Ferries from Sweden to Finland
Especially if you want to come over by car, you can take a ferry from Stockholm area either to Western Finland (Turku/Naantali), which means longer drive to site (abt 2 hrs), but a lot cheaper ferry ticket, or to Helsinki, just an hour from the site. The ferries to Helsinki are bigger and have more entertainment than the ferries to Turku/Naantali, but then you have to leave earlier (Thursday evening) and you come back to Stockholm later (Monday mid-morning) than with the ferries to and from Western Finland.
Depending on the route you choose and the loyalties you have, you have three options: Viking Line, Tallink Silja (=Silja Line) and Finnlink. Formerly popular Seawind Line doesn't take passengers any more (just freight) as of January 1, 2008.
Viking Line
Overnight ferry Stockholm-Helsinki, day and night ferries Stockholm-Turku. Car packages are a very good deal on Viking, they include either a car (normal size) + 2-5 persons or a car + 2-4 persons + a cabin (cabins are available also on the day ferry; well worth the money if you have an early start as you can take a nap and shower...). Book and pay at least 30 days before the trip (i.e. by mid-September) to get your trip even cheaper.
| Schedule, Viking Line | ||
| Route | Dep. | Arr. |
| To Finland | ||
| Stockholm-Helsinki | 16:45 | 09:45 |
| Stockholm-Turku, day ferry | 07:45 | 19:50 |
| Stockholm-Turku, night ferry | 20:10 | 07:35 |
| To Sweden | ||
| Helsinki-Stockholm | 17:30 | 09:40 |
| Turku-Stockholm, day ferry | 08:45 | 18:55 |
| Turku-Stockholm, night ferry | 21:00 | 06:30 |
Tallink Silja (aka Silja Line)
Overnight ferry Stockholm-Helsinki, day and night ferries Stockholm-Turku. Generally pricier than Viking, higher price is justified with fancier ferries, esp. the Promenade class on the Stockholm-Helsinki route. The day trip from Stockholm and overnight trip from Turku is now run with Tallink's Galaxy, built only a few years ago and bigger than the old ferries. Again, car package price is worth checking out.
| Schedule, Tallink Silja | ||
| Route | Dep. | Arr. |
| To Finland | ||
| Stockholm-Helsinki | 17:00 | 09:55 |
| Stockholm-Turku, day ferry | 07:10 | 19:15 |
| Stockholm-Turku, night ferry | 19:15 | 07:00 |
| To Sweden | ||
| Helsinki-Stockholm | 17:00 | 09:30 |
| Turku-Stockholm, day ferry | 08:00 | 18:15 |
| Turku-Stockholm, night ferry | 20:15 | 06:10 |
Finnlink
Day and night ferries on the Kapellskär-Naantali route, only car passengers are taken. Finnlink is owned by freight company Finnlines that operates roro ferries on many routes. These ferries are in the first place freighters, but take some passengers, just like Seawind used to do. The company is not as reasonably priced, but note that two meals and a berth are always included in the prices. Kids are welcome to Finnlink and all ferries have playrooms.
| Schedule, Finnlink | ||
| Route | Dep. | Arr. |
| To Finland, Oct. 16-17 (Thu-Fri) | ||
| m/s Finneagle | 01:00 | 10:00 |
| m/s Finnclipper | 09:15 | 18:00 |
| m/s Finnsailor* | 14:45 | 23:00 |
| m/s Finnfellow | 21:45 | 06:25 |
| To Sweden, Sun Oct. 19 | ||
| m/s Finnfellow | 09:30 | 16:30 |
| m/s Finneagle | 12:00 | 18:30 |
| m/s Finnclipper | 22:30 | 05:30 |
* m/s Finnsailor only takes a limited number of passengers and it's tickets are only available through phone booking (other ferries can be booked online). Finnsailor is also not suitable for people with limited mobility as it has no elevators.