Hi all.

We’re in that wonderful early stage of “where shall we explore enroute?” planning of our return trip from Sydney to Stockholm in Aug/Sept this year. We’re thinking of making Helsinki our end airport and taking the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. I love the idea of a 15 hour jetlag recovery cruise before arriving at our final destination.

Looks like the main ferry lines are Silja and Viking – huge liners promoting the party/casino/duty-free drink/disco scene. Just wondering which of the two would be smaller, cosier and more laid back for two non-party animals?

Does anyone know if there are perhaps smaller ferry lines servicing this route that don’t get a look-in on Google?

Many thanks,
Jackie

No, there are just Silja and Viking. But they are a lot more than party and boozing (that happens mainly on weekends when there just happens to be younger crowd). They are also very much about fine wining and dining and pampering yourself in all kinds of treatments and just taking it easy. (Silja´s wine cellar is top class)

And most of all they are a leasurely way to travel between two countries. For example a very busy friend of mine makes at least two business trips to Stockholm every month. She usually flys there, and takes the boat back. She does that because she enjoys having all that time for herself. She just relaxes, and for example last week she slept 12 hours and didn´t wake up before the cleaning crowd woke her up at Helsinki harbour. So it is just what you make of it.

I never go to a disco, but I always eat á la carte (there are also huge buffets), enjoy wine, go to a sauna and beauty parlour, do some shopping and so on.

And both company´s boat are HUGE, but that makes it easy to ignore the boozing crowd. And despite their size, they are cosy and laid back.

Not boat, boatS. Both have many.

If you're starting in Helsinki, don't miss Tallinn. It's only a 2 hour boat ride and is much more interesting than Helsinki:

http://www.marksblogg.com/past-bloggs/Tallinn-Estonia/

Thanks so much Elina for that detailed information – a 12 hour sleep combined with fine wining and dining sounds just perfect!

For anyone else interested in these Baltic ferry cruises, here are the weblinks
Viking Line: http://www.vikingline.ferries.org/?g...FTIeGAodjARpgQ

Silja Line: http://www.silja.com/en/


Mark, thanks for your website link – great pics! Tallinn (especially the Old Town) would certainly be somewhere we’d love to visit; will consider this for our return journey when we do Stockholm-Helsinki on the ferry in September.

Jackie