Conference turris::scandia

V.I.P. Unlimited Travel Co., 329 Mass. Ave., Lexington (617) 863-8494
claims (in an ad in Gult och Blatt) to specialize in Scandinavia. 
Their ad (last December) gave a price of $545 round trip from New York
(up to April 30). 

Last year, I travelled to Sweden by flying Sabena to Brussels (from
Boston for $500), then taking Eurail to Stockholm.  Eurail is valid in
Finland, (and gets you passage on the Baltic ferry boats between
Stockholm and Helsinki).  The train takes about 24 hours between
Brussels and Stockholm (overnight to Copenhagen, then a 6 hour day
trip through Sweden).

Martin.

(sorry about the misspelling of Gult och Blatt -- this terminal
lacks multinational characters.)

    re .0:
    
    If you're planning on doing this very often, I'd suggest joining
    one of the Finnish-American societies.  They often have quite good
    deals on flights.
    
    Jim.

    We are members of that organization.  I guess I missed any mention
    of flights.  Do you have any details?

    
    The cheapest fare from Finland-USA was at least last year
    by Pan Am. (They started offering cheap flights from Helsinki
    to USA via London and because of that allso Finnair was forced
    to reduce the prices close to theirs).
    
    Finnair is the only company offering DIRECT flight from Helsinki
    to US (HEL-New York JFK). 

    re .3:
    
    You should be getting a magazine from them semi-regularly.  It's
    called Suomi-USA (I think).  It contains every now and then (I'm
    sure its on a regular basis, but I can't remember what it is) a
    set of flights and costs.  They tend to be pretty cheap, and they're
    direct Finnair flights.
    
    Jim.

You might even try this...

ICELANDAIR now flys twice a week from BOSTON -- so I'd try to go to STOCKHOLM
and take the overnight ship from Stockholm to Helsinki or Turku which is
relatively cheap.  Too bad, if you went late enough in the fall, (and took
this flight), then ou might get a stop at the new "Leif Eiriksson Intl Airport"
which should be open about then...

Of course,  this is only a suggestion.

		\rikki

    just read about icelandic airline with a special to Luxenburg and
    from there you could take eurrail.also you can take a ferry from
    travemynde to helsinfors if you don't want to go via Sweden.sounds
    like the best deal this year.

    The ferry from Travem�nde to Helsinki would cost you probably more
    than your flight to Luxembourg, though...
    
    The ferry is more expensive than a flight on the same route 
    (Hamburg-Helsinki).
    
    It ain't cheap to go to Finland, it's in a far, far away galaxis...
    
    :-)
    
    

Some of the Baltic ferrys are part of the Eurail pass network.  I'm
not certain whether the Travemunde/Helsinki ferry is included, but
you can take the Silja ferry from Stockholm.  Your transportation
then becomes -- roughly --

  -- Leave Luxembourg (or Brussels) in the evening.
  -- Arrive Copenhagen the next morning.  Hang out in Copenhagen
     (visit Tivoli) and take the night train to Stockholm.
  -- Hang out in Stockholm, and take the night boat to Helsinki.

(I don't think you can take a day train from Copenhagen and connect
to the boat in time.

Martin.

    Thanks for all your replies.  Since we are four people travelling
    (including a 5 year old and 9 year old), we will fly all the way.
    I will be going over with them and they will be coming back later.
    My wife would have a tough time coming back with the trains, boats, 
    etc. and it is probably more expensive considering the meals, possible 
    hotel rooms, cabins on the boat (if I was alone I wouldn't bother
    with the cabin).
    
    I have travelled there via all the ways that you mentioned.  I have
    driven to Puttgarten, taken the ferry to R�dbyhavn, driven to
    Helsing�r, taken the ferry to H�lsingborg, driven to Stockholm,
    taken the ferry to Naantali.  Other way was to drive to Travem�nde,
    taken both Finnjet and Finnhansa to Helsinki.  Actually, I've never
    gone there by train, so that's one I should try someday.
    
    Don't get me wrong, it was much more enjoyable taking the surface
    routes than flying.  The children enjoy the train and boat rides
    because, among other things, they aren't strapped into a seat.
    
    In my single days, I have made the Stockholm-Naantali trip without
    the need for a cabin - the barstool was quite comfortable.  I was
    careful about drinking too much - customs will pull you over if
    they smell liquor.

>        The cheapest fare from Finland-USA was at least last year
>    by Pan Am.
    
    Actually Tower Air together with a Scandinavian company this year
    offers a cheap journey to US. The rate from Stockholm Sweden to
    i think it is New Yourk or something else is about 350$. If you
    compare to the fares for any Scandinavian country this is very cheap.
    
    Regards Stefan.
    

    Well, I returned from my Finland vacation about 10 days ago.  I
    had a very nice time (it could have rained a little less).  We flew
    over British Airways from Boston and returned Lufthansa.  I think
    I'll go via Frankfurt on the way over next time.  Heathrow is a big,
    badly signposted, poorly organized airport.

    From: [email protected] (Paivi Helena Hyvarinen)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Re: Flytte til Finland
    Date: 23 Apr 91 18:32:58 GMT
    Sender: [email protected] (Cnews - USENET news system)
    Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
                 
    Even the usually so notoriously priced Finnair sometimes has special
    offers - and they can have astonishingly low prices. A friend just flew
    from NY to Helsinki AND BACK for just a little over 500 USD, when the
    normal price they tell you is around 2000 USD.
 
    Keep your eyes open.
 
    Paivi
 
    Paivi.Hyvarinen  / The three most dangerous things in the world:
    @hut.fi          /   1) a programmer with a soldering iron,
                     /   2) a hardware type with a program patch, and
    +358-0-451 4316  /   3) a user with an idea. (Stolen from: David Boyes)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: [email protected] (Bj�rn Lisper)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Re: Flytte til Finland
    Date: 23 Apr 91 11:57:53 GMT
    Sender: [email protected]
    Organization: Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Kista
 
    In article <[email protected]> [email protected]
    writes:

   >A friend of mine and I would like to fly to Finland during the Christmas
   >break. (Around mid-December).  Anybody know of any inexpensive means of
   >transport from the U.S. to the Continent or Finland?
 
    A possibility is Tower Air to from JFK, NY to Stockholm and then ferry
    from Stockholm to Helsinki (Helsingfors) or Turku (Abo). Tower Air has
    the best prices on direct flights to Stockholm. Since it will be
    off-season when you go you should be able to get a good price. The
    ferries are also cheap.
 
    I don't know anything about low-fare flights directly to Helsinki.
    Maybe somebody else knows?
 
    Bj"orn Lisper