A day in Tallinn by ferry

This is not a boat tour. It is a return ferry ticket to another country, and it is the most-reviewed thing on this site by a wide margin. Tallink Silja, on Megastar or MyStar, from West Harbour (Länsisatama) Terminal 2 in Jätkäsaari, with check-in inside the terminal. A seat is included, there are restaurants and shops on board, and you get up to about nine and a half hours in Tallinn. Unguided. Door to door the day runs 11 to 14 hours. Rated 4.8, from 2,706 reviews.

Rating4.8 out of 5

Reviews2,706

Whole day11 to 14 hours

Time in TallinnUp to about 9.5 hours

Leaves fromWest Harbour Terminal 2

CrossingAbout 2 hours

Where it leaves from, which is the part people get wrong

Not Market Square. West Harbour (Länsisatama) Terminal 2 is in Jätkäsaari, on the other side of the city centre from the sightseeing quay, and you check in inside the terminal like an airport. Tallink Silja and Eckerö Line both sail from there. Viking Line sails to Tallinn from Katajanokka, which is a different harbour again. Allow proper time to get across town and through check-in.

Finland and Estonia are both in the EU and the Schengen area, and they share a currency, so this crosses no hard border. Carry your passport or ID card anyway, because the carrier checks identity.

What the crossing is like

About 80 kilometres of open water, and about two hours at the fast end — up to about three hours and twenty-five minutes depending on the ship. Tallink Silja runs five to seven crossings a day from West Harbour T2; across all the lines there are around ten a day. Megastar and MyStar are large modern ships with restaurants, shops and a lot of seating. It is a comfortable two hours and it is not a scenic voyage: you leave the archipelago behind quickly and then it is the Gulf of Finland.

What you get at the other end

Tallinn’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved medieval town centres in northern Europe, with an intact town wall, the Toompea upper town above and Raekoja plats, the town hall square, below. Nine and a half hours is genuinely enough to see it properly and eat two meals. This trip is unguided, which I think is the right call there: the Old Town is small and legible and you do not need anyone to walk you round it. The comparison with Helsinki is on the Helsinki and Tallinn page.

Included

A return ferry crossing with Tallink Silja, on Megastar or MyStar
A seat on board
Restaurants and shops on the ship
Up to about 9.5 hours in Tallinn
Check-in inside West Harbour Terminal 2

Not included

A guide, at either end — the day in Tallinn is yours to organise
Transport to the terminal in Jätkäsaari
A cabin. This is a day crossing with a seat
Anything in Helsinki’s own archipelago — for that, see the sightseeing loop
Flexibility if you miss the return sailing

What works

2,706 reviews at 4.8 is the strongest record on this site by a distance
Two hours each way for a genuinely different country and a medieval capital
No border formalities beyond an identity check, inside Schengen and a shared currency
Up to about nine and a half hours ashore is a real day, not a glimpse
The ships are big, stable and well organised at boarding

Worth knowing

It is a whole day, 11 to 14 hours door to door, and it removes a day from Helsinki
The terminal is across town from everything else on this site
Unguided means you plan Tallinn yourself, or you wander
Nothing about it is a Helsinki boat tour, whatever the search results suggest
Miss the return sailing and the day becomes an expensive improvisation

What people say about it

Tamara, from the United States: “The ferry ride was easy. The ferry is clean and very comfortable. Tallinn was beautiful.” Neil, from Australia: “Very comfortable ship. Well organised boarding.” Matt, from the United Kingdom: “Everything worked perfectly — the ferry ride was smooth.” The full assessment is on the review page.

Local tip

Do not attempt this on a cruise call. An 11 to 14 hour day against a fixed all-aboard time is the one plan I would actively talk someone out of, and I did, more than once, from behind the kiosk. If you are off a ship, read the cruise port page and take the ninety-minute loop instead.

Book the crossing

Live availability is below. If you want the water without leaving Finland, the six boats are all on one page, and the island boats will get you ashore much closer to home.

Check dates & book

If this one is not right

Leaves from Market Square

Those dates don’t work?

Browse the other boats leaving Helsinki — the short archipelago loops, the evening cruises and the crossings to Tallinn — and pick a day that suits you, with instant confirmation.

Live availability & other boats

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Frequently asked questions

How long is the crossing to Tallinn?

About two hours at the fast end, and up to about three hours and twenty-five minutes depending on the ship. More on the crossing time page.

Which terminal does it leave from?

West Harbour (Länsisatama) Terminal 2 in Jätkäsaari, with check-in inside the terminal. Viking Line sails to Tallinn from Katajanokka instead: which ferry to take.

Do I need a passport?

Finland and Estonia are both in the EU and the Schengen area, so there is no hard border, but carry your passport or ID card because the carrier checks identity.

How long do I get in Tallinn?

Up to about nine and a half hours, with the whole day running 11 to 14 hours door to door. That is enough to see the Old Town properly.

Can I do this from a cruise ship call?

I would not. The day is too long against a fixed all-aboard time. See the cruise port page for what actually fits.