What’s It Like Taking The Overnight Ferry From Helsinki To Tallinn?

To get from Helsinki to Tallinn, I did what many people do and took the ferry across the water, a wonderful journey linking two countries. Anyone familiar with this crossing will be thinking, “but Clazz, it’s a two hour ferry. What do you mean overnight?!”

Well, buckle up, because I embarked on a true Finnish experience: taking an overnight ferry, or rather, as it turns out, a Finnish party cruise.

This came about because when I started looking into the ferry, I noticed that there was an “overnight cruise” option where you could either choose a return journey that comes back the following day, or just take it one way. Booking a few months in advance meant that a ticket including a cabin cost under 50€ – with a single ticket on the normal ferry costing around 30€, an additional 20€ for somewhere to stay felt like an absolute bargain.

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And, if nothing else, it would be an adventure. And what an adventure it was!

The ferry departs at 6.35pm, and even though it does only take two hours to arrive into Tallinn, the ship docks in the port for the night and you’re not allowed to disembark until 8am.

I headed to the ferry terminal from the city centre, taking the tram with time to spare to pop into a nearby supermarket. I hadn’t booked a meal on the ship, so I wanted to take a few snacks just in case. One thing I love when travelling is popping into local shops to see what’s available, and I ended up taking a couple of unidentified bakery items, some Rolo-esque chocolates, a pack of sweets which looked like Smarties, and a Moomin drink. I had to wonder what a Moomin tastes like.

At the ferry terminal, checking in is easy – there are machines for self check-in. If you use a counter, you actually have to pay extra, so I just did it myself and hoped I could work it out. Thankfully it was easy enough and I was given a ticket which would also act as the key to my cabin.

There’s a massive departure lounge upstairs in the ferry terminal with restaurants, and it was packed when I got there an hour before departure.

I was surprised by just how many people were waiting to board the boat, but it soon made sense. The ship has NINE decks, including several bars, restaurants and nightclubs. There are saunas (of course), an outdoor bar on the top deck, and several shops. It has capacity for a LOT of people.

Once I was on, it became apparent that the majority of people were groups of friends, and I don’t know if I was the only person on my own, but I realised quite quickly that I was the only person on the boat that wasn’t Finnish. After an hour, I also became the only person who wasn’t drunk.

My favourite Eurovision song last year was Kaarija – Cha Cha Cha. The song, in which the only recognisable lyrics in English are “cha cha cha” and “pina colada”, is basically about how Finnish people are usually very reserved, but after a few drinks, they are ready to PARTY.

Well, boy. Did I learn that this is the truth!?

By 8pm, karaoke was in full swing, and I took a seat with a drink to watch people sing songs I’d never heard, all in Finnish. A couple of people tried to talk to me in Finnish, and nobody seemed to speak English (I found this really strange because all the Finns I’ve met have been incredibly fluent in English!). This wasn’t what I expected at all!

All the restaurants were packed, and I decided not to eat a proper meal. I was glad to have popped into a supermarket beforehand, so I had quite a few snacks to enjoy, and the boat also had a 24 hour fast food canteen that had decent prices, so I decided if I got hungry I would just go there.

(I ended up just eating my snacks – and the Smarties-like sweets were actually minty! Literally like mint Smarties.)

There’s also a big duty-free shop, which is one of the big draws for Finnish people in the first place. When I first walked in, I was quite surprised by how quiet it was. I then realised the alcohol was in the room behind, and… I turned the corner and it was CHAOS. Every aisle filled with people stuffing bottles into baskets. There were even free samples on offer! (I’ve discovered, after three free shots, that I absolutely HATE Campari. For clarity, which I began losing, they were different flavours.)

I always have to look for Highland Park in every duty free shop, of course. I absolutely should have bought one of these – I’ve never seen it before, and it seems to sell for minimum £100.

Also was very tempted by one of these:

Outside the shop, I popped out onto the deck because we were suddenly witness to an absolutely incredible sunset.

There’s entertainment scheduled for the entire evening, and at 11pm, a band were playing, so I decided to go and see them. Would you believe that the weekend before, KAARIJA PLAYED THIS ROOM?! I missed him by less than a week! I couldn’t believe it when I found out. What a party that would have been.

The band played Cha Cha Cha, but it wasn’t quite the same!

In fact, the band were a little too generic, and when I sent Ash a video, he replied saying “oh god it’s Butlins on a boat”. Most of the first set was taken up with popular Finnish songs, none of which I recognised but everyone was singing and dancing along to. The first song I recognised was Take On Me, and I joked that they were now expanding into the rest of the Nordics.

Anyway, if I’m honest, I wasn’t really in the mood for socialising, so I found an empty spot in the corner and made myself at home to watch the band and the people around me. It wasn’t long before a group of guys decided to sit at the table right next to me, and I was awkwardly blocked in. Great.

The next thing I knew, I was sat with them for the rest of the evening! They were going to Estonia to take part in a car rally race, and I was soon invited along. Unfortunately I only had the one day in Tallinn, otherwise I might have actually taken them up on their offer! Give yourself some time and you never know where you might end up on your travels.

I hadn’t even realised that you could take cars on this boat. While most people would be returning to Helsinki during the day, the boys wouldn’t be back in time and would get a normal ferry back later.

Anyway, it really felt like I was part of a true Finnish experience on this boat. With so many groups of youngsters, it seems like this is a rite of passage for most people. A lawless offshore adventure with cheap booze* and lots of entertainment.

*I didn’t find the drinks in the bars very cheap so I only actually had a couple. They’re probably pretty cheap compared to Finland though!

Staying on the ship

When I checked in to my cabin, I was the only person in there. I was hoping it would stay that way, and I settled in and charged my phone for a while and waited to see if anyone else turned up.

Nobody ever did, although even when I got back to my room at 1am, I still wondered if anyone would suddenly crash into the room because they’d gone straight to the bar. Nothing would have surprised me on that ship!

Anyway, my cabin was comfortable with enough amenities for a night, and I had a shower in the morning – even had a towel provided. It was far from a cruise ship stay, and definitely more on par with a ferry cabin, but it was very decent, especially as I’d booked the cheapest cabin type and got one with a window.

Also, I have to mention the weirdest coincidence of this. The ship I was on was taken out of service a couple of years ago to be refurbished – but it ended up being used instead to house lots of Ukrainian families for several months.

Guess where the ship was docked? Edinburgh!

Literally docked in Leith, next to my friend’s flat. And now I was on it between Finland and Estonia! What are the chances?!

Almost as good as the chances of missing Kaarija by a week!

Booking the Tallink “mini cruise”

I booked direct on the Tallink website – and while booking, it asked if I wanted to join their ClubOne programme, for free, to save money on the booking. No brainer. That’s why my ticket says “bronze” on it; the higher level you are, the more you can save on each booking.

There are various cabins you can choose from, but I’m pretty sure I just chose the cheapest. My total came to 47.90€, which included an eco fuel surcharge of about 9€. You can also book restaurants online.

Despite going full introvert, I had a great time on the ship! Mostly people-watching and then chatting to those guys, it really felt like a proper “cultural” experience and seeing another side to the usually reserved Finnish people.

Considering I only used it as a way to get to Tallinn, I loved that the journey became such a memorable part of the trip.

But, after a few hours of sleep, it was time to explore another new country. Stay tuned for my adventures in Estonia!

Read more about the Nordics and Baltics:
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⭐ The Perfect One Week Norway Itinerary For First-Timers
⭐ How To Spend A Festive Winter Weekend In Riga, Latvia
⭐ Christmas In Kaunas: Feeling Festive In Lithuania
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