Top Helsinki Walking Tours - page 3

A shuttle from the cruise terminal is necessary to meet the local tour guide in the center of Helsinki especially if you have a set meeting time. Luckily, there was a free port shuttle that took us to a spot not too far from Senate Square, our appointed meeting spot. Unfortunately, our tour guide, Kerstin, had different instructions from Viator, so I had to text Kerstin after we had waited for 15 minutes or so. She replied that she was about 5 minutes away, and once she arrived, we set off on a whirlwind tour of Helsinki highlights. Senate Square with the pastel colored Cathedral, Umiversity and Parliament buildings was the best square in Helsinki. Close by was the artisan’s and food open market next to the smaller harbor. We strolled through the open market and tasted the specialties of Finland on our way to the Old Market, the beautifully preserved wooden structure with equally impressive wooden stalls that now hold food stuffs from around Finland as well as the world rather than the fruits and vegetables and fish and meat that used to fill the stalls. We walked through Esplandi park right in the center of Helsinki and ended up at the Central Train Station which has been maintained and whose dining area is now restored to its former glory as a restaurant with Finnish specialties, and NOT Burger King. Kerstin was informative and conscientious. We told her we wanted to return to the ship by shuttle, so she made sure to route the tour, so we would end up at the shuttle stop within 2 hours time. Thank you, Kerstin, for making our brief stop in Helsinki worthwhile!

It was really nice. The guide knew not only of the beautiful places but also a lot about the plants and trees. He spoke English well, was friendly, and served us yummy homemade soup made with mushrooms he foraged himself! It helped that the weather was absolutely perfect in term of temperature and sunshine!

Terrific tour for our three-generation trip to Finland! Darius picked us up promptly and his van was roomy (seats 6 passengers comfortably plus room in the trunk for bags). He has a microphone and speaker to make it easy for people in the back to hear him clearly – nice touch, especially for those hard of hearing! The 40-minute trip to Porvoo included his rich history of Finland which provides context for the current Finnish culture, food, religion, and more. This was our third tour, and we learned a lot that was not covered in other tours! Porvoo itself is lovely – a beautiful and typical Finnish town with a rich history. Darius moved comfortably at our pace – 3 generations means we can be very slow on uphills (and there are a few hills here!) – and stops included a coffeehouse with the top-rated Porvoo cake (we also stopped at a second shop for gluten-free goodies), the beautiful and typical church, the standard views of Porvoo, a chocolate/candy shop and more. Highly recommend this tour! Wear good walking shoes (all cobblestones!) and layers for the Finnish weather!