Where do you go this summer...?

[micro]

but I don't even know how to drive yet !

You mean you don't have a driver's license yet? The way to Finland I've just described above

[Tiger]

but I don't even know how to drive yet !

You mean you don't have a driver's license yet? The way to Finland I've just described above

Yes, that's what I mean...
Maybe I wasn't too clear.

In 2 weeks I'm 18, but I still havn't started my driving lessons.
I didn't even do my theoretical exam.

[Donald]

I like the scenery on the trip between Stockholm and Turku. You are crossing the Baltic Sea, but you see land (islands) all the time.

Is that a long trip ?

It takes one whole day (or night).

[bhoeyb]

Is Finnair expensive ?

My ticket was about 450 Euro. Not so expensive I think ...

[Tiger]

Is Finnair expensive ?

My ticket was about 450 Euro. Not so expensive I think ...

Hmmmz
did they speak Finnish on board ?

[Fons]

Is Finnair expensive ?

My ticket was about 450 Euro. Not so expensive I think ...

Hmmmz
did they speak Finnish on board ?

I think so,
Maybe you can learn something extra

[Fons]

Is Finnair expensive ?

My ticket was about 450 Euro. Not so expensive I think ...

it's 1000 guilders, (for you: 20000 BFR)
It's not so expansive like you said, but it's also not so cheap. It's something between those two words.

[Skylimit]

CAR: There's a driving route from Hamburg to Helsinki, that's true, but it's far: Hamburg to Malmö across the two new bridges (with high tolls charged), then in the North around the huge finger of the Baltic sea.

Thanks for the research

[Annie_in_exile]

Skylimit, you must be really desperate to get some Finnish notes, if you’re ready to drag your whole family up there…Haha, only joking.

Well, like Donald said, there are plenty of options. But dear Tiger, even that option via Via Baltica and a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki is "only" about 2000 km. The route Belgium-Germany-(ferry to) Denmark –(ferry/bridge) Sweden – (ferry) Finland means about 1600 kilometres of driving so there isn’t a big difference in the distance. But maybe you meant a two-way trip. Personally I wouldn´t take the eastern route when travelling with children, I wouldn’t want to risk to be stranded somewhere in Poland. I’ve also driven from Brussels to Turku through Germany, Denmark and Sweden and it took almost exactly 48 hours although I didn’t stop too often. You have to take into account that when travelling with children, you just cannot drive too long distances at one go.

I’d strongly recommend taking a ferry from northern Germany directly to Finland, like Rostock-Helsinki or Rostock-Hanko. (By the way, I think that Finnlines uses cargo ships and they may take a bit longer on the sea. The company Superfast ferries takes you there in 21 hours.) The advantages are that the ferries are like floating hotels, there’s activity for the children and even the driver can relax, eat and sleep well. However, these ferries are quite popular during summer months (believe it or not), so it’s best to reserve early. They are not cheap either, I must say, but if you choose to drive via Sweden, you have to count in one night in a hotel somewhere en-route, plus stopping at gas stations (which usually means buying sweets/coffee/whatever extras).

Tiger, hurry up and get your driver’s licence! Or you could offer company and map-reading assistance to single female Eurocrats who are heading north for their summer vacation. Maybe you could get to Finland if you offer to split the gasoline costs.

Flights, then: at the moment SAS offers a direct flight Brussels-Helsinki for 249 plus taxes. They also announce some flights to "surprise destinations" every Wednesday: for instance this week you could get a return ticket to Oslo, Bergen or Stavanger for 149 euros. The problem is that you never know in advance whether Sweden and Finland are on offer. SN Brussels Airlines sometimes offers flights Bru-Hel-Bru for about 200 euros. Finnair is the most expensive.

But in the end, once you get there, either by car, ferry or plane, I think it’ll be worth it.

[Skylimit]

I like to take my car with me ... Finland seems like too long a drive (48 hours ..?)

Yesterday we have looked around a bit ... There is a fair chance that it will not be Finland or Austria ... But Toscane

Been there once, it was great.

[Antti]

I like the scenery on the trip between Stockholm and Turku. You are crossing the Baltic Sea, but you see land (islands) all the time.

There's an interesting thing about the ferry trip:
You cross a sea between two EU countries, but still you travel outside the EU

And since it seems everybody is coming to Finland this summer we could have a EBTer's meet here.

[Guest]

Well Skylimit, 48 hours including three ferry trips. Roughly it went like this : Day one: left Brussels around 7 in the morning, drove through Germany towards the Baltic Sea. It was about 750 kms to Puttgarten where I took the first ferry to Denmark. Some waiting in the harbour, then 1 hour on that boat to reach the Danish shore. 200 kilometres of driving through Denmark, then another ferry to Sweden (Helsingor-Helsingborg which lasts less than half an hour and the waiting time in the harbour is short). At this time I had driven almost 1000 kilometres in 12 hours (the ferry kilometres were not counted of course).

I spent the night near Helsingborg and continued towards Stockholm the next morning. That leg of journey is "only" about 600 kilometres and I had the whole day ahead of me, so I spent some time in small Swedish towns on the way. However, I had reserved a ferry from Stockholm to Turku for the same evening, so I could not risk missing it and had to be in the harbour on time (those ferries leave either in the morning or in the evening, so there are only two options every day. Miss your connection and wait for the next one…). The third ferry trip is the longest, about 12 hours, but you can spend it eating or dancing or just sleeping in the cabin and getting some well-deserved rest. When I woke up the next morning, we were approaching Turku, and the archipelago is really worth seeing!

This time everything went smoothly, no accidents or roadwork where you can get stuck for hours and miss your eventual further ferry reservations. That’s also one reason why I recommend driving to Rostock and taking a direct ferry from there. From Brussels it’s a bit under 800 kilometres which you should cover roughly in 9 hours + 21 hours on the ferry, so altogether 30 hours to reach the Finnish shore. Tuscany is not a bad choice either. But what about crossing the Alps?

[Skylimit]

I've done this 2 time already.
We sleep on the Swiss border, either in France or Germany.

Then the next day you lose a lot of time in Switzerland, especially with heavy rain (only 100 km/h possible)

And then in Milan you can spend hours standing still ...
alltogether max driving time 13-18 hours I guess
depending on weather and traffic in Milan.

[Fons]

CAR: There's a driving route from Hamburg to Helsinki, that's true, but it's far: Hamburg to Malmö across the two new bridges (with high tolls charged), then in the North around the huge finger of the Baltic sea.

Micro: How do you get all those pictures, Just searching with google?

[micro]

Micro: How do you get all those pictures, Just searching with google?

I searched Google for ferry connections and found this page: http://www.skandinavienreisen.de/Faehrv ... dungen.htm. When I saw all the images on that page I got an idea on how to drive to Finland. My parents once took me along on a trip when the bridge between Denmark and Sweden was new.