Access from Cruise Ship to town
 

We are taking a cruise and I would like to know the best way to get into town for the following ports:

Nynashamn (to Stockholm)
Helsinki
Tallinn
Gydnia (to Gdansk)
Oslo
We would prefer not to take ship tours, but one of our party has difficulty walking. Will this make walking into town practical? Are tourist information centers handy? I understand Gdansk is about an hour bus trip from Gdynia. Any suggestions for what to see in Gdansk? How about Tallin? Thanks for any suggestions!

As far as I know cruise ships in Oslo dock at quayside, but that depends on the size of ship. Cruise operator should know. This is as close to downtown as you'll get with tourist office close by. www.visitoslo.com with email-address [email protected]

It all depends upon where your ship berths. For Helsinki, Tallin and Oslo, many ships berth within walking distance (15-20 min) of the city centre. There should also be cabs available, and in Helsinki, a tram line is very close by. Our ship also berthed close to the centre of Stockholm (short cab ride).

However, Nynäshamn is some distance from Stockholm (perhaps 45 min to an hour by car or train). I imagine that your cruise line (is it Princess?) will have transport into the city. I also believe that the cruise ships use tenders at Nynäshamn, so that will add to your travel time

I can't advise on Gydnia as I haven't been there.

I know that many people look down their noses at Rick Steves' guides, but for a cruise, his Scandinavia guide is excellent, as normally cruise passengers have less than a day in port. It provides good practical information on the highlights of a city, (including the location of the tourist bureaus) and how to get around. For example, in Helsinki there is a tram (no 10?) which follows a figure 8 loop through the city and passes most of the main sights.

Hi,
The distance between Gdynia and Gdansk is 22 km.
Take an SKM train. It's a commuter train network connecting the Tri-Cities (Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot). I think it will be faster than the bus. One-way ticket from Gdynia Stocznia station (stocznia means "shipyard" - I'm not sure though if that would be your departure station) to Gdansk Glowny (main station in Gdansk) is 4PLN.
You'll not be bored in Gdansk! I'm not sure how much time you'll will have there but here are some recommendations:
- all the famous city gates (i.e. Green Gate, Upland Gate, Golden Gate etc.)
- Long Market with the Neptune's Fountain, Golden House, Artus Court
- Gdansk Harbor
- Great Crane
- St. Mary's Church
- St. Mary's Street (a very picturesque street; plus tons of great amber to buy there)
- more... just check out the following Web site. It's a short guide that you might find handy:
http://guide.trojmiasto.pl/
Also, don't miss Sopot while you're visiting the Tri-Cities.

Here are some restarant recommendations for you:
Sopot:
Wieloryb - ul. Podjazd #2 (klub-wieloryb.com.pl)

Gdansk:
Pod Lososiem (Under the Salmon) - ul. Szeroka # 54 (podlososiem.com.pl)
Restauracja Gdanska - ul. Sw. Ducha #16/24 (gdanska.pl)
Czerwone Drzwi (Red Door) - ul. Piwna #52/53 (reddoor.gd.pl)

Finally, here are a few other Web sites where you can find some info on Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia:
http://www.gdansk-life.com/
http://www.what-where-when.pl/
http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/en/

Enjoy your trip!

Hi.

Nynäshamn is about 50km from Stockholm. You can either take a taxi, about 130 USD or take the pendeltåg, which is a regional train that takes about 1 hour and costs costs somewhere around 5 dollars (the transport association has just changed the fees and still haven't been able to figure it out). www.sl.se

If you are arriving on the Star Princess, they usually have city transfers also, that drop off and pick up right in the middle of town, making it pretty hassle free.

We visited Gdansk last summer. We hired a taxi on the dock and went first to Oliwa Cathedral in time for the noon organ concert, then on to Gdansk. It did not take an hour, more like 15-20 minutes as I recall.

Gdansk was almost totally destroyed during WW II but the "Old Town" has been beautifully restored. Caroline1 has listed most of the most popular sights. Gdansk is also known for amber jewelry. There are shops everywhere. One particularly pretty street, comprised almost entirely of amber shops, is Mariacka St. which runs from the Moltava River to St. Mary's Basilica.

My only information about restaurants is that we had lunch at Pod Bandera Bar on Dtugie Pobrzeze, facing the Moltava River, very near the old wooden ship crane. Pierogis, french fries and sodas for two was $12.

We told the taxi driver we would get back to the ship on our own but he shadowed us in town and at the end of the day we got him to drive us back to the ship. We shared both ways with another couple and $40 sticks in my mind as the cost for the roundtrip for the 4 of us. Incidentally, USD were accepted everywhere in (but not beyond) Gdansk.

At Tallinn, we hired a taxi at the dock for my wife and me. The cost for a five minute ride to the upper old town was $15. We negotiated a price of $40 for a one hour over-view tour.

He first drove us through the Upper Town, then to Kadriorg Park and past the palace built by Peter the Great, including the building now used by the pres. of Estonia; then to the ruins of the Convent of St. Birgitta, ruined by war in 1577; several other sites, then dropping us off in the Upper Town of the Old Town. We basically saw in that hour the sights that the ship's tour took the morning to see.

You should definitely take a taxi to the Upper Town so that you are walking downhill as you see the Old Town.

Our enjoyment of Tallinn was tempered somewhat by the fact that there five cruise ships docked when we were there.
The Old Town was basically overwhelmed by the number of visitors from the ships. Hopefully you'll be fortunate enough to visit on a less crowded day.

Thanks to everyone for the good information and recommendations for sites to see. I'll definitely check out the web sites and Rick Steves information. This should help our plans a lot!