Doing our own thing in Kristiansand and Helsinki

Hi friends, you've never let me down before so I thought I'd try again. Looking for the email details of a reputable, clean and friendly Company where we can hire a car and driver, for possibly a half day or longer when we go to Kristiansand (Norway) and Helsinki (Finland) in August.

There will be four of us and over the years we've found that this scenario really suits us better that a tour from the ship, we have the flexibility of our own itinerary and can arrange our own breaks and photo opportunities as and when we choose.

Anybody got any details re the above, I'd be very much obliged.

Thanks again,

David

Can't help you as to Kristiansand, but here's a suggestion for Helsinki: If you have only a half-day there, there's a public bus route that circles all the way around the main attractions. It leaves from very close to the cruise pier that's closest to the commercial heart of the city. (Sorry I can't give you a more specific description, it's been a while since we were there for our own half-day port call.) It's not technically a hop-on-hop-off route, but if you buy a 1-day transit pass at the nearby tourism office that comes to the same thing. Very inexpensive, although you'd need to do your own research at home as to what you wanted to get off the bus for.

It seems you'll be docking in berth LMA in the Western Harbour, that is close to the terminals serving the express boats to Tallinn. From there there is tram line 6T which takes you to the main railway station, just remember to buy your tickets in advance from the vending machines at the tram stop. You can buy them by coins (Euros) or card.

Unfortunately I can't recommend you any car-and-guide service, but please contact the Helsinki tourist info( https://www.myhelsinki.fi/en) for further advice. The downtown area is really quite compact and easy to see by foot, should the weather be on your side that day. Suomenlinna island fortress would be something I'd recommend but half a day is just too short time for that, the queues for the ferry are usually quite long in the summer.

Welcome to Helsinki, I hope you enjoy my home town:D