The sea links that run in 2026
Helsinki to Tallinn is the backbone. Tallink, Viking Line and Eckerö Line all sail it, many times a day, all year. The crossing takes about two hours on Tallink's shuttle ships and around two and a quarter on the others, harbour to harbour, with Tallinn's Old City Harbour a short walk from the old town.
Stockholm to Helsinki is the classic overnight crossing. Tallink Silja Line and Viking Line both sail every evening, calling at Mariehamn in the Åland Islands during the night and arriving the next morning after about seventeen hours. You board after a day in Stockholm and wake up in Helsinki.
Stockholm to Tallinn also runs overnight: Tallink's Baltic Queen sails in each direction every other day, about sixteen hours, late afternoon to the following morning. On the days it does not sail, the Helsinki route plus the two-hour shuttle gets you there by the next afternoon.
Stockholm to Riga does not run. Tallink suspended the route in 2020 and it has not returned. Latvia's economy ministry and Tallink resumed talks in July 2026, but no restart date has been announced, so do not build a trip around it. Riga is reached by road from Tallinn or by air.
Flights and trains, where they help
Copenhagen to Stockholm is about five hours by SJ's direct high-speed train, which is the easiest way to add Denmark to the front of the trip.
airBaltic flies direct from Riga to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. That matters in two cases: if you want to do the route the other way round, or if you want to end the trip in the Baltics and fly back to a Scandinavian hub for a long-haul connection.
Between the Baltic capitals there is no ferry and no need for one. Tallinn to Riga and Riga to Vilnius are each around four hours by road, with things worth stopping for on the way, and we cover the options in our guide to getting between the capitals.
Sample routes: 10, 14 and 18 days
Ten days. Stockholm, two nights. Overnight ferry to Tallinn (or to Helsinki and the morning shuttle across). Tallinn, two nights. Drive to Riga with a stop in Pärnu or the Gauja valley, two nights. Drive to Vilnius by way of Rundāle Palace or the Hill of Crosses, two nights. Fly home from Vilnius.
Fourteen days. Copenhagen, two nights. Train to Stockholm, two nights. Overnight ferry to Helsinki, one night in the city. Ferry to Tallinn, two nights, with a day out to Lahemaa National Park. Riga, three nights, one of them for a day trip to Jūrmala or Rundāle. Vilnius, two nights, with Trakai castle on the way in or out. Fly home from Vilnius.
Eighteen days. Oslo, two nights. Fly to Copenhagen, two nights. Train to Stockholm, two nights. Overnight ferry to Helsinki, two nights. Ferry to Tallinn, two nights, then a night in the countryside, Lahemaa or Pärnu. Riga, three nights. Vilnius, two nights, with Trakai and Kaunas as day trips. This is the version where the Baltic half stops being a dash between capitals and becomes a proper trip of its own.
Which direction to travel
North to south, for three reasons. The money: you spend the expensive days first, when a short stay in a Nordic capital feels like a treat, and the longer second half where meals and rooms cost noticeably less. The ferries: the overnight boats leave Stockholm in the late afternoon and arrive in the morning, which turns a travel day into a night's sleep. And the flights home: Vilnius and Riga have good connections through the major European hubs.
South to north works too, mainly if you want to end with Stockholm or Copenhagen for a long-haul flight. Book the trip as an open-jaw ticket either way, into one end and out of the other, so you never double back.
Season and budget
May to September is the comfortable window. June has the longest light on both sides of the sea, with white nights in Stockholm, Helsinki and Tallinn. July is the busiest month in Tallinn's old town, when cruise ships call. The ferries run all year, and a winter version with Christmas markets in Stockholm, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius is a good trip in December, though the days are short.
Cost is where the two halves differ most. On Eurostat's price levels for restaurants and hotels, the Baltic states sit roughly thirty percent below Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. In practice that means the same standard of hotel and dinner costs about half to two thirds as much in Riga or Vilnius as in Stockholm or Oslo. If the budget is fixed, spend fewer nights in Scandinavia and more in the Baltics, and the trip gets both longer and calmer.
What we arrange, and what we do not
We plan and run the Baltic part: hotels, private car and driver between the capitals, local guides, day trips, and the connection in, such as meeting you off the Helsinki or Stockholm ferry at Tallinn harbour and booking that crossing. We do not sell stand-alone services in Sweden, Denmark, Norway or Finland, so book your Scandinavian nights directly and tell us when you land in Tallinn.
Two of our tours fit this shape already. Four Capitals runs Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn in eleven private days and ends at Tallinn, two hours from Helsinki, so you can add Helsinki and Stockholm on your own at the end. The Northern Crown is our one trip that includes Finland itself: nineteen days from Kraków to Tallinn, then the sea crossing to Helsinki and a Lapland finale.
- Can you combine Scandinavia and the Baltics in one trip?
- Yes. The usual route is to fly into Stockholm or Copenhagen, take the overnight ferry to Helsinki or Tallinn, cross to Tallinn in about two hours if you came via Helsinki, then travel south by road through Riga to Vilnius and fly home. Ten days is the practical minimum, fourteen is comfortable.
- Is there a ferry from Stockholm to Riga?
- Not at the moment. Tallink suspended the Stockholm to Riga route in 2020. Talks on bringing it back resumed in July 2026, but no restart date has been announced. Go via Tallinn by ferry, or fly from Stockholm to Riga with airBaltic.
- How long is the ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn?
- About sixteen hours overnight. Tallink's Baltic Queen leaves in the late afternoon and arrives the next morning, sailing in each direction every other day. On other days, take the overnight ferry to Helsinki and the two-hour crossing on to Tallinn.
- How long is the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn?
- About two hours on Tallink's shuttle ships and about two and a quarter hours with Viking Line or Eckerö Line. All three sail several times a day, all year round.
- Should I start in Scandinavia or in the Baltics?
- Usually Scandinavia. You spend the expensive nights first, the overnight ferries from Stockholm arrive in the morning, and you finish in the Baltics where the longer, slower part of the trip costs less. Book an open-jaw flight so you do not double back.
- Is it cheaper to spend more time in the Baltics?
- Yes. Restaurant and hotel prices in the Baltic states are roughly thirty percent below the Nordic countries on Eurostat's figures, and often more for a midrange hotel in summer. Shifting nights from Stockholm or Oslo to Riga or Vilnius stretches the same budget noticeably.
Not sure how to shape the trip?
Tell us your dates and what you would like to see. We will draft a route that fits, usually within one working day.