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dffisher Mar 31st, 2004 10:39 AM

Best and cheapest way to get to Finland From Germany
 
My son and I are traveling to Germany this summer and we want to visit Finland to attend a wedding. What is the cheapest way to get to Helsinki from Germany?

Gardyloo Mar 31st, 2004 10:44 AM

German Wings or V-Bird most likely, both around €65 - €70, depending on where in Germany. See http://www.whichbudget.com for a good guide to low-cost European airlines.

hsv Mar 31st, 2004 12:36 PM

Apart from the airlines Gardyloo suggested, there is also a new SAS affiliate called Blue 1. I recently read that they will take up a service from Hamburg to Helsinki this spring, which is not yet listed on their website, though. But you might want to watch this.

http://www.blue1.com/en/

You might also take a look at the Finnish national carrier Finnair

http://www.finair.com

A travel agency specializing in flights in Germany is Travel Overland.
I have used them a couple of times and was very satisfied with the rates they found me.
You will get a good overview of available flights and prices from their website. "Von" means "From" and "Nach" is "To".

http://www.travel-overland.com

If you have a little more time, you might consider travelling by ferry, which is fairly enjoyable, actually to my experience.
Silja Line offers a route from Rostock in Germany to Tallinn, Estonia. You will have to disembark their "Finnjet" Ferry (which almost features cruiseship standards) there but will leave half an hour later on a fast ferry from Tallinn for the short trip across the Gulf of Finland.

http://www.silja.fi/PRICES/One-way%2...;x=11&y=11

From Travemuende close to Luebeck, Finnlines offer a (slower) service. Their ferries are mainly freight service oriented, but feature pretty luxurious cabins.

http://www.ferrycenter.fi/finnlines/en/
index.shtml

Finally, from Rostock, the Greek ferry operator "Superfast" offers nonstop service with pretty new ships to Hanko in Finland. I believe they have a bus service from there to Helsinki.

http://www.superfastferries.de/Balti...=Prices%202004

I suppose, I would have a first look on that Travel-Overland website, followed by checking the others according to your travel preferences.

Enjoy your trip!

hsv Apr 1st, 2004 08:43 AM

Another option might be to fly Estonian Air (modern aircraft like 737) into Tallinn and then take a speed ferry across the Gulf.

Estonian Air is currently advertising fares of € 57.- from Hamburg and Berlin into Tallinn and (I believe) € 77.- from Frankfurt. They fly (unlike V-Bird) out of the normal airports and might thus be equally convenient. Besides (if you plan enough time) the Old Town of Tallinn is really picturesque.

dffisher Apr 2nd, 2004 03:53 AM

Thank you for all the great info. This will really help me plan the trip!

hsv Apr 2nd, 2004 08:32 AM

Forgot to include a link to Estonian Air in case you decide to fly through Tallinn.

http://www.estonian-air.ee

It's available in English language, too.


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