Need help with Helsinki

We have 9-10 hours in the port of Helsinki next July. We tend to get bored easily so we need to keep very busy and we are into quaint areas, but not museums & not city buildings. We thought of doing this for our shore excursion:

We get off the boat around 7am and we thought of taking the bus to Porvoo where we could walk around and explore for about 2 hours. We like to see the countryside. We are not sure how to get to the train station from the cruise ship berth and then to Market Square or Church on the Rock from the train station when we return. I am aware that it is about a 5 minute walk from the train station to the middle of town.

From there we would get back to Helsinki and try to see the church on the Rock. We are not sure how to get here and how to get to Market Square from there.

In the time we have left, we thought that we would get a bite to eat and shop a bit at the Market Square. If we have any time left, then we would take the ferry to the Suommenlina Fortress and walk around until it was time to get back on the boat. We would have to estimate how long it would take to get back to the boat and allow a little leeway.

Does this sound doable and could you please advise how we could use public transportation? I greatly appreciate your help.

The day we were in Helsinki we were docked downtown and within walking distance to the water taxis. Our first stop was the Suommenlina Fortress. We easily spent four hours there and enjoyed every minute of it. It was not nearly as crowded as other places. There is a "trail" that goes from one end to the other of the fortress and you see/visit the main attractions. One word of caution - there is more than one water taxi company that takes folks over. The one we took over does not pick up at the King's Gate which was at the end of the "trail". They do not honor each other's tickets. We learned the hard way. You will have to walk the trail back to the dock you arrived at the fortrees.

We had lunch at a Rick Steves recommended restaurant, Zetor. It is in the downtown area and an easy walk from the water taxi area.

Both of these were recommended to us by a couple we happened to meet in St. Petersburg who were from Finland. We were so glad to have taken their advice.

Rick Steves' new Baltic cruise book has some good directions for getting from cruise-ship piers into town. In Helsinki we were docked at West Terminal and his directions for walking to the tram stop were perfect. Tram #9 took us from West Terminal to the train station.

Tram #s 2 & 3 can get you to both Church in the Rock and Market Square. They are like a figure 8, with the crossover point at the train station. The Steves cruise book explains the situation pretty well and has a map.

An all-day transport ticket was 8 euros. We were able to buy it from the driver of the tram.

You can also do Porvoo on your own quite easy. From quay LHB or LHC you take bus 14 to stop "Kamppi". The bus station (subway station, shopping mall) entrance is next to the stop. Its named "Kamppi" From quay LMA take tram 9 to stop Kampin Tori The way to the bus station entrance is uphill to the corner and then left half a block.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=sv&ll=60.168493,24.931118&spn=0.001266,0.004128&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=60.168493,24.931118&panoid=nbM6vwfCu2XMQJJweFtWrg&cbp=12,31.64,,0,1.96

Once inside, go down one and a half floor, then past the metropolitan bus terminal . Then keeping to the left you locate the odd metro entrance with yellow scales. The escalator down to the long distance bus terminal is locted opposite the metro entrance.

Buses to Porvoo use to start from platforms 1-5. Cost is somwhere between 12-15 euros and travel time about one hour.

Lots of traffic so you are out of luck iof you need to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus.

Regarding the trip from the railway station its about a kilometer to the rock church and the market is about the same distance in the opposite direction.

Thank you so much for that helpful information!

One word of caution - there is more than one water taxi company that takes folks over. The one we took over does not pick up at the King's Gate which was at the end of the "trail". They do not honor each other's tickets. We learned the hard way.

Same thing happened to us! The company that picked up at King's Gate, JT-Line, was only 4.50 € (versus 5 € for the one we took over) and had nicer seats, WiFi, and a snack bar. I would recommend taking them both ways.

Same thing happened to us! The company that picked up at King's Gate, JT-Line, was only 4.50 € (versus 5 € for the one we took over) and had nicer seats, WiFi, and a snack bar. I would recommend taking them both ways.

Just to clear this up: Suomenlinna sea fortress is served by two different services. There is the public transport ferry from Market Square to the main quay that operates around the year and has more frequent service during the summer. Then there is the waterbus service operated currently by JT-Line from Market Square to Artillery Bay and Kings Gate. The water bus service is typically in operation from early May to late September.

On a map of Suomenlinna (http://www.suomenlinna.fi/files/2148/Kartta_2013_EN.pdf) you can see the main quay marked with #1 and the JT-Line quays marked with #20 and 43. During summer the ferry runs every 20 minutes and the water buses every 30 minutes.

The ferry is part of the HSL (Helsinki Region Trasport) ticket system meaning that the 8 euro day ticket valid on trams, buses etc. is also valid on the ferry. A single journey costs 2.20 euros if purchased from the automat and 2.80 if purchased from a person. A return ticket only valid for the ferry costs 5 euros. The JT-line water buses cost 4.50 one way or 7 euros for a return ticket.

Using the water bus will save you some walking and if you have trouble walking I would recommend taking that. If you have no trouble walking it does not save a noticeable amount of time as the walk from King’s Gate to the main quay is around 15 minutes and the water buses do not go as often as the ferry.

Only thing I would advise against is buying the return ticket on the public ferry for 5 euros if suspect that you might want to take the water bus back from Kings Gate. One way on the ferry and back on the water bus costs less than the return ticket on the water bus so there is no harm in doing so.