March 2014 Liverpool to Helsinki

[burns20]

Been told by work to take more leave so planning on this route;

Liverpool-Birmingham-Dusseldorf
Dusseldorf-Berlin
Berlin-Buchen-Kiel-Klaipeda
Klaipeda-Vilnius
Vilnius-Daugavpils
Daugavpils-Riga
Riga-Valga-Tallinn
Tallinn-Helsinki
Helsinki-London-Liverpool

Suggestions as always are very welcome...breaking new ground by visiting Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

 

[Zamracene749]

I looked into travelling Poland to Lithuania myself recently. Unfortunately the line between Suwalki and Kaunas is closed for long term upgrades, sadly with doubts over the future reinstatement of passenger services.

There are some commercial bus alternatives across the border though, these avoid Kaliningrad and Belarus so no transit visa is needed.

HTH

 

[burns20]

Oh. I read somewhere that it was reopening in the new year as part of the Ten-T project.

Will do more research

 

[gordonthemoron]

you could get a ferry from Kiel (Germany) to Klaipeda in Lithuania, then train to Vilnius

 

[burns20]

Thanks Gordon, that's really thinking outside the box. I would never have thought of that.

Was about to say it would be strange one of my trips not involving a rail replacement bus at some point.

Berlin Landsberger Allee 0744
Berlin Sudkreuz 0805

Berlin Sudkreuz 0810
Buchen 1000

Buchen 1010 €29.00
Kiel 1215

Bus 60S to the port €2.40

Kiel 1600. £108.00
Klaipeda 1400

Klaipeda 1705 £12.15
Vilnius 2155

 

[gordonthemoron]

BTW, local beer in Lithuania is very good (something a bit like Belgian and/or real ale), try to visit alaus namai in Vilnius & there's an odd beer house on Polocko Gatve in Uzupis area of Vilnius. More english style bars worth visiting include Gringo & Portobello (enter thru telephone box). Beer is cheap, even Guinness is cheaper than most places.

 

[burns20]

Cheers. Bit less time in Vilnius now.

Arriving at 2155 Weds 5th March
Departing 1932 Thurs 6th March

So plenty of time for a beer or two

 

[30907]

Buchen-Luebeck-Kiel is a pleasant route (though the southern half I've only done by car). Can you get anything more devious for your EUR 29?

Alternatively, bus Suwalki (PL) - Vilnius might be possible (other than Eurolines, which is all I can find on a quick check)

 

[johnnychips]

Vilnius-Riga used to involve an overnight stay in Daugavpils as you seem to have realised: it does not seem to be the centre of the universe. Apparently a coach is quicker and more frequent.

 

[burns20]

The train is part of the journey/romance of continental rail travel. As long as Daugavpils has a pub it'll be alright.

Set my sights on the ferry now I gather it'll be quite scenic with Scandinavia one side and Eastern Europe the other.

 

[rf_ioliver]

The train is part of the journey/romance of continental rail travel. As long as Daugavpils has a pub it'll be alright.

Set my sights on the ferry now I gather it'll be quite scenic with Scandinavia one side and Eastern Europe the other.

Ferry From Latvia to Finland? Can't find a route from http://www.ferrylines.com/ so not sure how you're doing this, unless I'm mistaken.

BTW, the Baltic is BIG, most of the time you'll be out of sight of land and it only really gets scenic through to Stockholm and Åland archipelagos. Though coming back into Helsinki is quite something, especially the channel through Suomenlinna - I recommend that one if you come into Eteläsatama (south harbour which is literally in the centre of Helsinki).

If you need details about Helsinki or train travel in Finland send me a PM,

t.

Ian

 

[gordonthemoron]

In Tallinn I'd recommend the Drink bar which has an excellent range of Weston's cider !! and lots of other stuff, plus the nearby Mental Hospital? (bar) which is dead cheap and the landlord is bonkers

 

[burns20]

The ferry journey I'm making is Kiel (Germany) to Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Tallinn to Helsinki, the latter a choice of TallinnSilja Line or Viking Line.

Currently worrying about the flight from Helsinki to Heathrow as I booked through the Skyscanner app (£58 instead of £70 direct with BA) two days ago got given a reference code and a msg saying a confirmation email will be with you shortly and haven't received one and the money taken from my account. Have emailed British Airways and SkyScanner (name on Bank Statement) asking if I do have a reservation with them.

I have a choice of two routings Berlin to Kiel;

Berlin-Buchen-Lubeck-Kiel or
Berlin-Stendal-Uelzen-Hamburg-Kiel

The latter option covers more track I haven't done both at €29.00

 

[gordonthemoron]

take the Tallink Shuttle ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, the fastest conventional ferry I've ever been on, 27.5 knots

 

[rf_ioliver]

The ferry journey I'm making is Kiel (Germany) to Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Tallinn to Helsinki, the latter a choice of TallinnSilja Line or Viking Line.

Tallin-Helsinki is about 2-3 hours depending upon the ship. Would need to check to be sure but Silja line from Tallin dock at the Western Harbour while Viking dock at South Harbour.

To get from the Western Harbour, take tram 9 from outside the ferry terminal and get off at Kamppi. The center isn't very big.

http://www.hel.fi/hki/hkl/en/HKL+Tram

To get to the airport there is a dedicated shuttle bus from the station via a few hotels or the normal service busses. Cost is a few euros:

http://www.finavia.fi/en/helsinki-airport/to-and-from/bus-service/

You'll have to wait until 2015 to catch a train though...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Rail_Line


How long are you in Helsinki?

t.

Ian

 

[burns20]

I arrive 1830 Sunday 9th March and fly out Monday 10th March 1710

 

[Zamracene749]

I did the Uelzen- Hamburg line a few times when my kids lived over there, it's not an especially inspiring ride.
However, the station itself at Uelzen is worth a quick poke around due to it's quirky and unique expressionist design, never been in station quite like it!

 

[burns20]

Luckily I have 15 mins there.

IC148 Berlin Ostbahnhof 0825
Stendal 0932

RE17608 Stendal 0944
Uelzen 1046

ME82116 Uelzen 1101
Hamburg 1204

RE21016 Hamburg 1220
Kiel 1337

Bus 60S. Kiel Hbf 1349
Kiel Baltic Port 1405

DFDS. Kiel Baltic Port 1600
Klaipeda 1400

Irritatingly the 1A bus from Klaipeda port to the city centre only runs in peak times with first bus at 4ish so taxi it is.

 

[martinsh]

How long are you intending to be in Riga ? Can give you lots of advice when I know how much time you have.

 

[burns20]

Friday March 7th

Train 617P Daugavpils 0725
Riga 1114

Saturday March 8th

Train 854P Riga 1310
Valga 1632

Valga 1647
Tallinn 2132

 

[johnnychips]

The train is part of the journey/romance of continental rail travel. As long as Daugavpils has a pub it'll be alright.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daugavpils

Ah, I didn't realise it was a big city: I was envisaging something like Dovey Jcn, well maybe Machynlleth. You'll have to be up quite early though!

Just in general, I really enjoyed Lithuania and its trains, though apart from Kaunas-Vilnius the routes are strangely timed and often circuitous. Beer is excellent and cheap; if people can't speak English, or you can't make yourself understood, drawing diagrams and writing train numbers etc on paper really helps.

 

[30907]

Luckily I have 15 mins there.

IC148 Berlin Ostbahnhof 0825
Stendal 0932

RE17608 Stendal 0944
Uelzen 1046

ME82116 Uelzen 1101
Hamburg 1204

RE21016 Hamburg 1220
Kiel 1337

Bus 60S. Kiel Hbf 1349
Kiel Baltic Port 1405

The only other variant I can get it to produce (because of having to use an IC/ICE at some stage) is Berlin-Rostock-Schwerin-Luebeck-Kiel. Depends how early a start you want! And you'd have to rely on a local Kiel bus to get you to the nearest stop to the Ostuferhafen ferry port.

 

[martinsh]

Friday March 7th

Train 617P Daugavpils 0725
Riga 1114

Saturday March 8th

Train 854P Riga 1310
Valga 1632

Valga 1647
Tallinn 2132

You might like to break the Daugavpils - Riga journey at Krustpils as that's a good place for photting freight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXgIs7UxTNE Good old "HOBOTPAHC" !

[Station has been rebuilt since then ]

For staying in Riga I recommend Hotel Edvards - 15 mins walk from station.
http://www.hoteledvards.lv/

Will send you a PM with other suggestions

 

[burns20]

Well the holiday is nearly all booked.

Kiel to Klaipeda and Tallinn to Helsinki ferries booked this morning.

Just attempting to find a reasonably priced hotel in Helsinki, preferably under £50 for an en-suite single room.

During the xmas break I'll attempt to type up on Excel and post on here.

 

[rf_ioliver]

Well the holiday is nearly all booked.

Kiel to Klaipeda and Tallinn to Helsinki ferries booked this morning.

Just attempting to find a reasonably priced hotel in Helsinki, preferably under £50 for an en-suite single room.

During the xmas break I'll attempt to type up on Excel and post on here.

See your PMs about hotels in Helsinki

t.

Ian

 

[burns20]

As promised the itinerary in Excel

 

[rf_ioliver]

As promised the itinerary in Excel

From Länsiterminaali you can take tram 9 which leaves outside the terminal. To get to tram 6 there's quite a convoluted, if not long, walk. (See the link below for the routing). I'd recommend tram 9 then to tram 7B.

I see you've quoted the 8eur day ticket...valid on all trams, trains, ferries, busses and metro in Helsinki only. This ticket won't get you to the airport which is in Vantaa, though there is a regional day ticket fro 12eur IIRC.

NB: you can use the route finder from the links below to get a route to the airport. I think the price is about 4-5 eur on the normal busses. It is a bit more expensive on the dedicated "Finnair" bus from the railway station.

No Busses:

http://www.reittiopas.fi/en/?showse...routes=3&gotoHash=resultSummary#resultSummary


Fastest:
http://www.reittiopas.fi/en/?showse...0&mc4=0&mc5=0&mc6=0&mc0=1&nroutes=3&gotoHash=

Least Transfers:

http://www.reittiopas.fi/en/?showse...routes=3&gotoHash=resultSummary#resultSummary
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

As promised the itinerary in Excel

Almost forget: don't go to Vallilan Varikko...that's the tram depot

 

[burns20]

My hotel is near Vallinn Valikko and the journey planner recommended catching tram 6T from the Ferry terminal...nice to know it's near a depot.

Are the day tickets valid till end of service or 24 hours from validation?

 

[rf_ioliver]

My hotel is near Vallinn Valikko and the journey planner recommended catching tram 6T from the Ferry terminal...nice to know it's near a depot.

Are the day tickets valid till end of service or 24 hours from validation?

Trams only go to the depot when they need to go there and not as part of the normal day's routing. There is no tram stop there anyway and 6T isn't a normal working so I'm not sure why you've been told to use that. Tram 9 actually leaves outside the ferry terminal...getting to the 6's stop is quite a walk even if you know where you're going - that area of Helsinki is in the process of being converted from a harbour to a residential area so there's a lot of building and road works. Use the links to the HKL route planner from earlier.

Tickets are valid 24 hours from first usage. Make sure that you "check-in" when you get on the tram otherwise the ticket isn't valid and Helsinki's ticket inspectors can be merciless. IIRC, you get an electronic ticket which is shown to the reader just inside the doors of the tram - it has a small display, lights and four buttons. For a time based ticket you don't need to press anything and you should get a green light after holding it against the reader for a second. Any problems speak to the driver - who all invariably speak English.

If you're looking for tram action forget the depots - nothing to really see there, but just go to the city centre where all the lines more or less meet. If you want trains then there's a nice walk from the central railway station through the parks next to the line and be amazed at what broad gauge and a huge loading gauge will get you...

t

Ian

 

[burns20]

Just sat having a Staropramen at Birmingham International Spoons.

390151 Liverpool Lime Street to Stafford
350258 Stafford to Birmingham New Street
Double Voyager New Street to International