Ferries from Stockholm - Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Åland and Gotland

Large Baltic ferries sail from Stockholm to Finland, Estonia and Åland, all of them with cabins, restaurants and a car deck. Gotland is the exception: the island is served from Nynäshamn, south of the city. This guide lists the routes with ships, times and fares for 2026. Where the ships depart from, how the terminals are connected and which routes run the other way are covered in the guide Ferry to Stockholm.

To Finland: Helsinki and Turku

Both operators sail to Helsinki daily, and both leave in the late afternoon.

• Viking Line departs Stadsgården at 16:30, calls at Mariehamn around 23:20 and reaches the Katajanokka terminal at 10:10. The Gabriella and the Viking Cinderella work the route.
• Tallink Silja Line also departs at 16:30, from Värtahamnen, and reaches the Olympia terminal at 10:30. The Silja Serenade and Silja Symphony alternate daily.

Take the time difference out and that is 16 to 17 hours of sailing. You spend the night in your cabin, and the morning on board belongs to the approach through the Finnish archipelago.

There are three departures a day to Turku, and it is by far the quicker Finland route:

• Viking Grace leaves Stockholm at 07:45, calls at Mariehamn and arrives in Turku at 19:50.
• Viking Glory leaves at 20:00, calls at Långnäs overnight and arrives at 07:35.
• Baltic Princess by Tallink Silja Line leaves at 07:00 and arrives at 18:30.

Net of the time difference that is ten to eleven hours. At night Viking Line calls at Långnäs on Åland rather than Mariehamn. The two ports are 28 kilometres apart, with a transfer bus between them for passengers travelling without a vehicle.

To Tallinn

The Baltic Queen by Tallink Silja Line leaves Värtahamnen at 17:30 and reaches the D-Terminal in Tallinn at 11:00 the next day, after 16 hours 30 minutes. The point that matters for planning: the route runs every other day, not daily. On the days in between you are left with the detour via Helsinki, which needs two separate tickets, one for each leg.

If all you want is to get to Tallinn quickly, a flight from Arlanda takes a little over an hour. The ferry earns its place when the car is coming along or when the overnight sailing saves a hotel night.

To Åland

Mariehamn and Långnäs are stops on the Finland routes, but they also work as a destination in their own right. Viking Line runs Stockholm to Mariehamn as a route of its own with the Birka Gotland: departing Stadsgården at 17:30, arriving in Mariehamn at 06:30, returning at 07:30 with arrival at 14:30. The crossing is deliberately unhurried, and the ship here is more the point than the transport.

If you are travelling by car there is a second option. From Kapellskär, 90 kilometres north of Stockholm, Finnlines sails twice a day to Naantali and calls at Långnäs on the way. Kapellskär to Långnäs takes around four hours, the shortest crossing the Stockholm region offers to Åland.

To Gotland: the way via Nynäshamn

There is no scheduled ship from Stockholm to Visby. The Gotland ferries run by Destination Gotland sail from Nynäshamn, 60 kilometres south of the city, and take a good three hours to Visby. On 4 September 2026, for instance, they left at 11:25 (3 hours 35 minutes) and at 20:45 (3 hours 15 minutes); how many departures a day carries depends on the season and the day of the week. The second mainland route runs from Oskarshamn to Visby in 3 hours 5 minutes.

You reach the port on the operator's connecting coach, whose times are tied to the ferry timetable. In Stockholm it stops at the Centralstation and at Gullmarsplan, and on the way there in Uppsala, at Arlanda Airport, in Upplands Väsby and at Järva krog; the coach ticket is booked together with the ferry.

Three quirks of the Gotland ferries matter before you travel. Boarding opens no later than 1 hour 30 minutes before departure and closes 20 minutes before. It can be up to 500 metres from the terminal entrance to the ship. And foot passengers check their luggage in at the terminal: only hand baggage up to 56 by 45 by 25 centimetres is allowed in the passenger areas, and checked pieces may weigh 25 kilos each.

Visby does turn up now and then as a stop on a short cruise from Stockholm, in 2026 on 30 August and 13 September, each time with a call at Gdansk. As transport that is no use, as an excursion it is.

Fares and booking

Fares swing with the season, the day of the week and how far ahead you book. So these are only the operators' starting figures:

• Stockholm to Turku with the Baltic Princess from 20.30 euros. The daytime crossing is by far the cheapest of the three.
• Stockholm to Helsinki from 115.90 euros, rising to 135.90 euros on busier dates.
• Stockholm to Tallinn from 178.60 euros.

Booking early remains the most effective lever, especially in summer and at weekends, and vehicle spaces get tight in high season. Weekdays are usually cheaper than Fridays and Saturdays.

Check-in, vehicles and pets

Both operators charge for check-in at the desk, and their deadlines differ.

Tallink Silja Line recommends being at the terminal an hour before departure. Passenger registration closes 30 minutes before departure and boarding 20 minutes before; vehicle check-in opens 1.5 hours before departure. Åland is the exception: there, drivers must have completed registration 1.5 hours before departure. Online check-in opens 24 hours ahead, while the service desk charges 10 euros per person.

Viking Line starts processing around 1.5 hours before departure. Foot passengers must be at the port at least 30 minutes beforehand, in Tallinn 45 minutes. The same deadline applies to vehicles, and 45 minutes to vehicles over 2.40 metres high. Check-in and boarding close 20 minutes before departure. The desk charges 5 euros or 50 SEK per check-in, while the self-service machines in the terminal are free and open two hours before departure.

Pets are carried by both operators on every ship, in a travel bag or carrier, a kennel or a pet-friendly cabin; Tallink Silja Line requires the EU pet passport for dogs, cats and ferrets. On the Gotland ferries the animal generally stays in the vehicle, with one visit allowed during the crossing. To bring it onto the passenger deck you book a place in the pet section in advance.

A short cruise instead of a crossing

Both operators sell short cruises on the same ships: two nights on board, a day ashore in between, return included. For Helsinki that means the Silja Serenade or Silja Symphony, for Åland the Birka Gotland from Stadsgården. The price is often below that of two single crossings, because the cabin is part of the package.

These sailings sometimes call at ports the scheduled network never touches. Viking Line is sending the Birka Gotland to Härnösand, Riga, Gdansk and Visby among others in 2026, and Tallink Silja Line runs short cruises to Riga. So if the ship matters more to you than the destination, it is worth checking those dates before booking a one-way ticket. For trips that end back in Stockholm the same evening, the better list is Day trips from Stockholm.