Färja till Estland - Tallink silja vs DFDS

Ferry to Estonia, which one to choose? During our recent trip to Estonia, we tried two different ferries, both Tallink Silja Line between Stockholm and Tallinn, and DFDS which we travelled home with, from Paldiski to Kapellskär. Here is our comparison!

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Ferry to Estonia, which one to choose?

There are two routes and four companies to choose from when travelling by ferry to Estonia:

Stockholm - Tallinn (with Tallink Silja Line)
Kapellskär - Paldiski (with DFDS)

We travelled Stockholm - Tallinn with Tallink Silja (the ferry Baltic Queen) on the way to Estonia, and on our way back home we tried Paldiski - Kapellskär with DFDS (Liverpool ferry), which is both a freight and passenger ferry. So we thought we'd do a little comparison of these two journeys.

Färja till Estland — Kapellskär and Paldiski - not far from Stockholm and Tallinn

READ MORE: What to see and do in Tallinn - our top tips

Ferry to Estonia - Times

Baltic Queen left at 17:30 from Värtahamnen in Stockholm and arrived at 10:15 in Tallinn the next day. This means there's plenty of time for restaurants, bars and shopping on board.

Liverpool left Paldiski in Estonia at 23:00 and arrived in Kapellskär at 08:30 the next morning. So this ferry is much faster, but if you want, you can have a late dinner and/or breakfast. There are also daytime ferries.

Cabins

On the Baltic Queen we had an A cabin, which meant a relatively ordinary cabin with single beds and windows. Quite ok, but nothing extra.

On Liverpool we had an inside 2-person cabin with bunk beds, without windows. Also this cabin was perfectly ok, without anything extra.

Breakfast on board

On the Baltic Queen you can choose between regular breakfast (€13) and "special breakfast" (€19). The special breakfast is really good, so if you want to enjoy an extra good breakfast while travelling by ferry to Estonia, this is always the best option. How about sparkling wine, rum, pâté and good cheeses?

On Liverpool there is also a breakfast buffet, and it currently costs 10,90 euros. This breakfast was not very exciting, but quite ok except that we did not find the coffee or tea very good.

Frukost — Peter thinks about something else during breakfast ...

Frukost på färja till Estland — Can't you smile a little? Ok, a bit stiff ...

Restaurants on board

On the Baltic Queen there are several restaurants to choose from: Grande Buffet, Grill House, Gourmet Baltic Queen, Russian a la carte Alexandra and Fast Lane. We ate at the Russian restaurant Alexandra, and it was really, really good. For starters we chose a tasty tray with quail eggs and various smoked products, and for the main course we had pike-perch with potatoes and asparagus.

On Liverpool there is a buffet restaurant, where you can have lunch or dinner for 15,90 euro. The ferry left 23:00 from Paldiski and we had already had dinner, so we didn't try this one.

Alexandra på färja till Estland — At restaurant Alexandra, on the Baltic Queen

Bars on board

On the Baltic Queen there are several different bars: Starlight, Manhattan Piano bar, Sea Pub, Cigar Club and the Seaside lounge area and Ibiza Disco.

On Liverpool there is a bar, right next to the buffet restaurant. We ordered both a beer and an Irish Coffee here. When they would make the Irish Coffee, they took out an electric whisk and whipped the cream - a bit impressive after all!

Tax-free shop

On the Baltic Queen there is a large duty-free shop with alcohol, sweets and perfume, and here we found really, really good prices.

On Liverpool there is a small duty-free shop. We only had time to look around for a short while, but perceived the prices to be a bit higher.

Other activities

Baltic Queen is a ferry to Estonia for entertainment with several different restaurants and bars, as well as shopping and a nightclub with shows. There is also a sauna area with pool and a playroom.

Liverpool is a ferry focused on fast transport, and there is not much entertainment beyond the restaurant and bar. However, there is a small duty free and a playroom.

Price to travel by ferry to Estonia

Travelling with the Baltic Queen cost around 5200 SEK, for two adults, a small motorhome and an A-cabin.

Travelling with Liverpool cost about 2300 SEK, for two adults, a small motorhome and an inside 2-person cabin. If we had made the trip during the day, without a cabin, the price for us and the motorhome would have been about SEK 1500.

Prices vary, of course, depending on the date, day of the week, vehicle, choice of cabin, etc. Please note that we booked regular journeys, and that there may be cheaper cruises and offers.

Which ferry to Estonia should I choose?

We think both ferries offer great ways to travel to Estonia. Travelling Stockholm - Tallinn with Tallink Silja (Baltic Queen) is perfect if you want a cruise experience with good food and a few hours of socialising.

Travelling from Kapellskär to Paldiski with DFDS (Liverpool) is ideal if you want a quick and easy ferry to Estonia without paying too much. Many lorries use this ferry, but it's also great for motorhomes and cars.

Have you travelled on a ferry to Estonia? What do you think?

Facts about travelling by ferry to Estonia

Shipping companies: The shipping companies that operate ferries directly to Estonia are Tallink Silja and DFDS-...
Ferries: Tallink Silja Line operates with Baltic Queen or Victoria and DFDS operates with Liverpool, among others.
Rutter: Stockholm - Tallinn (Tallink Silja) and Kapellskär - Paldiski (DFDS).
Departures: Tallink Silja Line about 7 departures/week and DFDS about 7 departures/week.
Time: Tallink Silja Line 15 hours 45 minutes and DFDS 9 hours.
Read more: Tallink Silja and DFDS

READ MORE: Travelling to Estonia - your guide to Estonia's top destinations
READ MORE: Facts about Estonia - 30 things you (might) not know

Programme "Promoting Estonia as a Tourism Destination" is supported by European Union Regional Development Fund.

12 Comments

Add yours →

Ama de casa says:

Once went to Tallinn with a "regular" cruise and without a car. Liked that cruise and it was fun to see the city of course. Haha! It was well informative? 😉

How creative of Peter to manage to smile while getting plenty of fluids - it's important now in the heat 😀.

31 July 2019 - 9:35

- Ruth i Virginia says:
  
  Hi Peter - Did you not get dressed before breakfast?
  There was a lot of good food on the table, so I
  can understand, that you were in a hurry. 🙂
  
  31 July 2019 - 11:57
  
  - Comment by post author
    
    Helena says:
    
    Ruth, haha, you mean his tank top? Yes, it was hot and the dress code there among all the lorry drivers was quite relaxed 😉.
    
    31 July 2019 - 18:11
    
- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Ama de casa, hehe, hydration is important 😉.
  
  31 July 2019 - 18:10
  
Ditte says:

I have tried both - but only once tested it from Paldiski. Most often we have travelled with Silja or Vikinglinjen and taken the trip as part of the holiday. If you want the trip as a stretch of transport, it is certainly ok to travel to or from Paldiski. And you were quite satisfied. But I also want a comfortable cabin high up in the ship and with a large window and I did not think the Kapellskär - Paldiski line could offer that. At least not the ship we travelled with. Then we also thought it was good to drive on the ship in Stockholm.
Nice to read your thoughts.

31 July 2019 - 10:12

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  You can get a nicer and slightly more luxurious trip with Tallink Silja and they also have nicer cabins (have travelled like that on a previous occasion). But yes, we were actually happy with the DFDS ferry too and it was nice to arrive quickly. Depends entirely on what you are looking for!
  
  31 July 2019 - 18:13
  
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

We haven't travelled by ferry to Estonia but the same option is available for ferries to Germany as well.
Of course, it's good to have a choice; sometimes you're happy with a cheap "transport" and sometimes you want a little more, like a cosy evening in a restaurant, but as usual you get what you pay for.

31 July 2019 - 10:51

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  It's good that there are alternatives! 🙂
  
  31 July 2019 - 18:13
  
BP says:

The header image is absolutely fantastic!
Then DFDS is against expectation (my expectation that is) significantly "finer" than Polferries ferries to Poland. Also much cheaper.

31 July 2019 - 20:16

Helena från Finland says:

I can also add Seawind from Vuosaari/Helsinki. The journey takes 3,5h and costs 100€ round trip. But then of course you are travelling from Finland

01 August 2019 - 8:44

- Nisse says:
  
  And of course Vuosaari has a Swedish name in bilingual Finland, the name in Swedish is Nordsjö.
  
  01 August 2019 - 20:55
  
Alexandra says:

Have travelled Tallink Silja ferry to Estonia several times, never tried any other shipping company there though. But I thought 5200 SEK sounded very expensive! You must either have been very unlucky that it was extra expensive at that time or it costs a lot more to bring a motorhome?
I like tallink's boats and think the time is just right, you have time to eat dinner, have a drink if you want, sleep long enough, have breakfast and then you are there and ready for what is to come!

03 August 2019 - 0:31

Ferry to Estonia - Tallink silja vs DFDS

Ferry to Estonia, which one to choose?

Ferry to Estonia - Times

Cabins

Breakfast on board

Restaurants on board

Bars on board

Tax-free shop

Other activities

Price to travel by ferry to Estonia

Which ferry to Estonia should I choose?

Facts about travelling by ferry to Estonia

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12 Comments

Ama de casa says:

Ruth i Virginia says:

Helena says:

Helena says:

Ditte says:

Helena says:

Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Helena från Finland says:

Nisse says:

Alexandra says:

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