Helsinki Help!!!

[TomAndJane]

My wife and I want to take a canal tour offered by Sunlines in Helsinki. We will be on the NCL Sun. Does anyone know how far it is to get to the boat that takes you on the canal tour?

 

Thanks

 

Tom

[Ultima Thule]

Sunlines tour will start from Market Square, downtown. There are no lists yet where the cruise ships will dock but I'm quite NCL Sun will dock in Western Harbour, due to its size. So the total distance would be about 2 miles.

 

Local bus #16 will take you straight from Western Harbour to Market Square.

 

If you take a shuttle into town its about 1/3 of a mile walk from the shuttle stop along the Esplanade park to the Market Square.

[Ultima Thule]

Correction. The 2010 quay list is actually available now on the Net and Norwegian Sun will be visiting Helsinki 11 times, docking at different quays. Can you give a date?

[Giantfan13]

Sunlines tour will start from Market Square, downtown. There are no lists yet where the cruise ships will dock but I'm quite NCL Sun will dock in Western Harbour, due to its size. So the total distance would be about 2 miles.

 

Local bus #16 will take you straight from Western Harbour to Market Square.

 

If you take a shuttle into town its about 1/3 of a mile walk from the shuttle stop along the Esplanade park to the Market Square.

 

the advice here is right on. BUT, just be aware that the public bus only takes exact change, in Euro's and there are NO machines to change money near the bus stop. You cannot by a ticket in advance so have the right amount of money before you board.

We didn't (that's how we learned) but we did end up sharing a taxi with another couple. Cost us about 5 euro's each couple and we were there in about 10-15 minutes. Taxi driver was great and gave us some very valuable info on the city.

 

Everything seems to start from market square.

 

Look around on the threads already going about Helsinki and you will see some of the fantastic pictures we have taken there.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Ultima Thule]

For 8 of the 11 visits by Norwegian Sun what I said earlier was correct as it docks at LHC on the east side of the West Harbour (Hernesaari)

But on June 24th, August 23rd and Sepember 4th it will dock at LMA on the western side of West Harbour. In that case shuttle or taxi are definitely the best alternatives. The local bus would be 15A, but it is far from ideal. Its almost half a mile from the quay to the bus stop and the bus will take you to the railway station, not the Market Square.

 

See map:

http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/content/pdf/matkustajaliikenne/risteilykartta.jpg?from=19237930158422355

 

The #15A bus stop is at the dark marked building just above the "L" in "LHB" on the map .

 

The quay list can be found at

http://www.portofhelsinki.fi/default.asp?docId=13051

[TomAndJane]

Thank you so much. We will be there May 31, 2010. Are there any cruise tours that leave from where the cruise ships dock?

[Ultima Thule]

Are there any cruise tours that leave from where the cruise ships dock?

Boats, no. But a hop on hop off bus passes there.

http://www.stromma.se/en/sightseeing/Helsinki/Land-tours/Hop-on-Hop-off/

[bellagirl]

Are my eyes deceiving me??? Did I really read that the cost of the HOHO bus was 24-30 euro per person??? I can't believe it--i heard that the Scandinavian countries were expensive but this is ridiculous!!:eek:

[TLCOhio]

Are my eyes deceiving me??? Did I really read that the cost of the HOHO bus was 24-30 euro per person??? I can't believe it--i heard that the Scandinavian countries were expensive but this is ridiculous!!:eek:

 

Yes, things are very costly in those areas. That's why a cruise in the Baltics can be both smart and time-efficient. Trying to do a land tour of the Baltics has many challenges. Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo have consistently been among the ten most costly cities in the entire WORLD!!! Helsinki is not as costly, but it's not cheap.

 

The HOHO buses are not cheap. Ship tours are not always the best, but they do cover those logistical basics, offer a guide who can answer questions and get you to some of the key highlights in each city. Lots of options, but all of them involve some "COSTS" in either your valuable time and/or money. Many trade-offs to consider as to what is best for your personal needs and travel style.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[TomAndJane]

Boats, no. But a hop on hop off bus passes there.

http://www.stromma.se/en/sightseeing/Helsinki/Land-tours/Hop-on-Hop-off/

 

Thanks again for all the great info.

[floridafolks]

I had been told that bus 16 goes from Hernesaari Quay to town and that the driver can sell us a 1 day tourist ticket for 6.8E good on all public transportation including the ferry. Based on a previous post, do I need exact change for that as well? Thanks for your help.

[Ultima Thule]

I had been told that bus 16 goes from Hernesaari Quay to town and that the driver can sell us a 1 day tourist ticket for 6.8E good on all public transportation including the ferry. Based on a previous post, do I need exact change for that as well? Thanks for your help.

You don't need exact change even if that is prefered but the driver has the right to refuse anything bigger than a 20 Euro note.

[Giantfan13]

Are my eyes deceiving me??? Did I really read that the cost of the HOHO bus was 24-30 euro per person??? I can't believe it--i heard that the Scandinavian countries were expensive but this is ridiculous!!:eek:

 

We paid $40 PP in Stockholm to get the Hoho bus from Frihamnen into the city. we had no choice. they had us by the you know what, as it was a Sunday and no public transportation was running there. Some people called taxi's or booked them in advance, but our time was short, and we just wanted to get going. so did about 1000 other people. They basically sent a convoy of these HoHo buses to meet us. We weren't happy with the cost, but waht else could we do.

We did enjoy Stockholm though. it was our favorite port.

[LucyH]

My wife and I want to take a canal tour

 

This is a bit rude of me, after you've said that this is the tour you want, but I just wanted to make sure you know that Helsinki doesn't have any real canals.

 

Amsterdam, Copenhagen, even St. Petersburg, but not Helsinki. You pass briefly through the Laajasalo (Degerö) Cutting, which is charitably called a canal but is only about 120 yards long. The rest of the route is around islands in the sea.

 

Some very pretty islands, along a very fine route, though.

 

- Lucy

[TomAndJane]

Thanks for the clarification. Just using the term that the website used.