandinavia by train & ferry...
This is the fastest overland
option between the UK and Finland, with daily departures
taking less than 48 hours (2 nights) from London to
Helsinki. Though it would be a shame not to allow an
extra day or two and see Stockholm (or Copenhagen) on the
way! This route is shown in red on the map above.
London ► Helsinki
Day 1: Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar.
On Mondays-Thursdays leave London St Pancras at 12:57 arriving Brussels at 16:03.
On Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays leave London St
Pancras at
14:34 arriving in
Brussels at 17:33.
Day 1: Travel from Brussels to
Cologne by high-speed train. On Mondays to
Thursdays leave Brussels at
16:28 by Thalys
train arriving in Cologne at 18:15. On
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays leave Brussels by ICE
train at 18:25, arriving Cologne at 20:15.
You've
time for a meal in Cologne.
Day 1: Travel overnight
from Cologne to Copenhagen on the City Night Line
sleeper train
'Borealis', leaving
Cologne at 22:28 and arriving next morning in Copenhagen at
10:06. This train has a sleeping-car
(1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, standard with washbasin or
deluxe with private shower & toilet),
couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) & seats.
More pictures &
information about this train.
Day 2: Travel
from Copenhagen to Stockholm by high-speed tilting
X2000 train, leaving Copenhagen at 12:19
and arriving in Stockholm at 17:39. See the X2000
photos below.
Day 2: On arrival at
Stockholm Central station, transfer to the Viking Line terminal.
Sail from Stockholm to Turku on Viking Line's luxurious
overnight cruise ferry, departing Stockholm at 20:10 and
arriving Turku at 07:35 next morning. A range of
comfortable cabins is available, or you can party till
dawn in the nightclub, your choice!
Day 3: A connecting
Finnish InterCity train leaves Turku Harbour station
(Turku Satama) at 08:15, arriving Helsinki main station
at 10:57.
Alternatively, why not spend a
night and day seeing Stockholm, and reach Helsinki a day
later, in the morning of day 4? You can use the
ferry+train service via Turku mentioned above, or there
are direct ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki run by
both Viking Line and Silja Line - I'd suggest Silja. The
Silja terminal
is about 2.5km from Stockholm city centre, 500m from Gärdet metro station. A shuttle bus links the Cityterminal (the bus terminal next to the central railway station) with the
Silja terminal. Silja Line's ferries sail
daily at 17:00 arriving in Helsinki at about 09:30 next
morning. It's a very scenic
voyage, as the liner sails out of Stockholm past all the
islands -
see video.
Map of Helsinki showing Silja terminal.
Helsinki ►
London
Day 1:
Travel from Helsinki to Turku by train, leaving Helsinki
main station at 17:09 by fast 'Pendolino' train,
arriving Turku Harbour (Satama) at 19:14.
Day 1:
Sail from Turku to Stockholm on the Viking Line cruise
ferry, leaving Turku Harbour at 21:00 and arriving
Stockholm Viking Line terminal at 06:30 next morning
(day 2). A range of comfortable cabins is
available, or you can party till dawn in the nightclub,
your choice! Transfer to Stockholm central
station.
Alternatively, why not leave a day earlier, using the
luxurious Silja Line or Viking Line overnight cruise
ferries direct from Helsinki to Stockholm, then spend a
day and night seeing Stockholm? The Silja ferry
sails from Helsinki at 17:00 arriving in Stockholm at
about 09:30 next morning. Departures are daily,
and a range of cabins is available.
Day 2: Travel from Stockholm to
Copenhagen by by fast X2000 tilting train, leaving
Stockholm at 12:21 and
arriving Copenhagen at 17:33.
See the X2000
pictures above.
Day 2:
Travel overnight from Copenhagen to Cologne by City
Night Line sleeper train 'Borealis', leaving Copenhagen daily at
18:42 and arriving Cologne at 06:14 next morning. This
train has couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) and a
modern sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, standard
with washbasin or deluxe with private shower & toilet).
More pictures &
information about this train.
Day 3: A high-speed
Thalys
train leaves Cologne at 07:45 daily, arriving Brussels
at 09:32.
Day 3: A
Eurostar
leaves Brussels at 11:29
daily and arrives London St Pancras at 12:33.
Introducing the City Night Line sleeper
train 'Borealis' from Cologne to Copenhagen...
The
Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains. It
has a modern sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with
private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms
with washbasin, there's a shower at the end of the corridor
and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers), modern
air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in a 4
or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not
recommended). Inclusive fares are charged covering travel
plus sleeping accommodation. More pictures
& information about this City Night Line train.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
Above: One
of the new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the
Cologne-Copenhagen City Night Line sleeper train.
Introducing
the X2000 high-speed
trains from Copenhagen to Stockholm...
With Viking
Line or Silja Line from Stockholm to Turku & Helsinki...
Viking Line
& Silja Line both operate an overnight cruise ferry from Stockholm
to Turku and another from Stockholm direct to Helsinki.
The ferries are more like floating
hotels, with luxurious en suite cabins, nightclubs,
bars, restaurants, cafés, shopping centres & cinemas.
The direct ferries to Helsinki are more expensive, and leave
in the early evening, too early for same-day connections
when travelling from London. The Stockholm-Turku
ferries are cheaper and leave later in the evening, allowing
same-day connections when using the sleeper train from
Cologne to Copenhagen & X2000 onwards to Stockholm. A
'boat train' links Turku Harbour station with Helsinki soon
after the ship's arrival.
The Viking
Line ferry from Stockholm to Turku. Silja line
operate a similar competing ferry, but as it leaves half
an hour earlier it's a tighter connection...
Photo courtesy of Matthew Philips
A 2-berth
cabin on board the ferry to Finland... Photo courtesy of Matthew
Philips
The 08:15 'boat train' from Turku
Harbour to Helsinki is a double-deck InterCity train.
Note the children's play area!
Photo courtesy of Matthew Philips
Turku-Helsinki train fares can be checked at
www.vr.fi.
Buy tickets
online...
You will need
to use several websites, but it's not difficult.
First, jot down each specific train and ferry you want to
book and the date on which you want to book it, using the
outward & return journey details above. Then follow
the booking steps below to book each stage of the trip.
It's best to do a dry run on each website first to check
availability and prices, before booking for real. You
should also double-check all the train & ferry times to make
sure there have been no changes and all the connections work
as per the journey details above. Remember you can't
book the trains until 90 days before departure. Here's
how to book online using two possible methods, either Rail
Europe or Eurostar & the German Railways website:
The easiest way to book train tickets from London to
Stockholm is at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
because all the trains can be booked as a single
transaction on one UK-based website. If you live
outside the UK, or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which
for some reason raileurope.co.uk currently won't do) then
use
www.eurostar.com &
www.bahn.de
instead (see the next section). In any case, it's a good idea to
compare prices for the Cologne-Copenhagen train between
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de
as they can differ.
Step 1, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Stockholm'
(let alone Helsinki!) all in one go as this won't find the
cheapest fares, even if it works.
First, enter 'Cologne' &
'Copenhagen' and book the overnight train from Cologne to
Copenhagen & back. Obviously, in the search results simply
look for the direct train with no changes. For some
reason it won't book 4-berth couchettes, and may struggle
with 2-berth sleepers with shower, but if you have any
difficulties like this simply book using
www.bahn.de
instead, as described in the next section. Add this
ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 2, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using
the train times above as your guide. Add this ticket
to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 3, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using
the train times above as a guide. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has
cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
Brussels. Add this to your basket.
Step 4, book the Copenhagen-Stockholm train.
The easy but expensive way is to stay with
www.raileurope.co.uk,
click 'continue shopping' and book a ticket from Copenhagen
to Stockholm and back online. Rail Europe charges a
standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Stockholm trains for all
dates and departures, this is the international tariff made
available to other European railway operators by the Swedish
Railways. The second, much cheaper way is to book the
Copenhagen-Stockholm train online at the Swedish Railways
site,
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on using
www.sj.se here. If you can't get the SJ site to
work for any reason, try
www.bokatag.se instead (though they add a small fee)
or simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch
tone 6 for English). The price you'll pay using
www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. The cheap
deals start 90 days before departure. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available, much cheaper than with Rail Europe,
rising to pretty much the same level as Rail Europe closer
to departure. You simply print out your own ticket
or collect your tickets
from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines which are
installed at Copenhagen main station.
Step 5,
book the Stockholm-Turku ferry: You can book the
Viking Line Stockholm-Turku ferry at
www.vikingline.fi or the Seat61 Ferry
Shop. If you're staying a day or two in Stockholm
and taking the direct Silja Line Stockholm-Helsinki ferry,
you can book this at
www.silja.com.
Step 6,
book the Turku-Helsinki train: You can do this
online at
www.vr.fi. It's Turku Harbour (Satama) station
that you should select.
www.raileurope.co.uk
can send tickets to any UK address and they normally arrive
within a couple of days. Only UK credit cards are
accepted.
Step
1, book the Cologne-Copenhagen sleeper: Go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de and book a sleeper or couchette ticket from Cologne (Köln Hbf)
to Copenhagen (Koebenhvn H) and
back on the direct sleeper train, looking for the cheap 'Savings' fares ('sparnight' in
German). You pay online and print out your own ticket
in .PDF format on your own PC printer. Easy!
Step 2, book
your London-Cologne ticket: Go to either
www.eurostar.com or
www.raileurope.co.uk
and using the train times on this page as your guide, book a ticket from London to Cologne
& back (Cologne is listed as Koln on the Eurostar website).
It's a good idea to try both of these websites, as sometimes
one is cheaper than the other, for some strange reason. Bookings
for Eurostar+Thalys open 90 days (3 months) before
departure, and the further ahead you book, the more likely
you are to see the cheapest fares. Tickets can be
posted to any UK address or collected at St Pancras on
departure. It's obvious, but remember that your return departure date from Cologne will
be the day after your departure date from Copenhagen!
Occasionally, if there are
no affordable London-Cologne through fares shown, it can be worth
using
www.raileurope.co.uk
and trying to split the London-Cologne journey into separate
London-Brussels & Brussels-Cologne sections, looking for
cheap fares for each leg.
First, ask for 'Brussels'
to 'Cologne' and
your dates of travel. After booking the Thalys from Brussels to
Cologne, click 'continue shopping' and book a Eurostar
from London to Brussels and back to connect. Make sure you allow for
the 30 minute Eurostar check-in at Brussels on the return
journey.
Step 3,
book the Copenhagen-Stockholm train: There are
two options for booking this. The easy but expensive way is to stay with
www.raileurope.co.uk,
click 'continue shopping' and book a ticket from
Copenhagen to Stockholm and back online. Rail Europe
charges a standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Stockholm
trains for all dates and departures, this is the
international tariff made available to other European
railway operators by the Swedish Railways. The
second, much cheaper way is to book the
Copenhagen-Stockholm train online at the Swedish Railways
site,
www.sj.se (no booking fee,
see my advice on using
www.sj.se here. If you can't get the SJ site to
work for any reason, try
www.bokatag.se instead (though they add a small fee)
or simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch
tone 6 for English). The price you'll pay using
www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways
price, which varies like budget airline fares. The cheap
deals start 90 days before departure. If you
book several months in advance you can find really cheap
fares available, much cheaper than with Rail Europe,
rising to pretty much the same level as Rail Europe closer
to departure. You simply print out your own ticket
or collect your tickets
from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines which are
installed at Copenhagen main station.
Step 4,
book the Stockholm-Turku ferry: You can book the
Viking Line Stockholm-Turku ferry at
www.vikingline.fi or the Seat61 Ferry
Shop. If you're staying a day or two in Stockholm
and taking the direct Silja Line Stockholm-Helsinki ferry,
you can book this at
www.silja.com or the Seat61 Ferry
Shop.
Step 5,
book the Turku-Helsinki train: You can do this
online at
www.vr.fi. It's Turku Harbour (Satama) station
that you should select.
How to
buy tickets by phone...
Step 1:
Buy your train tickets from London to Stockholm. You
can buy all these tickets through a number of UK agencies, but the best
for this trip is probably Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66
(lines open 09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Sat &
Sun, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for
debit cards), or
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:30
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee per transaction).
Click
here
for a list
of agencies and more info on how to
book.
Step 2: Silja Line
tickets can be bought online at
www.silja.com
or through their UK agents, DFDS Seaways, on 0870
5 333 000. Viking Line can be booked
online at either the Seat61 Ferry
Shop or
www.vikingline.fi or by phone though its UK agent, Emagine Ltd, on 01942 262662.
Don't fly, cruise to Finland! The
Tallink ferry from Rostock to Helsinki, with
cabins, bars, restaurants, sauna and health club.
Photo courtesy of Superfast Ferries, who originally
operated this service.
This leisurely option runs 4 times a week and takes 2 days &
3 nights. Take
an afternoon Eurostar to Paris and the City Night Line overnight sleeper to Berlin, a
train to Rostock on Germany's Baltic coast, then the superb
Tallink ferry from Rostock direct to Helsinki, a 2-night
cruise.
The ferry has cabins, bars, restaurants, WiFi, cinema, sauna, jacuzzi
and massage service. Heck, this non-flying business is
hell, isn't it... This route is shown in dark blue on
the route map above.
London ► Helsinki
Day 1, travel from London to
Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at
16:02 (15:32 at weekends), arriving Paris 19:17 (18:47
weekends).
To connect with the four-times-a-week ferry you need to
leave London on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday
afternoon. By all means take an earlier Eurostar if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. It's a
10-minute walk
from Paris Nord to Paris Gare de l'Est.
Day 1 evening, travel from Paris to Berlin
by sleeper train, leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof
at 08:59 next
morning. This train runs daily in summer, but runs
only 4 times a week in winter. It runs on Mondays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 25 March 2010, then daily
for the summer until 28 October 2010, then on Mondays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again until March 2011. On days when it's
not running, leave London in the morning, use daytime
trains to Berlin and spend the night in a hotel, see the
London to Germany page. The
Paris-Berlin
overnight train is one of the
German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains. It
has modern sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at
the end of the corridor, all rooms with power points for
mobiles & laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in
a 4 or 6-berth compartment), ordinary seats (not
recommended) and a bistro-restaurant
car. Inclusive fares are charged covering
travel plus sleeping accommodation. The
sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast.
Click for more pictures
& information about this train.
Day 2, spend
some time seeing Berlin, then take a train from Berlin
to Rostock in northern Germany. The train takes
around 3 hours, there are regular departures through the
day, you can check train times at
http://bahn.hafas.de. In Rostock, take a taxi
from the station to the port (Rostock
Überseehafen),
about 25 euro.
Boarding for foot passengers starts at 21:30. You must reach the terminal no later than
midnight, as this
is when the last boarding for foot passengers takes
place, on a shuttle bus at 00:30 from the Tallink office
to the ship.
Day 2 evening, board the
four-times-a-week
Tallink cruise ferry from Rostock to Helsinki.
Boarding starts at 21:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
Fridays & Saturdays and you sleep the night on
board. The ferry actually sails from Rostock next
morning (day 3) at 05:00, and arrives
in Helsinki on day 4 at 08:00. It arrives at Helsinki's Länsiterminaali
(West Harbour).
The ship is fast, modern, and has a full range of
cabins, bars, restaurants, cinema, children's play
areas, and a health club with sauna and jacuzzi.
You can check details at
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
Map of Helsinki showing ferry terminal.
Helsinki ►
London
Day 1, sail
from Helsinki to Rostok in Germany on the luxurious
Tallink cruise ferry, leaving Helsinki Länsiterminaali
(West Harbour) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays at
21:00 and arriving in Rostok Überseehafen at 23:00 some 24 hours later (day 2).
The ship is fast, modern, and has a full range of
cabins, bars, restaurants, cinema, children's play
areas, and a health club with sauna and jacuzzi.
Spend the night in a hotel in Rostock.
Day 3, take
a train from Rostock to Berlin. The train takes
around 3 hours, there are regular departures through the
day, you can check train times at
http://bahn.hafas.de.
Day
3, travel from Berlin to
Paris by City Night Line sleeper train, leaving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at
19:57 and
arriving Paris Gare de l'Est
at 09:23 next
morning. This train runs daily in summer, but
only 4 times a week in winter. It runs on Thursdays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 27 March 2010, then
daily until 30 October 2010, then on Thursdays, Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays again until March 2011. On
days when it's not running, spend the night in Berlin and
use daytime trains back to London next day, see the
London to Germany page. The
Berlin-Paris sleeper has ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and modern sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth standard
rooms with washbasin or
deluxe rooms with private shower & toilet), plus a bistro-restaurant car.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
Click for more pictures
& information about this train.
Day 4, travel from
Paris to London by Eurostar. A Eurostar leaves
Paris at 11:13
arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
How much does
it cost?
London to
Berlin by Eurostar+sleeper train starts at around £117 return including a couchette in a 6-bunk
compartment. For full details
of fares in each type of seat, couchette and sleeper, see
the London to Germany page.
Berlin to
Rostock costs around 33 euro (£25) one-way, 66 euro
(£50) return.
Rostock to
Helsinki by Tallink starts at 91 euro (£79)
one-way or 146 euro (£126) return in an airline-style
reclining seat or 180 euro (£155) one-way, 254 euro (£220)
return with a berth in a shared 4-berth cabin. For details of
prices in each type of cabin, including 2-berth cabins and
deluxe suites, see
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
How to buy
tickets online...
It takes several
websites so it's best to try a dry-run on all of them first
to check prices and availability before booking for real,
but here's how it's done:
Step1, book the Paris-Berlin sleeper train. Go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website.
Book from Paris to Berlin
Hbf and back by the overnight sleeper train.
Availability of both cheap 'sparnight' special fares and
fully-flexible full fares will be shown, for each type of
seat, couchette & sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out
your own tickets in .pdf format. Easy! Note that
the prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the
total cost for all passengers selected, not per person.
Step 2,
book your Eurostar. Go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris, using the Eurostar times
above as a guide. By all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed or collected at the station.
Step 3, book the Rostock-Helsinki cruise ferry.
You can book this online at the Seat61 Ferry
Shop. If
you speak German (or are handy with the language tools at
www.google.co.uk), you can book the ferry online at the
German version of Tallink's website,
www.tallinksilja.com/de/, but this online booking system
isn't currently available in English. You can also
book by email or phone direct with Tallink through Tallink's
English-language international website,
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
Or you can book this bit by phone with Tallink's UK agents,
DFDS Seaways, on
0870 333111. Phone lines are open 08:30-20:00
Mondays-Fridays, 08:30-17:00 Saturdays, 10:00-16:00 Sundays
Step 4, you simply can buy your Berlin-Rostock ticket
when you get to Berlin at the station, or buy it online at
www.bahn.de.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
London-Berlin-Rostock train tickets: You can buy
all the
London-Berlin-Rostock tickets from the
UK's
Deutsche Bahn office, on 08718 80 80 66.
Lines open 0900-1700 Mon-Fri, no booking fee.
Alternatively, you can also buy them from
www.europeanrail.com (a booking fee is charged).
Rostock-Helsinki ferry ticket: The best way to
book is by phone with Tallink's UK agents, DFDS Seaways, on
0870 333111. Phone lines are open 08:30-20:00
Mondays-Fridays, 08:30-17:00 Saturdays, 10:00-16:00 Sundays.
London to Helsinki
by ferry to Denmark, train to Stockholm, ferry to
Finland...
The journey shown here involves
sailing to Denmark aboard DFDS Seaways' cruise ferry from
Harwich to Esbjerg, then taking trains on to Stockholm for
the overnight Silja Line or Viking Line cruise ferry to
Finland. The DFDS ferry sails 3 or 4 times a week.
It's more leisurely than the Eurostar-based option via
Brussels & Stockholm described above. It takes 3
nights, but this includes the best part of a day in
Stockholm. This route is shown in yellow on the
route map above.
London ► Helsinki
Day 1, travel from London to Harwich by train, leaving London Liverpool
Street at 14:18 and arriving Harwich 1 hour 25 minutes
later. Harwich International station is right next
to the ferry terminal. The train runs hourly, but
this departure gives plenty of time to catch the ferry.
Please double-check train times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Day 1, sail from
Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark aboard DFDS Seaways 'Dana Sirena'.
The Dana Sirena sails from Harwich every Wednesday, Friday & Sunday
at 18:00 (increased to every second day in
June, July & August ), arriving in Esbjerg at 13:00 next
day (day 2).
www.dfds.co.uk
will confirm sailing dates. The Dana Sirena is a
modern and well-run ship, with comfortable cabins,
two restaurants, a bar, coffee shop and lounges, see the
photos below. On arrival at Esbjerg, take a taxi
or bus or simply walk to the
railway station. Bus number 5 runs from the ferry
terminal to the
station every 20 minutes, bus fare 15 Kr adult 8 Kr
child.
If you've a backpack or light luggage,
you can easily walk from the ferry terminal to the
pedestrianised town centre in about 10-15 minutes, from
where it's another 5-10 minutes walk to the station.
The station is a historic red-brick building, though not
very distinctively marked.
Day 2 afternoon, travel from Esbjerg to
Copenhagen by modern InterCity
train, leaving Esbjerg town station at 15:41 and arriving in
Copenhagen at 18:49. The journey is about 175
miles, right across Denmark in air-conditioned comfort. You can check times
for your date of travel at
www.bahn.de.
Day 2 evening, travel from
Copenhagen to Stockholm overnight, leaving Copenhagen
by frequent local train at 21:23 arriving Malmö
at 21:58 (these Copenhagen-Malmö local trains run every 20 minutes). A sleeper train leaves Malmö
at 22:48
arriving Stockholm at 05:56 next morning (day 3). This sleeper
train runs daily except Saturday nights, and has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and sleepers (1 & 2 bed
rooms with washbasin). Alternatively,
spend the night in Copenhagen and head for Stockholm the
next day. Regular high speed tilting 'X2000' trains link Copenhagen with
Stockholm, check train times at
www.bahn.de.
Day 3: Enjoy the best
part of a day free in Stockholm. Late in the
afternoon, transfer to the Silja Line terminal. The terminal
is about 2.5km from the city centre, 500m from Gärdet metro station. A shuttle bus links the Cityterminal (the bus terminal next to the central railway station) with the
Silja terminal. Silja Line's ferries sail
daily at 17:00 arriving in Helsinki at about 09:30 next
morning (day 4 from London). It's a very scenic
voyage, as the liner sails out of Stockholm past all the
islands -
see video.
Map of Helsinki showing Silja terminal.
Helsinki ►
London
Day 1, sail
on the luxurious Silja Line cruise ferry from
Helsinki at 17:00 arriving in Stockholm at about
09:30 next
morning. Departures are daily, and a range of
cabins is available. Transfer by bus or metro to
Stockholm central station. Enjoy day 2 free in
Stockholm.
Day 2, travel from Stockholm to
Copenhagen overnight, leaving Stockholm
at 23:06 by sleeper train and arriving Malmö at 06:27 next
morning. This sleeper runs daily except Saturday
nights. A connecting local
train leaves Malmö every 20 minutes, with one at 07:02 arriving Copenhagen at 07:37.
The sleeper train has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and
sleepers (1 & 2 bed rooms). Alternatively, on
Mondays-Saturdays there is a high
speed X2000 train leaving Stockholm at 06:21 and
arriving Copenhagen at 11:33, allowing you to spend
the night in Stockholm and travel next day (day 3) to make a
same-day
connection to Esbjerg for the ferry to England.
Check times and days of running at
www.bahn.de.
Day 3, travel from Copenhagen to
Esbjerg by modern air-conditioned InterCity train, leaving Copenhagen at
12:30 and arriving Esbjerg at 15:28. You can
check times at
www.bahn.de. Take a bus or taxi or
simply walk (25 minutes) to
the DFDS ferry terminal. Bus number 5 runs from the station
to the port every 20 minutes.
Day 3 evening, sail from
Esbjerg to Harwich aboard DFDS cruise ferry 'Dana Sirena', leaving Esbjerg ferry
terminal at 19:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, arriving Harwich at 11:30
next day (sailings are increased to every second day in
June, July & August). See
www.dfds.co.uk
to confirm sailing dates.
3D virtual tour of the Dana Sirena's cabins, lounges,
bars and restaurants.
Day 4, travel from Harwich to London
by train, leaving Harwich
at 13:06 and arriving London Liverpool Street at 14:33.
The train service runs hourly, you can check
times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Introducing DFDS
Seaways "Dana Sirena" from Harwich to Esbjerg...
The Dana
Sirena is a modern and well-run ship, built in 2002.
All passengers travel in cabins, and all cabins have a private
shower & toilet. Facilities on board include the 7 Seas buffet restaurant,
the Blue
Riband à la carte
restaurant, Café Lighthouse (with WiFi access for laptops), Columbus Lounge,
and shop. The ship is child-friendly, with children's play
area, child restraints for cabin berths available from
reception, and highchairs available in all restaurants and
lounges.
3D virtual tour of the Dana Sirena's cabins, lounges,
bars and restaurants. Cabins come in three classes:
Seaways class:
1-6 berths with private shower and toilet;
Sirena class: 1
or 2 berth with private shower and toilet, TV (BBC World,
BBC Prime), complimentary minibar, breakfast included;
Commodore
Deluxe: Hotel-style rooms with double bed or two single
beds, TV (BBC Prime, BBC World), small sitting area, private
shower and toilet. Commodore cabins are on their own
deck with exclusive access to the Commodore Lounge which has
sea views, complimentary tea, coffee, snacks, beer and (in
the evening) free wine and spirits, PC with internet access
and WiFi access if you have your own laptop. Commodore
Deluxe is like travelling to Scandinavia
aboard a
floating hotel, highly recommended..!
Crossing the North Sea aboard the Dana Sirena...
Commodore class cabin
with double bed.
Sirena class cabin.
On board the
Danish InterCity train from Esbjerg to Copenhagen...
Air-conditioned Danish InterCity train.
2nd class seats on board
the InterCity train...
All aboard for Copenhagen..!
On board the X2000 daytime
train from Copenhagen to Stockholm...
With Silja Line from Stockholm to Helsinki...
The Silja Line
Stockholm-Helsinki cruise ferries are more like floating
cities than ferries, with luxurious cabins, nightclubs,
bars, restaurants, cafés, shopping centres & cinemas.
Silja
Line's 'Silja Serenade' (above left) and 'Silja
Symphony' (above right) on the Helsinki route,
are more like cruise liners than ferries. Pictures courtesy of Silja Line.
London to
Harwich by train costs £28 Off-Peak return or £26 full
fare one-way.
Advance reservation isn't necessary, just buy tickets at the
station on the day of travel. Alternatively, if you
book with DFDS Seaways by phone, they can sell you a
London-Harwich train ticket with your ferry ticket for a
special price of around £13 one-way or £26 return.
Harwich to
Esbjerg by ferry starts at around £158 return for two people
sharing a 2-bed cabin with private toilet and shower (= £79
each) or £147 return for one person with sole use of a
cabin. To
check sailing dates, times and fares for different types of
cabin, visit
www.dfds.co.uk.
DFDS
Seaways now has an airline-style pricing system so prices
vary, book early and avoid peak times to get the cheapest fares. Children under 16 travel at
reduced fare. Unfortunately, DFDS
won't now let solo passengers share cabins, the whole cabin
must be booked.
Esbjerg to
Copenhagen by train costs 297 Kr (£27) one way, 594 Kr
(£54) return for adults, or 149 Kr (£14) each way for
children and seniors over 65. Advance reservation is
possible but not necessary, and tickets can be bought at the
station on the day at those prices. Alternatively,
DFDS can sell you a train ticket with your ferry ticket, at
the same prices.
Copenhagen to
Stockholm by sleeper train costs SEK 760 (£56) one-way
or SEK 1520 (£112) return per person travelling in 6-bunk
couchettes, or SEK 1170 (£87) one-way, SEK 2340 (£174)
return per person travelling in a 2-bed sleeper, when booked
through SwedenBooking.com.
Step 1:
Buy your Harwich-Esbjerg ferry tickets online at
www.dfds.co.uk
(no booking fee)
or by calling DFDS Seaways on 0870
5 333 000 (£10 booking fee for phone bookings).
Phone lines are open 08:30-20:00 Mondays-Fridays,
08:30-17:00 Saturdays, 10:00-16:00 Sundays. If you
book by phone, you can also buy your Silja Line ferry ticket
from DFDS.
You can buy
your London-Harwich & Esbjerg-Copenhagen train tickets at
the station on the day of travel. No reservation is
necessary, and there's no price advantage in buying tickets
in advance. But if you want to save queuing at the
ticket office, you can buy
the London-Harwich ticket online at
www.nationalrail.co.uk and the Esbjerg-Copenhagen ticket
(with seat reservation) at
www.dsb.dk,
the Danish Railways website. This is in Danish, but
it's not difficult to work out how to use it if you're
familiar with the way such booking systems work. You
pay by credit card then print out your own ticket.
remember that Copenhagen in Danish is 'Kobenhavn'.
Alternatively, if you book by phone,
DFDS can add both UK and Esbjerg-Copenhagen tickets to your ferry fare, including
making a seat reservation on the Esbjerg-Copenhagen train.
Ask DFDS about special cheap train fares from other UK
stations to Harwich, too.
Step 2:
Buy the Malmö-Stockholm sleeper tickets online at
www.bokatag.se. You buy online and pick up your
tickets from the vending machines at Malmö station.
Bookings open 90 days before departure. Look
for the 'just-nu' special offer fares, 'just-nu' is the name
for Swedish Railways non-refundable advance-purchase cheap
deals. A ticket for
the connecting Copenhagen-Malmö local train can easily be
bought at the ticket office for a few krone, when you get to
Copenhagen. Alternatively, you can buy Malmö-Stockholm tickets by email
with
www.swedenbooking.com, email
info@swedenbooking.com or call + 46 498 203380.
Tickets can be posted to UK addresses, or tickets can be
picked up by entering your booking reference into the
automatic machines at stations in Sweden, including at Malmö
and Stockholm stations. The fares shown above include
Swedenbooking's 10% surcharge over Swedish Railways' prices,
and they also charge an SEK 100 (£7) booking fee.
Step 3: Silja Line
tickets can be bought online at
www.silja.com
or through their UK agents, DFDS Seaways, on 0870
5 333 000. Viking Line can be booked
online at either the Seat61 Ferry
Shop or
www.vikingline.fi or by phone though its UK agent, Emagine Ltd, on 01942 262662.
The direct overnight train
called the "Tolstoi" is easily the best way to travel from Helsinki to
Moscow. It's safe, cheap, civilised and comfortable.
The train has recently (2006) been completely refurbished,
there are sleepers, a restaurant and even deluxe sleeper
with private shower, and border controls have been
streamlined. Times valid from 1 September 2008.
Helsinki ► Moscow
Moscow ► Helsinki
The "Tolstoi"
Daily
The "Tolstoi"
Daily
Helsinki
depart
17:52
Moscow (Octyabrskaya)
depart
22:50*
Moscow (Octyabrskaya)
arrive
08:25
Helsinki
arrive
12:06
On board the
Helsinki-Moscow "Tolstoi"...
1st class
sleepers with 1 & 2-berth compartments (if you are travelling
solo you can book one bed in a 2-bed compartment and share )
2nd class sleepers
with 4-berth compartments (each berth is sold separately)
a
newly-refurbished bar-restaurant car. The restaurant
accepts Euros, US Dollars and Rubles, but not credit
cards.
one deluxe
business class sleeping-car with four 2-bed compartments,
each with private shower, toilet and DVD entertainment.
Only whole compartments are sold, you cannot book one berth
in a 2-berth deluxe sleeper.
The coaches on this train
were renewed in 2006, and it's a safe, affordable and very comfortable way to travel.
Customs and passport formalities are carried out on board
the train, no need to get off at the frontier. The
Russian border station is Vyborg.
See the brochure on the Finnish Railways website which
shows photographs and seating/sleeping berth layouts of each
type of seat/sleeper and restaurant car on each of the
Helsinki-Russia trains.
Fares...
Helsinki to Moscow costs about 93 euros (£74) one-way per person
in 2nd class (4-berth sleepers) or 138 euros (£110) per
person in 1st
class (2-berth sleepers), or 177 euro (£140) in a 1st class
sleeper with sole occupancy.
Travel in a deluxe business class sleeper with private
toilet & shower costs 247 euros (£198) per person for two
people or 345 euros (£275) for sole occupancy.
A return is twice the one-way fare.
Children aged 6 to 16 (inclusive) travel at half fare.
Children under 6 go free.
Anyone over 60 gets a 30% reduction. A passport must
be shown on the train.
You can check
these fares at
www.vr.fi (English button top right, look for 'international'
then 'Russia')
How to buy tickets...
Helsinki to Moscow:
You can buy Helsinki-Moscow tickets at the station
reservations office (the office at Helsinki is open
08:30-16:30 Monday-Friday, closed Saturday & Sunday), or by email with Finnish Railways on
internationaltickets@vr.fi (if this doesn't work try
international.tickets@vr.fi) quoting journey & dates,
passenger name, date of birth, passport number, nationality,
date & time of travel and credit card details and they will
mail back a reservation number. Or you can call Finnish Railways
international reservations on +358 9 2319 2902
(Normally they require you to collect tickets two days
before departure, so be prepared to persuade them to allow
collection on the day!) The
Real Russia online booking
system can also book this journey, but you will need to
have tickets sent to the UK (£12 fee) or collected in London
(£6.50 fee) as Real Russia don't have offices in Helsinki
and e-tickets don't work for departures from Finland.
Moscow to Helsinki: Use the
Real Russia online booking
system here, tickets can be booked online & collected in
Moscow. Or you can buy at any main Russian station.
The two daily direct trains from Helsinki to St
Petersburg are easily the best way to do this journey.
One is Finnish, the other Russian, both are very
comfortable.
Helsinki ► St Petersburg
St Petersburg ► Helsinki
Daily:
Sibelius
Repin
Daily:
Repin
Sibelius
Helsinki
depart
07:00
15:00
St
Petersburg (Finlandski)
depart
07:17
16:30
St
Petersburg (Finlandski)
arrive
14:15
22:51
Helsinki
arrive
12:48
21:58
Engineering
work: The Sibelius & Repin will be cancelled on certain
dates (meaning most Tuesdays) in summer 2009 because of
engineering work to improve and speed up the Helsinki-Russia
rail link. They should resume 7-days-a-week operation
from 31 August 2009. Please double-check when you book.
Sibelius =
Finnish rolling stock, air-conditioned, completely refurbished in
2006. 1st & 2nd class, restaurant car. The
restaurant car accepts Euros, USD, Rubles and all major credit
cards.
Repin =
Russian rolling stock. Spalny vagon (1st class 2-seat
compartments), kupé class (2nd class 4-seat compartments),
2nd class open seating, restaurant car. The fare includes complimentary snack & soft
drink. The restaurant car accepts Euros, USD, Rubles but
not credit cards.
See the brochure on the Finnish Railways website which
shows photographs and seating/sleeping berth layouts of each
type of seat/sleeper and restaurant car on each of the
Helsinki-Russia trains. The Russian border station is
Vyborg.
Which station
in St Petersburg? From September 2006, these
trains are once again using St Petersburg Finlandski station,
not the new Ladozhki station which they used for a while.
Fares...
Helsinki to St Petersburg costs 55 euro (£44) one-way in 2nd
class (either train), 62 euro in Repin 4-seat compartment, 87 euro
(£58) in Sibelius 1st class, 95 euro in Repin 1st class.
Children aged 6 to 16 (inclusive) travel at half fare.
Children under 6 go free.
Anyone over 60 gets a 30% reduction. A passport must
be shown on the train.
You can check
these fares at
www.vr.fi (English button top right, look for 'trains to
Russia')
How to buy tickets...
Helsinki to St Petersburg:
You can buy Helsinki-Moscow tickets at the station
reservations office (the office at Helsinki is open
08:30-16:30 Monday-Friday, closed Saturday & Sunday), or by email with Finnish Railways on
internationaltickets@vr.fi (if this doesn't work try
international.tickets@vr.fi) quoting journey & dates,
passenger name, date of birth, passport number, nationality,
date & time of travel and credit card details and they will
mail back a reservation number. Or you can call Finnish Railways
international reservations on +358 9 2319 2902
(Normally they require you to collect tickets two days
before departure, so be prepared to persuade them to allow
collection on the day!).
St Petersburg to Helsinki: Use the
Real Russia online booking
system here, tickets can be booked online & collected in
Moscow. Or you can buy at any main Russian station.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable...
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
2009 edition (June to December 2009)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
You
should take a good guidebook.
For the independent traveller, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the
Rough
Guide. I personally prefer the layout of the Lonely Planet, but
others prefer the Rough Guide. Both guidebooks provide the same
excellent level of practical information and historical background.
You won't regret buying one! My own book, an essential handbook
for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and
is available from Amazon with shipping worldwide.
You can pre-book hotels in almost
any city worldwide using
www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box
below.
It's is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms,
Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many others) to
find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set up in
2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place to
start for booking a hotel online.
www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers
offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels
all over Europe & the world, at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & health card...
Get travel insurance..
Never go abroad without travel insurance from a
reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
I've used
Direct Line myself and on one occasion, successfully
claimed back the cost of non-refundable Eurostar & trainhotel
tickets to Spain when we cancelled the trip because my mother
fell ill.
Feedback from
using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome!
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, but if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85%. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Rough
Guide. I personally prefer the layout of the Lonely Planet, but
others prefer the Rough Guide. Both guidebooks provide the same
excellent level of practical information and historical background.
You won't regret buying one! My own book, an essential handbook
for train travel to Europe based on this website called "
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
