Triple.H. 1,988 Posted August 12, 2013 I think from London its Ryanair, if you don't want to go with them you can fly to either Stockholm or Helsinki and change to a flight to Tammerfors. Personally I would probably go by car via the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Åbo and then drive from Åbo to Tammerfors. I'd rather walk from good old Blighty than fly with Ryanair. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moomin man 76 171 Posted August 12, 2013 Ryanair did fly from Edinburgh to Tampere until 30th October 2012, but then pulled out of Finland, apart from the aforementioned route from Stansted to Tampere. I just wish they would reinstate the route! If you fly to Helsinki, the train is as good an option as any. It is clean and efficient, with a journey time of one and a half hours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted August 12, 2013 If you want to experience something really fantastic and fairly unique, I would fly to Stockholm Arlanda (ARN/ESSA) and rent a car and go with the ferries between Stockholm and Åbo (Viking Line or Tallink Silja), standing on deck on a larger passenger ship while going through the amazing archipelagos of Stockholm, Åland and Åbo is memory for life (unless the weather is really poor). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manchesterpaul 447 Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) If you want to experience something really fantastic and fairly unique, I would fly to Stockholm Arlanda (ARN/ESSA) and rent a car and go with the ferries between Stockholm and Åbo (Viking Line or Tallink Silja), standing on deck on a larger passenger ship while going through the amazing archipelagos of Stockholm, Åland and Åbo is memory for life (unless the weather is really poor). As one who never gets to see comets or that Perseids meteor shower because of cloud cover i'll be kind to others and not go so as to prevent a thick pea souper fog enveloping the ship from embarking to disembarking lol. Edited August 12, 2013 by manchesterpaul Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted August 13, 2013 Ryanair did fly from Edinburgh to Tampere until 30th October 2012, but then pulled out of Finland, apart from the aforementioned route from Stansted to Tampere. I just wish they would reinstate the route! If you fly to Helsinki, the train is as good an option as any. It is clean and efficient, with a journey time of one and a half hours. I'm not even gonna check, but just say that Ryanair has been flying from TMP yor years and still does. Also for a few years now from Lappeenranta. Routes come and go, Ryanair threatens to quit and all, but they have not pulled out from Finland at any point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garygunson 0 Posted August 14, 2013 is it better to travel to finland independently or travel with am organised group, if so who? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted August 15, 2013 is it better to travel to finland independently or travel with am organised group, if so who? Almost everyone under the age 60 speak English so if you get lost, you just ask the first one. Getting to Tampere by any means is easy enough and local busses do a good job of transporting you around. Spiegal might not like this, but Finland is easy to do on your own. Most of the stuff you need to know can be found online. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humphrey Appleby 13,974 Posted August 15, 2013 is it better to travel to finland independently or travel with am organised group, if so who? Why on earth would anyone want to go on an organised tour in this day-and-age? It's the easiest thing in the world to plan and book transport and accommodation online nowadays. As with all Nordic countries, everything in Finland is pretty efficient and just about everyone speaks English. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eglese 19 19 Posted August 15, 2013 It'll be more than easy enough to get by yourself if you come to Finland, I managed travelling to my girlfriends alone for many years! English will be widely spoken but you must accept that a lot of Finns aren't so quick to use it and can be quite shy though in tourist offices in the big cities it shouldn't be a problem. For anyone coming over who wanted to spend more than just a day who is concerned that Tampere won't have enough to do (besides bars and restaurants) Tampere has direct rail links to Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Rovaniemi (from where the arctic circle is just a short bus away) amongst other places so you could certainly see a lot of Finland. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted August 15, 2013 Why on earth would anyone want to go on an organised tour in this day-and-age? It's the easiest thing in the world to plan and book transport and accommodation online nowadays. As with all Nordic countries, everything in Finland is pretty efficient and just about everyone speaks English. BECAUSE not everyone wants the hassle or uses the internet. Number of people travelling with TravelPlus to SGP events this year at an all time high. Lots of people obviously like to have travel, accommodation, tickets and add ons arranged for them. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted August 15, 2013 BECAUSE not everyone wants the hassle or uses the internet. Number of people travelling with TravelPlus to SGP events this year at an all time high. Lots of people obviously like to have travel, accommodation, tickets and add ons arranged for them. Exactly. I just had a wonderful week in Croatia. Wife sorted the whole lot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted August 15, 2013 (edited) BECAUSE not everyone wants the hassle or uses the internet. Number of people travelling with TravelPlus to SGP events this year at an all time high. Lots of people obviously like to have travel, accommodation, tickets and add ons arranged for them. Nothing personal towards you Phil but I do wonder just how much of a pain it it to book a flight, a hotel and a ticket. Instead of making those 3 bookings yourself Travel Plus are allowed to add a substantial subsidy. In recession some people still have money to burn. £400 for a two night stay in Copenhagen, with just a flight, hotel and optional barge tour included, is not a worthwhile spend. You have to buy your ticket as an extra which is surprising as its designed as a speedway tour. Mark up on that weekend must be 40-50%. But as you say bookings at an all time high so there must be some cash rich people wanting to watch speedway. It's also kind of Travel Plus Tours to book large blocks of accommodation in Cardiff only to sell rooms off individually to speedway fans with a hefty profit making premium added. It's no wonder speedway fans can't get a hotel room for the GP at a reasonable rate. Exactly. I just had a wonderful week in Croatia. Wife sorted the whole lot! How much did that cost. What could you have booked it for yourself. Edited August 15, 2013 by marky Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Humphrey Appleby 13,974 Posted August 15, 2013 Nothing personal towards you Phil but I do wonder just how much of a pain it it to book a flight, a hotel and a ticket. No doubt their advertising revenue still comes in handy. The concept of the organised tours was useful in the days when World Finals were held behind the Iron Curtain and independent travel was difficult, but there's virtually nowhere in Europe you can't reach with a budget airline and book your accommodation online. It's also a reason why so many travel agents have gone out of business, as most people have discovered you can the job yourself (and often better). Maybe when there's a North Korean GP then organised tours will come back in their own... £400 for a two night stay in Copenhagen, with just a flight, hotel and optional barge tour included Is it the barge they bring the shale in with? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WembleyLion 417 Posted August 15, 2013 I have travelled with Travel Plus and can highly recommend them. I also do my own thing quite regularly as for instance last week I did two meetings in Sweden and one in Denmark and as others have mentioned it is quite easy to organise this kind of travel in this day and age. I quite enjoy driving abroad so that might be a factor to take account of. Both options have their merits and are equally enjoyable in my experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted August 15, 2013 I have travelled with Travel Plus and can highly recommend them. I also do my own thing quite regularly as for instance last week I did two meetings in Sweden and one in Denmark and as others have mentioned it is quite easy to organise this kind of travel in this day and age. I quite enjoy driving abroad so that might be a factor to take account of. Both options have their merits and are equally enjoyable in my experience. I'm sure the tours are good but one option is far more costly that the other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
