brandsberg

Am just beginning doing research for summer 2015 and am thinking of a week in Stockholm and another week in Tallinn. We will be retired by then. We like staying in apartments to keep down costs. What areas are best for apartments in both areas. Web are not limited to a week in both areas and would like suggestions for quaint areas to visit. We would prefer not to rent a car but will if it will add to our enjoyment of the trip.

Generally we like countryside better than cities as we feel they give a better flavor of the country, but we are open to suggestions.

thursdaysd

A week is longer than I would want in Tallinn. Two full days/three nights would be plenty. I'd go to Riga if you want a wekk in one of the Balitic capitals.

michele_d

I agree about a week being too much in Tallinn. It is a lovely town but small, 2-3 days tops. Maybe an overnight ferry to St Pete's for a 72 hour visa free stay. We very much enjoyed doing this. Are you taking the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn?

lauren_s_kahn

Tallinn is most easily accessible by ferry from Helsinki. There are no direct ferries from Stockholm.

From Stockholm, you can take a ferry to Riga. Book a cabin. The ferry from Stockholm to Riga takes 17 hours via Silja Line.

I genereally use the Silja Line if I'm in the Baltic and want to do one of these ferry cruises. In Helsinki I believe there is another company as well.

For St. Petersburg, check and see if you will need a visa. Generally, if you come on a major cruise line, you do not, but on the ferries you might.

Stockholm is a lot more interesting than either Tallinn or Riga. I would spend most of my time there.

Odin

There is a ferry service from Stockholm to Tallinn. it is operated by Tallink Silja.

michele_d

<Tallinn is most easily accessible by ferry from Helsinki. There are no direct ferries from Stockholm.>

There IS an overnight ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn...we took it.

From the Tallink Silja website: Stockholm to Tallinn overnight ferry
http://www.tallinksilja.com/en/web/i...n-one-way-trip



There are daytime ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn...this is one of them that we took: http://www.lindaline.ee/en/?p=256



<For St. Petersburg, check and see if you will need a visa. Generally, if you come on a major cruise line, you do not, but on the ferries you might.>

There IS a 72 hr visa free rule to St Pete's on the overnight ferry NOT a cruise line...we did it.

From the St Peter Line website:
http://www.stpeterline.ru/en/Goodtok...afreerule.aspx

lauren_s_kahn

OK, I stand corrected about the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn. I should have checked. I just booked on the Silja Line for Stockholm-Mariehamn (Aaland Islands)and return ext August. I'll be going just after my home exchange in Stockholm finishes.

Nice to know about the 72 hour visa in St. Petersburg, but you would have to stay with the ferry tour group on excursions which would make me think twice about doing that because I would not want to be "locked in" to their itinerary/itineraries. It might be more attractive if I had not already visited St. Petersburg. The arrangement with the St. Peter Line is fairly similar to the arrangement the Russiand have with all the Baltic Cruise line. You generally come back to the ship to sleep, so the ship is your hotel.

Odin

<<we like countryside better than cities as we feel they give a better flavor of the country, but we are open to suggestions.>> Summer in Sweden can be glorious, if you like the countryside, I would not stay in Stockholm the whole time, but rent a red wooden summer cottage somewhere on the archipelago or in the surrounding countryside, perhaps by a lake. In this case you would need a car.

michele_d

< but you would have to stay with the ferry tour group on excursions which would make me think twice about doing that because I would not want to be "locked in" to their itinerary/itineraries.>

Actually you do not have to stay with a tour group surprisingly . The St Peter's Line has it worded like it is a 'city tour' but all we did was pay I think $29 per person and then we took the St Pete's bus into town. We got off on the stop closest to our B&B and then we were on our own for the next three days until we returned to the same bus stop and the bus took us back to the ferry. So much for a city tour! I think this is their way to get around the mandatory tour for the visa free purposes. I believe there are tours you can take but ours was just what I described. I figured for $29 how long of a 'city tour' could it be? And actually is was about 20 minutes. It really did work out well as we much prefer to be on our own in the cities also, our own pace etc.

lauren_s_kahn

The information you give about being able to essentially avoid the Russian visa process will be valuable for other tourists. As I understand it, you just booked your own B&B and took the ferry back 3 days later due to the sort of "gap" in the system. I was unaware that it was possible to leave a cruise/ferry boat and go off on your own with one of those short term visas. Should I get back to East side of the Baltic, I might look into it because getting the visa is such a pain in the butt.

michele_d

< I might look into it because getting the visa is such a pain in the butt.>

But it is for only 72 hrs. I thought it was a great way to get a little intro to St Pete's without going through the visa process. I really thought we had signed up for a city tour and figured it would only last a couple hours so not too much time lost. When the bus took off from the dock and the driver did not speak I figured out what was going on. We did book our own B&B but had to show proof of our payment somewhere along the way (I think prior to embarkation) and that we actually had somewhere to stay once we arrived in St. Pete's. All in all it was extremely easy and not much different than visiting any other country.

lauren_s_kahn

Again, michele_d thanks for your helpful posts. I learned something.

michele_d

You're welcome!

spaarne

<i>michele_d on Jun 3, 14 at 2:58pm
There IS a 72 hr visa free rule to St Pete's on the overnight ferry NOT a cruise line...we did it.
From the St Peter Line website:
http://www.stpeterline.ru/en/Goodtoknow/Visafreerule.aspx</i>

Thank you so much for that information. I have been on Silja Line Stockholm-Helsinki several times, and on to Tallinn once. Next time I'll get myself to St. Pete, visa free, yippee.

michele_d

I thought it was going to be logistically difficult to add in St Pete's but then it ended up being so easy. You just need to check out the calendar on the website because they do not sail every day. It really is a lovely city.

lauren_s_kahn

Well, I've never taken a ferry to St. Petersburg, but I would consider it now that I have discovered you don't have to hassle the visa. I just hate the regimentation required by some countries like Russia, Belarus, China, etc., where you only get a visa for the precise number of days you have hotel reservations. I prefer to be able to change my mind in the middle of a trip, but you can't with those countries.

michele_d

I agree. We went through the visa process for China and it was a pain. Luckily we were on a tour with that trip but it wouldn't allow for any flexibility if you were traveling on your own.