Onto the Sea
As a follow-up to the night train post, here’s another option for those looking to combine transport and hotel: ferries.
Obviously, this option is a bit more limited. I haven’t found a boat to whisk me from Prague to Barcelona. But if you are on the outskirts of the continent, this might be a handy, cost-effective and interesting way to move about. Let’s start south, near Italy and Greece. Many moons ago I took an overnight ferry between the two countries, and it was quite excruciating. Sixteen hours and I wanted to cry with boredom. Sleeping really didn’t occur. After that rousing endorsement, look into Superfast Ferries. They have a boat that departs from Ancona, Italy at 6pm and lands you in Igoumenitsa, Greece at 10am the next morning. Choosing “aircraft type seats” the price for a one-way trip would be 178 EUR for two people.
The British Isles are an excellent starting place for a visit to other European countries. Stena Line offers ferry combined with train rides between London and Amsterdam. You’ll start in London, train it to the coast, head across the sea, and after landing be about an hour and a half away from Amsterdam. Leaving at 8:30pm from central London, you’ll arrive in central Amsterdam at 10:30am the next day. Prices start from 25 GBP one way. There’s a similar “rail and sail” offer for trips to Ireland; Holyhead, Wales to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire and from Stranraer, Scotland to Belfast. The trip between Holyhead and Dublin isn’t a long one; you can usually walk up and buy tickets on your departure day. Train/ferry combo tickets start at 27 GBP.
Lots of water in the Scandinavia area. You can jump an overnight ship between Stockholm and Helsinki via Silja. A one-way ticket, leaving Stockholm at 5pm, and arriving in Helsinki at 10am starts at 132 EUR. If you’d like to explore the Baltic countries, get a ferry to Tallinn. Tallink has ships from both Helsinki or Stockholm to Tallinn or Riga. The Helsinki – Tallinn run only takes 2 hours and prices start at 23 EUR. You could also cruise Stockholm to Riga, Latvia. Prices start at 24 EUR for a “deck place” and a 5pm departure gets you into Riga at 11am.
Photo Credit: Mischiru@Flickr
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