Slow Travel from Helsinki to the UK
Our slow travel partner Byway specialises in journeys by train, bus, boat, and bike. To get you from the UK to the start of your Sustainable Journey with us, and or back home again we will connect you with Byway, who will arrange the appropriate travel and accommodation to ensure a hassle-free experience getting you to and from your Journey with us with all the support you need. By clicking on the link below you will be taken to a Byway ‘blueprint’ for you to provide the dates and details to get a plan and price for your travel to and from your Journey with us. It is important to remember that Byway is not part of Sustainable Journeys so any booking you make with Byway is subject to a separate agreement between you and Byway, which is your own responsibility and by clicking the link provided you accept this fact. Please see more about Byway here and follow the link below to explore how to slow travel to connect with this Sustainable Journey. Air travel, if that is your preference, is bookable with Sustainable Journeys or you can make your own arrangements.
Click to view Byway’s rail journey: Helsinki, Finland to UK
By clicking this link you are leaving Sustainable Journeys
Overview
Embark on an unforgettable rail journey, the low-carbon way, from Helsinki, Finland through the heart of Europe, stopping in Hamburg, Germany, before arriving in London.
Day 1 – Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden (approx. 18 hours).
In the comfort of your private cabin, enjoy an overnight cruise from Helsinki, Finland, arriving in Stockholm, Sweden by morning – approx. 18 hours.
Day 2 – Stockholm, Sweden to Hamburg, Germany (approx. 9 hours and 45 minutes).
Rail from Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark – approx. 5 hours and 7 minutes; then from Copenhagen, Denmark to Hamburg, Germany – approx. 4 hours and 38 minutes.
Upon arriving in Hamburg, make your way to your hotel, which is a short 3-minute walk away.
Check-in at Reichshof Hotel Hamburg or similar.
Breakfast included.
With three rivers that feed a maze of waterways and canals, Hamburg has been dubbed the “Venice of the north” (with six times as many bridges). The city has its roots in Maritime history, but also in music-making. It was the birthplace of Mendelssohn, the formative city of the Beatles, and recently, the state-of-the-art Elbphilharmonie concert hall has put Hamburg firmly on the map as one of the top cities for live music, as has its hip-hop and jazz club scene.
Reichshof Hotel Hamburg is a beautiful, four-star hotel featuring Art Deco design and luxurious furnishings. It’s just 200m from the train station, and only 15 minutes walk from the city centre.
If time allows, enjoy a concert at the iconic, wavelike Elbphilharmonie. The programme is diverse, covering a wide range of music genres, and the venue is worth a visit for the contemporary architecture and city views alone.
There’s so much to do, so leave what time you can to explore Hamburg.
Day 3 – Hamburg, Germany to London, England (approx. 7 hours and 56 minutes).
Board a train from Hamburg, Germany to Cologne, Germany – approx. 4 hours and 5 minutes; then from Cologne, Germany to Brussels, Belgium – approx. 1 hour and 50 minutes; then from Brussels, Belgium to London, England – approx. 2 hours and 1 minute.
Click to view Byway’s rail journey: Helsinki, Finland to UK
By clicking this link you are leaving Sustainable Journeys
The information below relates to Helsinki and Kilpisjärvi: Exploring the Lakes and Finnish Lapland Sustainable Journey. Please click here for more details.
What’s Included?
10 nights accommodation with breakfast in locally owned 3-4* hotels and guesthouses
Meals as per the itinerary
Transport as indicated
Activities including snowshoeing and ice fishing, a photography walk, a campfire night, and more.
What is not included?
Travel to and from Finland, by air or rail
Pre or post tour accommodation
Meals and drinks not mentioned as ‘included’
Gratuities
Personal travel insurance
Optional activities and tours
Why this tour is sustainable?
All our tours promote and respect local culture by inviting travellers to witness and experience local customs and traditions.
Visiting lesser-known destinations.
This tour encourages you to explore less-visited regions of Finland, contributing directly to each of the local communities visited. All the activities provided are built around promoting and respecting local cultures, inviting you to witness, experience and learn about the local customs in each area. It encourages you to spend more time experiencing the country and to learn about the ancient traditions of the Sámi people through a varied programme of guided walking tours and Lappish activities such as a sea safari, ice fishing, husky sledding and treks on snowmobiles. Each of these experiences allows for stops in beautiful places that would be missed if only visiting the capital city and larger towns.
Accommodations.
Wherever possible we use locally owned and run hotels, guesthouses and homesteads. You make an impact by contributing directly to the local economy, meeting the locals and experiencing their hospitality, customs and traditions. Most of the places you stay are recognised for their leading sustainability practices through the Sustainable Travel Finland label, the EcoCompass Certificate and many international awards.
Transport.
In this tour we travel by train and bus, thereby reducing your carbon emissions considerably. Travelling on public transport also offers a different type of experience – one where you travel more slowly and see so much more of the landscape. We believe this gives you a far greater awareness of the destination.
Food and drinks.
During this tour, you’ll be sampling many local specialities. The places you visit offer a chance to experience different flavours and traditional recipes that are localised to their regions and passed down with the traditional wisdom of many generations. The food supply chain is shortened in that their produce is locally sourced, grown or gathered in their surrounding landscape, and is freshly prepared and cooked. Whilst all this gives your hosts the opportunity to impart their local knowledge, it also gives you quite different and even unique experiences, whilst also ensuring there are no unnecessary food miles. The places you visit offer vegetarian and/or vegan options, and most can accommodate different dietary needs.
Local staff.
All the hosts and guides are local people living in the destination. They either own, manage, or are employed by each hotel, activity provider, or tour company, meaning the money paid to them goes directly into the local economy.
For information regarding Explore the Finnish Lake District Sustainable Journey, please click here for more details.
