HOHO bus experiences Helsinki/Stockholm?

[Jolynn2262]

Has anyone used the HOHO buses as their main form of touring in these ports? I have used them in other ciities and like the ease of them with the added audio info. Where do they pick up in each city? The maps show the boat HOHO going to the cruise termnal in Stockholm and lists the bus going to the port in Helsinki as one of the stops, but are they actually close or are they hard to find? Is the schedule pretty regular to get you back to the ship on time? Also, can you purchase the ticket as you board at the port?

 

I know I have been asking lots of questions as of late, but I have been trolling through old posts getting info and more questions.

[dog]

It will depend on where you dock. If on the Star Princess you could be docked at Frihamnen pier or at Stadsgarden or even elsewhere by next year.

 

In Helsinki I have read that the HOHO bus stops near the Star's dock, but of course the pier could change.

At this point there is a shuttle that takes you from the ship to Stockman's Dept. Store area in Helsinki. There is also a tram 3T that does a route around Helsinki and also the HOHO bus can be caught in that area.

 

The maps for this year's HOHO bus and boats are online. Just google Hop On Hop Off Bus-Stockholm.

[bcnvcanada]

When we used the ho/ho in Stockholm the booklet, or ticket, will give you a discount on the ho/ho bus in Copenhagen and Helsinki 10dkk in Copenhagen and 2 euros in Helsinki. Hopefuly, this is still effect---was in May of this year. Great way to see the sights.

[thehen]

When we docked in Stockholm (Frihamnen Pier), the HOHO bus was waiting beside the ship. Seemed like one arrived nearly every 30 minutes. We purchased our ticket upon entering the bus. Suggestion, get off as soon as possible, and do the Vasa first. When you exit the ship, you'll notice the ship's tour busses. If you can arrive at Vasa prior to them, you will save you a lot of time.

 

elaine

[RickT]

Last year we did the hop on hop off bus in Stockholm and Helsinki (including the harbour ferry in Stockholm). We were able to pay for both while in Stockholm and got a discount (can't recall how much) by doing so.

 

As others have mentioned, a bit of this depends on where you dock. In Stockholm we were a 15 walk into the city and had a number of stops nearby to pick up the bus. In Helsinki, the bus came right to the ship and was waiting when we disembarked.

 

We found both cities were excellent via the hop on hop off. Here is the link to the Stockholm tour http://www.stockholmsightseeing.com/EN/HELSINKI/hop-on-hop-off-bus-tour.htm We found it helpful to review the stops and try to determine beforehand which places we wanted to get off and spend more time.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[ltdedorc]

In May of this year we used the HOHO bus in Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm & Helsinki. In Oslo the operator told us to show our receipts in Copenhagen, etc and this would get us a discount, This worked in all cases except Helsinki. In these four cities, the HOHO buses were right at the pier.

 

One minor problem in using the HOHO is that they by "law" cannot start from the main downtown terminal till 10 am. So altho you may get on the HOHO at the pier early and see sights along the way, you really don't start from the terminal till 10 am and have to wait there. If I remember correctly this happened at all except Oslo Otherwise we found it to be a great way to travel and see the sights. There is either live narration or recordings by headphones.

 

Enjoy your trip...Harvey:)

[geekybiker]

I did the HOHO in both stockholm and helsinki. They are good ways to get around and learn a bit about the city. In my case, I picked them both up from in front of the ship. Virtually nobody knew about the stockholm one, but by helsinki the word had spread and there were alot of people on it.

 

My one frustration with the bus was in stockholm. The bus driver is also the cashier, and in the morning we were picking up new people every stop. They lead to some long delays while the driver had to take money, explain the bus, and currency issues to the other patrons getting on. In Helsinki they seemed to have people on the curb selling tickets at the main sites, so this was avoided.

[Gram Cape Cod]

Does anyone know if the HoHo bus in Helsinki is still in operation on Sept. 21? I thought I read somewhere that it ends the first week in Sept. Anyone with any info? Also, Stockholm???

[dog]

I emailed the HOHO bus company in Helsinki for my cruise and they said they stop just before I arrive. We go this week.

[dog]

Found the HOHO bus in Copenhagen wasted alot of our time sitting and waiting to load/reload at city hall area.

 

Don't feel there is enough time in Stockholm to do anything else if you ride the HOHO there.

 

Helsinki has the 3T tram that will take you to same places, but we walked and saw alot.