About the West Terminal and Jätkäsaari

The West Terminal — Länsiterminaali in Finnish — is Finland's busiest passenger harbour and the main gateway between Finland and Estonia. It is the modern Terminal 2 in the Jätkäsaari district, a short ride from the city centre, and the place to be if you are sailing to Tallinn. The terminal has check-in desks and self-service kiosks, cafés and waiting areas, and is reached by tram lines 7 and 9 — though after a flight, a door-to-door car with your luggage is far simpler.

Jätkäsaari, the district around the terminal, has grown into one of Helsinki's newest neighbourhoods, with waterfront apartments, cafés and the Bunkkeri sports hall, a few minutes by car from the city centre, the Market Square and the Design District. If you have time before your sailing, it is a pleasant area to wait — and a private car makes it easy to combine a little sightseeing with your trip to the terminal.

Tallink Silja and Eckerö Line — the Tallinn ferries

Two ferry companies run the Tallinn route from the West Terminal. Tallink Silja Line sails its modern ships Megastar, MyStar and Victoria I, and Eckerö Line sails the MS Finlandia; inside the terminal the Tallink ships depart from the left side and the Eckerö ships from the right. Between them there are well over a dozen sailings a day in each direction, making Helsinki–Tallinn one of the busiest international ferry routes in Europe.

Check-in can be done online or in the operator's app from 24 hours up to about 30 minutes before departure, or at the terminal's self-service kiosks; a staffed service desk is available for a small fee. The gate closes about 20 minutes before sailing, so timing matters — which is exactly why we plan your airport pickup to land you at the terminal with comfortable margin, flight tracked in case of delay.

The crossing and a day trip to Tallinn

The crossing to Tallinn takes roughly two to three and a half hours depending on the ship, with the newest fast vessels — Megastar and MyStar — making it in around two and a quarter hours. Ferries arrive at Tallinn's Old City Harbour (Terminal D), a short walk or quick tram ride from the Old Town. With so many departures, Tallinn is one of the easiest and most popular day trips in northern Europe: leave Helsinki in the morning, spend the day in the Estonian capital and be back the same evening.

Tallinn's medieval Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved in Europe — cobbled lanes, the Town Hall Square, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the viewpoints of Toompea Hill, all within walking distance of the harbour — while the Rotermann Quarter and Telliskivi Creative City add design shops, food halls and galleries. For travellers based in Helsinki it is a favourite escape, and we make the Helsinki end effortless: a car to the terminal for your outbound sailing, and a car waiting when you return.

Getting the right terminal — Stockholm and Viking Line

Helsinki has several ferry terminals, and it is worth knowing which is which. The West Terminal serves the Tallink Silja and Eckerö Line ferries to Tallinn. If instead you are sailing to Stockholm, those overnight cruise ferries — the Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony — leave from the Olympia Terminal in the South Harbour. And Viking Line sails from the Katajanokka Terminal across the harbour: the Viking XPRS to Tallinn and the cruise ferries Gabriella and Viking Cinderella to Stockholm.

It is easy to arrive at the wrong harbour if you are not sure, so when you book just tell us your shipping line and destination and we will take you straight to the correct terminal — the fixed Helsinki city fare is the same whichever one you need, and we can confirm the right building if you are unsure.

Arriving in Helsinki by cruise ship — where you dock

If you are visiting Helsinki on a Baltic cruise, the quay your ship uses shapes your day. Large cruise liners — vessels over about 215 metres, which carry most cruise passengers — dock at the Hernesaari quays on the south-western waterfront, roughly three to three-and-a-half kilometres from the centre, with shuttle buses and tram 6 into town; some ships also use the West Harbour here in Jätkäsaari. Smaller and boutique ships berth right in the historic core, at the South Harbour quays (Olympia and Pakkahuone) or at Katajanokka, within a short walk of the Market Square.

Wherever you tie up, Helsinki Airport is only about 24 km away, and the city's classic sights cluster near the South Harbour. The real constraint on a cruise day is time, not distance: you have a fixed number of hours ashore, the ship's coach tours are large and rigidly scheduled, and ordinary taxis can be hard to find when thousands of passengers disembark together. A private car by the hour is built precisely for that situation.

Private shore excursions by the hour — skip the tour-bus crowds

For cruise passengers with a single day in port, we offer private hourly car hire with an English-speaking local driver — your own vehicle and guide for as long as you like, instead of a crowded coach on a fixed timetable. We meet you at your cruise quay, whether that is the West Harbour, Hernesaari, the South Harbour or Katajanokka, holding a name sign, and from then on the day belongs to you: you set the route, decide how long to spend at each stop, and we make certain you are back at the gangway in good time before all-aboard.

Pick the vehicle that suits your party. A Standard car or a Business Mercedes sedan is ideal for a couple or a small family; our premium Mercedes minivan (the Business Van) takes up to 8 passengers with their belongings; and the First Class Van and First Class options add extra comfort. Hourly hire begins at €65 for the first hour in a Standard car, €85 in a Business sedan and €95 in the 8-seat Business Van minivan, with each additional hour from roughly €55, €62 and €68; a typical four-hour shore excursion comes to about €230 in a Standard car, around €270 in a Business sedan and about €300 in the Business Van. Switch the booking form to "By the hour" and the exact, fixed price for your party and duration appears at once — no meter, no surprises.

Against a cruise line's own bus tour the contrast is stark: no boarding queue, no waiting on a large group at every stop, no fixed script you cannot change. You travel in a private, air-conditioned Mercedes, photograph what you actually want to see, adjust the plan as you go, and enjoy door-to-door access no coach can match. For families, for older travellers, or for anyone who values their hours ashore, it is the calmest and most efficient way to experience Helsinki — and as you pay per car rather than per person, it is often excellent value for a couple or a group.

A day ashore by private car — what you can see

A few hours with a private car shows you far more of Helsinki than walking or a bus tour allows. A classic highlights route links Senate Square and the white Helsinki Cathedral, the red-brick Uspenski Cathedral, the Market Square and the Esplanadi, the Sibelius Monument, the rock-carved Temppeliaukio Church, the Olympic Stadium and the seaside villas of Kaivopuisto, with your driver stopping at each door and waiting while you look around. Add the Design District, the Allas Sea Pool or a crossing to the UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna sea fortress and a single day fills easily.

With more time the same car carries you out of the city — to the wooden lanes and riverside of Porvoo, Finland's second-oldest town, about an hour east; to the forests and lakes of Nuuksio National Park; or to design and seaside stops around Espoo. Your driver shapes the route around your interests and your ship's all-aboard time, keeps your shopping and coats in the car between stops, and returns you to the quay with time to spare. Just tell us your ship, your date and your hours ashore when you book and we will plan the day around them.

Why book a private transfer or chauffeur with us

Whether you need a simple airport–terminal transfer or a full day's private touring, the case is the same: a professional, English-speaking driver, a clean modern Mercedes, a name sign waiting for you, and a fixed price agreed before you travel. We have driven international visitors around Helsinki and southern Finland since 2008, we know the harbours, the ferry operators and their terminals, and we plan every booking around where you are going and the clock you are working to.

Ordinary taxis are scarcest and priciest exactly when a flight lands late or a cruise ship empties thousands of passengers onto the quay at once. A pre-booked, fixed-price car removes that gamble for ferry passengers and cruise visitors alike. Just enter your pickup, your destination or your hours in the booking form — choosing "By the hour" for sightseeing — and we take care of the rest.