The Helsinki–Tallinn ferry

Tallinn is 87 km (54 miles) across the Gulf of Finland, two hours away on the fastest boat, in the same time zone, and on the same currency. For people who live in Helsinki it is somewhere you go for a Saturday; for visitors it is the easiest second country in Europe to add to a trip.

The one mistake people actually make is going to the wrong terminal. Helsinki has two for Tallinn, a couple of kilometres apart, and your ticket names only the company.

Who sails, and from where

If your ticket says Tallink or Eckerö, go to West Harbour (Länsisatama), Terminal 2, at Tyynenmerenkatu 14 in Jätkäsaari. If it says Viking Line, go to Katajanokka, the terminal on the peninsula east of the Market Square. Nothing to Tallinn leaves from the Olympia terminal in the South Harbour; that is the Stockholm boat.

Tallink's MyStar and Megastar are the fast, frequent, plain option: two hours, cafés, a shop, done. Victoria I takes one slower sailing a day each way and is usually the cheapest seat. Viking's XPRS is the one that behaves like a cruise ship: on evening sailings it turns into an entertainment venue, karaoke included.

Getting to the terminals by tram

West Harbour, Terminal 2. Trams 7 and 9 stop at the terminal (the stop is Länsiterminaali 2) and run every day; the Port of Helsinki gives 6 to 9 minutes to the centre. Tram 9 is the one from the railway station. At weekends two extra lines, 1T and 5T, also run to the terminal. It is 3 km (2 miles) from the station — walkable with a small bag, tedious with a big one.

Katajanokka. Tram 5 goes to the terminal door from the railway station. Tram 4 stops at Vyökatu, 400 m away. From the Market Square it is a ten-minute walk over the bridge past Uspenski Cathedral.

An HSL single for zones AB covers either journey; buy it in the HSL app before you board.

Timetables, and which ones make a day trip

All three companies sail every day. The boards below are what was published on 27 September 2026 for October; check your date before you go, because holidays and maintenance change them.

Tallink, MyStar and Megastar (sample: Wednesday 14 October 2026)

Eckerö Line, Finlandia (timetable for 2026 and 2027)

Viking Line, Viking XPRS (timetable from 10 August 2026 to 21 June 2027)

The day trip, done properly

The arithmetic is simple: you want the earliest boat out and the latest one back that still gets you home at a reasonable hour.

• Tallink, 07:30 out and 19:30 back: in Tallinn from 09:30 to 19:30. Ten hours ashore, home by 21:30. This is the day trip, and it is why most people use Tallink for it.
• Eckerö, 09:00 out and 18:30 back: in Tallinn from 11:15 to 18:30, about seven hours ashore, home at 21:00. A civilised start and plenty of time for the Old Town.
• Viking, weekdays: out at 10:30, in at 13:10, and the last boat back is at 17:00. Under four hours ashore; not a day trip. Viking works as a one-way crossing, or as its evening cruise, where you can keep the cabin overnight in Tallinn harbour until 05:45 (not on Thursdays).

Mixing companies is fine; returns do not have to be with the same line. Just remember the second leg may leave from a different terminal.

From Tallinn's Terminal D, Tallink says it is a 15-minute walk into town, or tram 2 from the Vanasadam stop. The Old Town's towers are in view as the ship docks, and walking in is the normal way to arrive.

What to do with ten hours

Do not spend all of them inside the walls. The Old Town is compact and deserves the morning — the lower town, the climb to Toompea for the view back over the roofs to the harbour, the town hall square — but by lunchtime it is at its most crowded. Walk west from the Old Town into Kalamaja, the wooden-house district behind the railway station, and on to the Telliskivi creative quarter in the old factory buildings, where the food is better and cheaper and the people are local. Walk back along the shore to the terminal. It is all on foot; you will not need a tram all day.

Tickets and fares

Book online. Summer Saturdays and holidays can fill up, and the prices move with demand the way airline fares do. For a foot passenger on Wednesday 14 October, Tallink's booking system showed one-way fares from €22.30 on Victoria I and €29.90 to €38.90 on MyStar and Megastar, depending on the sailing (checked on 27 September 2026). Children up to 5 travel free with Tallink. We have not quoted Eckerö or Viking fares because neither showed a comparable foot-passenger price we could check.

Two practical points:

• Tallink closes ticket registration 30 minutes before departure and the boarding gate 20 minutes before. Check in online from 24 hours ahead and you can walk straight to the gate.
• Eckerö ends check-in 45 minutes before departure.

What ID you need

Finland and Estonia are both in Schengen, and there are still ID checks at the ferry. Per Tallink's rules:

• EU citizens: a passport or an official national ID card with a photo.
• Everyone else: a passport.
• A driving licence is not accepted, whoever you are.
• Children need their own passport or ID card, at any age.

Eckerö applies the same rules even to a mini-cruise where you never leave the ship.

Which one we would take

• For a day trip: Tallink, 07:30 out, 19:30 back. The early start hurts; the ten hours in Tallinn are worth it.
• For a relaxed day with a lie-in: Eckerö at 09:00, back at 18:30.
• For an overnight stay without a hotel: Viking's evening sailing with a cabin, any night except Thursday.
• With a car: any of them, but book ahead.

Before you go, the live harbour cameras show the Helsinki waterfront, and the Helsinki daylight page tells you how much of the day you will have — a real consideration for a day trip in December. If the trip to Tallinn is part of a longer visit, see things to do in Helsinki, the overnight boat to Stockholm and our list of day trips from Helsinki.