The baltic states, comprising the three countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not really on the typical tourists' radar. However, these European countries are still great and affordable to visit compared to the major European cities.
There are many ways to get to these countries. I chose to get to Tallinn, Estonia by ferry. There are daily ferry crossings from Helsinki to Tallinn, including a cheap, overnight option. I chose this option since it will save me an overnight hotel bill.
From Helsinki airport, I have to purchase the airport train ticket from a kiosk to get the the central station. The machine is exactly tourist friendly and fortunately there was a staff stationed at the machine to help with the purchase.
A short train ride to the helsinki central station later, we alighted the train and was greated by a dark, cold, snowy, november weather. Normally, I will be thrilled to see and feel snow. But at that time, I was in a hurry to catch the ferry and lugging a luggage around didn't really make the snowing weather great. Haha!
Anyway, we exited the station at one of the many exits and was lucky enough to spot the tram that I wanted to take. So there was zero waiting time. After confirming the destination with the driver, I boarded the tram. The tram aisle is quite narrow so a big luggage may be difficult to move along.
Not long after, the tram reached the ferry terminal. Fortunately, in the dark, the ferry was recognizable from the tram. Many other passengers alighted and headed for the ferry as well.
A short walk later, we entered the ferry terminal building. There are manned ticket counters and ticket kiosks. A kind staff showed me how to use the kiosk with my printed ticket. It is good to print out all my transport tickets in case I need the hardcopy.
This is a ferry, not a cruise ship. There are only limited restaurants on deck. The cabin is a small, typical 4-bed cabin which serves its purpose. I don't think shower amenities are provided in the cabin. Food on board the ferry are expensive as well.
The ferry left on time and apart from the two restaurant decks, I didn't really check out other decks of the ferry. Soon, next morning arrives and we are in Tallinn!
There are many ways to get to these countries. I chose to get to Tallinn, Estonia by ferry. There are daily ferry crossings from Helsinki to Tallinn, including a cheap, overnight option. I chose this option since it will save me an overnight hotel bill.
From Helsinki airport, I have to purchase the airport train ticket from a kiosk to get the the central station. The machine is exactly tourist friendly and fortunately there was a staff stationed at the machine to help with the purchase.
A short train ride to the helsinki central station later, we alighted the train and was greated by a dark, cold, snowy, november weather. Normally, I will be thrilled to see and feel snow. But at that time, I was in a hurry to catch the ferry and lugging a luggage around didn't really make the snowing weather great. Haha!
Anyway, we exited the station at one of the many exits and was lucky enough to spot the tram that I wanted to take. So there was zero waiting time. After confirming the destination with the driver, I boarded the tram. The tram aisle is quite narrow so a big luggage may be difficult to move along.
Not long after, the tram reached the ferry terminal. Fortunately, in the dark, the ferry was recognizable from the tram. Many other passengers alighted and headed for the ferry as well.
A short walk later, we entered the ferry terminal building. There are manned ticket counters and ticket kiosks. A kind staff showed me how to use the kiosk with my printed ticket. It is good to print out all my transport tickets in case I need the hardcopy.
With tickets in hand, we boarded the ferry. There are a couple of ticket checks along the way with minimum hassle and zero queues. Not sure how many passengers there were that night but probably not a full ferry.
This is a ferry, not a cruise ship. There are only limited restaurants on deck. The cabin is a small, typical 4-bed cabin which serves its purpose. I don't think shower amenities are provided in the cabin. Food on board the ferry are expensive as well.
The ferry left on time and apart from the two restaurant decks, I didn't really check out other decks of the ferry. Soon, next morning arrives and we are in Tallinn!
Ferry terminal building in Tallinn
Yup. A cheap way of getting from Helsinki to Tallinn overnight, particularly if I'm short on vacation days and if I want to save on hotel budget. On this trip, I have planned for a couple of overnight bus trips deliberately to save on hotel budget. I'm happy that all went according to plan.
Also, after this trip, I will try to avoid visiting Europe in winter due to the hassle of bringing along winter clothing. The cold weather may also mar my experience of enjoying the places I visit. For this reason, this coming June, I hope to be able to visit Europe when it's summer.
It helps that today, Scoot has released tickets for sale for their new Singapore to Berlin direct flight. Their inaugural flight date, 20th June, is however not favorable to me as it's coming to the end of my vacation and I have plans to be in Europe in early June.
Instead, I booked a one-way inaugural flight from Berlin to Singapore since I'm planning to return home around that time. Not sure whether there will be festivities planned at Berlin airport for their first direct flight to Singapore.
This leaves me with the need to book a one-way ticket from Singapore to Europe. A check with Norwegian air shows the ticket from Singapore to London costs ~$200. It didn't take me long to book this. I coupled this with a Ryanair flight to Oslo, Norway for my onward trip in Europe. Ryanair is a budget airline based in europe and has frequently been under the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Their online reviews, as far as I have read, aren't that great either. But they offer the lowest fare on the route that I want, so I'll try out and see. As it is only a short haul flight from London to Oslo, hopefully it will be manageable. Haha!
My European trip in June is still shaping up. As it is still a half-year away, I am still looking out for mainly flight ticket promotions to reduce my travel budget.
In conclusion, this June, I will be taking many flights. Not as many as what I took in december though, which is a record 20 flights within a month! I'm looking forward to my "firsts":
Norwegian air B787 plane
Scoot inaugural berlin to singapore flight
Ryanair flight
First time to London Gatwick airport and London Stansted airport
