Wikivoyage:Tourist office/Archives/2016/January

Stockholm in winter

I recently received a voucher from Viking Line to go from Helsinki to Tallinn for free, or to go from Turku to Stockholm for 40 €, including a cabin. I discussed this with my girlfriend, and she preferred to go to Stockholm. The offer is only valid to middle March, not including Easter. Because of my job situation, I cannot afford to take even one single day off work. Departing Helsinki to Turku at about 6 PM or later on Friday or coming back to Helsinki about little before midnight on Sunday is OK though. (For me at least, I have to discuss this with my girlfriend. She doesn't live with me.) So therefore we would be most interested in weekends. Does anyone have any idea what would be the best time to go, and what is there to see in Stockholm? I imagine we would have about four to six hours, not much more than that, to spend in Stockholm. I think I can contact Viking Line for more specific information about the time schedule and amend this question afterwards. Asked by: JIP (talk) 19:43, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

On my visit to Stockholm I quite enjoyed the Wasa museum in which you can very well spend a whole day... Hobbitschuster (talk) 20:37, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently the offer is only valid for a cruise that doesn't let us actually enter Stockholm, only visit its harbour on the ship. But thanks anyway, in case I should visit Stockholm either alone or with my girlfriend some time in the future. JIP (talk) 18:43, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

What an odd offer. Probably they hope to get the money back through your on board consumption caused by utter boredom :-P. Anyway, you are very much welcome ;-) Hobbitschuster (talk) 19:30, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It's for Viking Grace, which leaves Turku very late in the evening and leaves Stockholm very early in the morning. Because Stockholm is much farther away from southern Finland than Tallinn is, Viking Line can only make a single trip per day for each ship. (They can make two per day to Tallinn.) We could of course just skip the return voyage and stay overnight at Stockholm, but that would mean (1) we would have to book a hotel room in Stockholm, (2) we would have to pay for a separate cruise back to Turku, and (3) I would miss out on a working day, which I'm not sure I can afford. JIP (talk) 20:06, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. That clears it up. My experience with overnight cruises is exactly zip, unless you count a very uncomfortable not actually sleeping twelve hours (without a cabin or hammock) on the boat from San Carlos (Nicaragua) to Ometepe - the lasting memory is the Jesus movie blasting at full volume in the quite cold "first class" upper deck... But Ometepe was worth the trip ;-) Hobbitschuster (talk) 20:21, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if you're going there and back with the very same ferry from Turku you can forget about spending time in Stockholm as the ferry will stay in port just for offloading and onloading passengers and cars (1-1.5 h I think). In my experience the ferry from Helsinki is staying some 8 h in port is more suitable for spending a day in Stockholm, while the Turku ferries arriving early and departing late are excellent if you're going somewhere further (daytrip to visiting relatives a few hours' drive away, going on a trip to Central Europe, Norway, whatever) or then just want to have a stress-free ~24h on board. It's more like, enjoy some delicious food in the buffet, do some tax-free shopping if you like, perhaps there's some musical artist in the bar, look at the archipelago, bring a good book etc.

To Hobbit, it's not really unheard of up here that ship companies offers cruises virtually free of charge (especially a combination of off-season, workday, and with a "Viking Club" card etc.) because they know people will spend money in the restaurants, bars and shops on board anyway. Mini-vacations like those are IMO quite nice a couple of times a year. :) ϒpsilon (talk) 21:26, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I grew up several hours from the next coast... So most things related to ships and boats (including many terms) are a mystery to me ;-) Hobbitschuster (talk) 23:09, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

:-) People actually going somewhere might spend the night just sleeping, so they are more or less useless unless they pay for the ticket – and as they are going somewhere, they have to take the cruise even if it costs.

But the Turku route is quite usable also for visiting Stockholm. You get there early Saturday morning. The main problem is finding breakfast or spending your time until the city awakens, especially when it is cold. Ten hours is not that much for what you might want to do in Stockholm. A museum, lunch, a film, a café, some strolling and the day is gone. Then you either stay for nightlife and take the day boat back (ouch! party to the morning – you would stay just a few hours in a hotel) or get aboard in the evening (together with the party crowd from Sweden). The night will be short also that way, but the train should depart from the harbour, allowing you more or less to continue your sleep (except that they wake you up brutally early to clean the cabins) and have your Sunday in Helsinki.

--LPfi (talk) 23:20, 8 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Brazil

I am planning to travel to Brazil on an official visit and will stay there for a month. I was reading Brazil guide and I found Stay safe section quite scary. I Googled and I found crime rate in Brazil is much higher than in Pakistan. I just wonder if for a foreigner is it really a matter of concern. Anyone here who had bad experience in Brazil? --Saqib (talk) 00:36, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Asked by: Saqib (talk) 00:36, 16 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Ibaman or Tex are probably the Voyagers who knows Brazil best. Places designated as the most dangerous in the world are usually either in the Southwestern Asia/Africa (terrorism) or Latin America including but not limited to Brazil (street crime, criminal gangs fighting each other). I guess it depends on what part of the country you're visiting. Larger cities in the northeastern corner are to my understanding the most dangerous places, as are suburban slums ("favelas") anywhere in the country. ϒpsilon (talk) 18:09, 17 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I would say this might not be the best of times to visit my country. There is a crisis going on, environmental disasters, zika/chikungunya/dengue epidemics on the rise, high prices and such. If I were you, I'd consider go to Thailand, but I see that you are coming for business and not leisure. I live in Brasília, the capital, which is not the worst destination as far as these themes go (much quieter and hospitable than Rio or São Paulo), but is not the best, either. If you would care to summarize the places you intend to go, I could be more specific. Ibaman (talk) 13:19, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

User:Ibaman: Thank you for comments. I guess most of the time I'm going to spend in São Paulo. --Saqib (talk) 15:58, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Tex lives in São Paulo. I hope he sees this request and expresses himself on the matter... I hope yopu guys get to meet each other and have a good time in the Metropolis! Ibaman (talk) 16:48, 18 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Where to fly from Bangkok within Thailand in June

Hello, I am visiting Thailand for a short stay at the beginning of June, I am only staying a single night (in Bangkok) and then will be looking to fly to another region of Thailand for 4/5 nights. One of the other people in the party has visited Chiang Mai before so wouldn't wish to stay there again, so I was wondering where people would recommend and anything in particular to do in said destination they do recommend. As a bit of information, we are not really sit on the beach all day people, while having a day on the beach would be enjoyable for the most part we would like to be doing things and exploring along with trying to keep the costs low (<$35 a day including a hostel). If anyone can give us an idea so we can start looking and putting plans into place that would be great.

Thanks Tom Asked by: 46.102.198.12 13:43, 26 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Of our current active users, I believe User:Seligne knows most about Thailand, both on and off the beaten path. ϒpsilon (talk) 08:58, 31 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

If you are on a budget, and who is not, why fly? Here are three possibilities for you easily within a day of Bangkok: Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, and Khao Yai National Park. I think you could easily spend 4-5 days in any one or a combination of them. All relatively close to BKK and all offer budget board and lodging. Check out the articles and see what you think. Seligne (talk) 10:17, 31 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]