Tallink Silja Serenade Stockholm to Helsinki: My Overnight Ferry Experience
When I travel, I typically do not stay in the same place for very long. Most of the time, I fly between cities and occasionally take the train, so I was excited to try a completely different method of transportation between Stockholm and Helsinki: an overnight ferry.
I booked a ticket on the Tallink Silja Serenade, which included an overnight stay in a small private cabin. This was the first time I had ever slept overnight on a boat, and I really did not know what to expect. I was even concerned that booking one of the cheapest cabins might mean sharing it with a stranger, so I emailed Tallink before my trip to ask. They assured me that passengers only shared cabins with people booked together on the same reservation, meaning I would have the cabin to myself.
The more I thought about it, the more the ferry made sense. By the time I factored in the cost of a hotel for the night, taking the Stockholm to Helsinki ferry really was not that much more expensive than flying. Plus, I could board in Stockholm in the afternoon, spend the night on the ship, and wake up the next morning already in Helsinki.
It seemed like a no brainer.
Table of Contents
- Checking In for the Silja Serenade in Stockholm
- My Below-Waterline Cabin on Deck 2
- Leaving Stockholm and Cruising Through the Archipelago
- Eating Dinner on the Silja Serenade
- Exploring the Silja Serenade
- Spending the Evening on the Sun Deck
- What Was It Like Sleeping Below the Waterline?
- Breakfast Before Arriving in Helsinki
- Arriving in Helsinki
- Is the Stockholm to Helsinki Ferry Worth It?
- Video Highlights – Tallink Silja Serenade
- Related Content
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Checking In for the Silja Serenade in Stockholm
I arrived at Värtahamnen Terminal in Stockholm about two hours and 30 minutes before departure. That was much earlier than I needed to arrive, but since I had never taken an overnight ferry before, I wanted to give myself plenty of time in case I made a mistake.
Checking in ended up being very easy. I used one of the self-service kiosks, which printed a boarding card with my name and cabin number. Since I still had plenty of time before boarding, I walked around the terminal and got something to eat while I waited.
When boarding began, I scanned my ticket and walked onto the Silja Serenade. I had already seen the ship from the outside, but I was still surprised by how large it felt once I stepped inside. The ship is more than 200 meters long and can carry around 2,800 passengers, so this felt much closer to boarding a cruise ship than the small ferry I had pictured in my head.
My Below-Waterline Cabin on Deck 2
My cabin was on Deck 2, the lowest passenger deck on the Silja Serenade. Since only a limited number of elevators went that far down, it took me a little while to figure out where I was going. Once I found the correct elevator, I zigzagged through the hallway until I finally reached my room.
The cabin was basic, but it had everything I needed for one night. There was a bed, chair, mirror, a few hangers, and a private bathroom with a shower. There was no window because I was below the waterline, but the room was surprisingly comfortable. The air inside was nice and cool, which I appreciated because I could not find any individual temperature controls.
Wi-Fi was not listed as an amenity for my Deck 2 cabin, so I was not expecting to have internet access that far down in the ship. To my surprise, my iPhone showed one bar of Wi-Fi signal, and it worked throughout the night. It was not something I had counted on having, but it was a nice bonus.
One of my favorite details was realizing where my cabin was located in relation to the rest of the ship. The passenger cabins on Deck 2 were directly below the vehicle decks on Decks 3 and 4.
In other words, I had booked such a cheap cabin that I was staying on a lower deck than the automobiles.
For one night, though, I had no complaints. I really only needed somewhere to sleep and shower, and the cabin was perfect for that.
Leaving Stockholm and Cruising Through the Archipelago
After putting away my luggage, I headed all the way up to the Sun Deck to watch our departure from Stockholm. There were hundreds of people outside, and everyone seemed to be trying to find a good place to sit. I eventually moved a deckchair from the bow toward the middle of the ship and found a spot where I could stay out of the direct sun.
Right on time, the ship’s horn sounded and we began moving away from Stockholm.
What surprised me was how quickly the deck emptied. Within about 30 minutes, most of the crowd had gone inside and there was suddenly plenty of room. I had nothing planned for the evening, so I stayed outside and watched as the ship slowly made its way through the Stockholm Archipelago.
For the next 90 minutes or so, I barely moved from my chair. We passed island after island, with small Swedish communities, houses, boats, and stretches of forest appearing along the shoreline. It was one of those travel experiences where I was perfectly happy doing absolutely nothing except watching the scenery go by.
That was also when I started to appreciate one of the biggest advantages of taking the ferry instead of flying. When I fly between cities, the transportation is usually just something I want to get through. On the Silja Serenade, getting from Stockholm to Helsinki was part of the experience.
Eating Dinner on the Silja Serenade
Eventually, I became hungry. There were several dining options onboard, including a buffet and more expensive sit-down restaurants, but I decided not to prebook a meal.
Instead, I went to the more casual “Stop In To Eat” café and ordered a burger, fries, and a drink. It was still expensive, but it cost considerably less than some of the other options I had looked at.
For me, that was good enough.
Exploring the Silja Serenade
After dinner, I decided to explore the ship from top to bottom. The Silja Serenade was much bigger than I had expected, with restaurants, shops, entertainment areas, cabins, and outdoor spaces spread across multiple decks.
| Deck | What I Found |
|---|---|
| Deck 2 | My cabin and other below-waterline passenger cabins |
| Decks 3–4 | Vehicle decks |
| Deck 5 | Cabins, Silja Land, ice cream, and exterior access |
| Deck 6 | Grande Buffet, Tax Free Superstore, Italian restaurant, and conference facilities |
| Deck 7 | Main promenade with restaurants, shops, bars, entertainment, and casino |
| Deck 8 | Cabins and Sea View Lounge |
| Decks 9–11 | Primarily cabins; elevators and stairs were accessible, but cabin hallways required a keycard |
| Deck 12 | Sun Deck with outdoor seating and viewing areas |
I liked wandering around simply because I had never been on a ship like this before. There were places to eat, shop, have a drink, watch entertainment, or just sit and look outside. I did not really need any of those things, but exploring everything helped make the ferry ride feel like an attraction instead of just transportation.
Spending the Evening on the Sun Deck
After exploring the ship, I went back outside and spent most of the rest of the evening on the Sun Deck. I watched the scenery, edited some photos, and stayed outside until it became dark.
It was extremely relaxing. I had already spent several busy days walking around Stockholm, so having an evening where there was nowhere I needed to go was actually perfect.
Once it became dark, I headed back down to my cabin. I wanted to get a full night of sleep so I would be ready to start exploring Helsinki as soon as we arrived the next morning.
What Was It Like Sleeping Below the Waterline?
One of my biggest concerns before the trip was whether I would be able to sleep on a moving ship. I had always worried that I might get seasick, especially once we left the more protected waters around Stockholm.
Instead, I fell asleep almost immediately.
For most of the night, my cabin was surprisingly quiet. I could feel some movement from the ship, but it was not a bouncing sensation. It felt more like the entire ship was slowly being pulled from side to side, and it never bothered me enough to feel sick.
Around 3 a.m., however, I suddenly woke up to an extremely loud mechanical noise. The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like a freight train was coming directly toward my cabin.
I never found out what caused it.
Whatever it was eventually stopped, and I fell back asleep. When I woke up later that morning, the loud noise was gone and the ship once again felt surprisingly quiet.
Breakfast Before Arriving in Helsinki
We were scheduled to arrive in Helsinki at around 10:30 a.m., so I woke up around 8:30, took a shower, and packed my luggage.
I initially planned to return to the café where I had eaten dinner, but there was a long line. Instead, I decided to try breakfast at the Grande Buffet. The food was decent, although I had expected there to be a few more options.
By the time I finished eating, we were getting close to Helsinki. I returned to my cabin, grabbed my suitcase, and headed outside so I could watch our arrival.
Arriving in Helsinki
With about 20 minutes remaining before we docked, I found a place outside on Deck 5 and watched as the Silja Serenade entered Helsinki.
This ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.
As we approached the city, I had great views toward Uspenski Cathedral, Helsinki Cathedral, and the waterfront around Helsinki’s South Harbor. We also passed smaller ferries and other large passenger ships as we made our way toward Olympia Terminal.
It was a fantastic introduction to Helsinki and another experience I never would have gotten by flying into the city.
I already had my suitcase with me, so once the ship docked I only needed to make my way back toward the main exit on Deck 7. Disembarking was probably the least enjoyable part of the journey. Everyone seemed to want to get off the ship at exactly the same time, and the area became crowded very quickly.
Instead of joining the rush for public transportation or trying to find a taxi, I decided to walk to my hotel. It was only about a two-mile walk, and once I got away from the terminal I quickly left most of the crowd behind.
Is the Stockholm to Helsinki Ferry Worth It?
I would absolutely take the Tallink Silja Serenade from Stockholm to Helsinki again.
Before this trip, I mostly thought of the ferry as an unusual way to get between the two cities. By the end, I realized that combining an overnight stay with transportation actually worked extremely well. I boarded in Stockholm, had an entire evening to enjoy the ship and the Stockholm Archipelago, slept through most of the journey, and arrived in Helsinki the following morning ready to begin sightseeing.
There were a few negatives. Food onboard was expensive, my cheapest-category cabin was very basic, I experienced that mysterious burst of noise during the middle of the night, and getting off the ship in Helsinki was chaotic.
None of those things came close to outweighing the positives.
Most importantly, the movement of the ship was far less noticeable than I expected. Seasickness had always been one of the reasons I was hesitant about spending the night on a boat, and this trip showed me that an overnight ferry was something I could actually enjoy.
The experience even had me thinking that maybe, someday, I should try taking an actual cruise.
Video Highlights - Tallink Silja Serenade
Watch my overnight journey from Stockholm to Helsinki aboard the Silja Serenade. In the video below, I tour my Deck 2 cabin, explore the ship’s Promenade and outdoor decks, and share views of the Stockholm Archipelago. I also show dinner, sunset on the Sun Deck, the breakfast buffet, and our arrival in Helsinki the next morning.