Advice on visitor passes needed!

[bpolan]

WE are planning on seeing the baltic ports (with the exception of St. petersburg) on our own. Is it more advisable to buy the visitor's passes to oslow, helsinki, stockholm etc on line or when we get there? ARe these the same as the Hop on HOp off bus tickets? Again, if not, should we get these ahead of time? WE leave july 30 for amsterday, our cruise begins aug 2.

thanks in advance.

bonnie

[gratefulguy]

It may depend on how much time you have and how many sights you plan to see. Some of the websites show what the regular admission is compared to the discounted (or free) benefit of the pass. If you have the time and energy to see enough to come out ahead with the pass, or if the pass allows you to skip the lines, etc., that may be the answer. Being able to buy it before you go might allow you to cross off one more thing on your "to do" list!

There are many events/attractions/concerts, etc. that offer e-mail ticketing where you print out a bar-coded receipt that allows you to go directly to the entrance, bypassing the ticket window lines.

Have you used the http://www.goscandinavia.com, http://www.cruisebaltic.com, websites? Many of the transportation options are listed.

Happy Cruising

[mycruz]

We found the Stockholm pass a good value. It eliminated waiting in line for tickets at the train station and used it for admission to the Vasa, Royal Palace and City Hall. We also used it for bus transportation while in Stockholm. The other cities we paid as we went. Most of the cities that have HOHO, these are private companies and they are separate from the other passes. When we arrived in Stockholm, it was Sunday and there were very few HOHO's and the wait was very long. We just walked across the street and took the public transportation. In Helsinki, the shuttle from the ship took us downtown where we purchased the tour bus ticket for about 12 Euro.

[JodiBB]

We got our passes before getting to the cities (ordered them from home) as we wanted the guide books and determine what we wanted to see ahead of time. We're glad we went that route...I guess if you know what you want to see already, then getting the passes at the local TIs would be appropriate.