6hrs or so yeah. There is one with a 1hr connection but it just seemed too tight.

Not the worst place to have 6hrs anyway

This game on in Helsinki, Sweden?

Direct with Finnair then onto Athens with Aegean and a late flight back from Athens with Aegean incase the game is elsewhere in Greece . 

NR we gave Portugal a miss now . 

Every airline does it and has to do it every few years. Not sure why Finnair made such global news with it. 

DublinScouse1916 wrote: Not flying Finnair. I hear they are starting to weight passengers. That doesn't well with me. Especially a man of my size.

That's just part of a three-month operational study to evaluate expected onboard weight. It's voluntary so you don't have to partake.

A bit of motivation to get into shape!?

Booked

9th = Dublin -> Helsinki

12th = Helsinki -> Thessaloniki

12th = Thessaloniki -> Athens

14th = Athens -> Dublin

520 euro total per person for the flights

Costly trip trying to organise this alongside Greece. 

Was looking at stopover in Stockholm on way out. 

Swore I'd never go to Greece again after last year but here we are.

Booked the same one looking at their website it's already opened so should be grand 

A load of us in there also. 

Got the Omena Lonnrotinkatu for €130 for 2 nights and it's very central. Pretty decent price. 

Plan so far is Fly into Helsinki from Stansted on Wednesday night. Ferry to Tallinn and bus to Riga on Friday. Fly Saturday to Athens. Then hope it’s in Athens otherwise it’s a bus/train/boat to wherever it is in Greece.

If you have to change terminals then it probably wouldn’t be 

Woukd probably disagree unless you need to go through passport control eg flying in from Helsinki and trying to make a Dublin flight 

Going from Dublin you shoukd be fine and if it’s the same terminal you just come up the small escalator, take a left and head up the big escalator for departures 

Is it a connection though or 2 individual tickets ?

If its 2 do you not have to come out of arrivals and go back in again through departures and through security again, if thats the case 90 mins seems tight to me

You do indeed so I wouldn't be chancing it, and that's on a good day. 

When I was connecting there en route to Athens last year, the 1st flight from Dublin was held back from departure for about 30 minutes due to ATC restrictions at all the London airports. As it turned out, the restrictions were still in place when the Athens flight was due to depart so it was also late, but on another day they could have been ended with the 2nd flight going on time. The only reason I was happy to book that route was that there were 3 hours between the flights (both South Terminal).

Basically, I'd be looking for at least a 2-hour connection at LGW, add on an extra 30 minutes if changing terminals, just to be on the safe side.

Terminal to terminal is 10 mins max , 5 min wait , 5 minute monorail journey 

Fast Pass is always an option  though if security queues are long everybody buys one 

Gtwick Security is generally on the ball , 5 mins max albeit on a thurs afternoon/evening 

Grand stuff, it's from Shannon to Gatwick in the morning so I don't see that being delayed. I have two options anyway, this way or via Paris. But the first way gets me in earlier which would be ideal

I'm thinking about going to this one and turning it into a bit of a weekend break/holiday while we're at it.

Would tickets be difficult to get?

Bring plenty of money - outside of happy hours €9 pints minimum

Midweek game, Old Irish bar in Helsinki, same one we'd have been in when in Aarhus, €3.50 local beer all day and night midweek. Won't be as expensive a trip as you'd think.

But yeah if spending more than a 2/3 days it'll get expensive quickly 

MayoMark wrote: I am thinking this will be my most likely trip as well. Do ye see it being tough to get tickets for? Haven't been at an away in over 10 yrs I'd say

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The dark side.. And the light

That's a bargain tbf.

Hard to tell to be honest. With it being a double header some may opt just for the 1 game and for a few it could be the first away since October 2023 if they don't go to the away friendly in June.

I'd say most whare planning to do 1 of the 2 aways in October will pick finland 

ButtySugrue wrote: Any truth to the rumour that Helsinki is one of the boring capitals cities in Europe?

Why? Is there a lot of tunnels there?

Depends what you're into. Most Finns I've met are either painfully boring or absolute headers. There's no middle ground. 

I think (but others will know better) that there's a similar drinking regime to Sweden with state controlled off licenses etc. 

Anyone who was in Stockholm in 2013 will remember the hassle getting into bars (auld lads in their 60s and 70s getting asked for ID, etc) and buying tins before the game. Hopefully it's not the same sh*te. 

Was in bar in Stockholm by myself in 2013 and four Irish lads came in, were having the craic among themselves, totally harmless, not rowdy at all. Bar man comes over to me and says can I ask my friends to quieten down. I'd never seen them before in my life. Told him to fcuk off. Swedes are odd alright.

Worked there for 9 months. Blokes can be a bit boring.

All underground carparks that you can access through all the shopping centres and link up through them all.

Was the barman being a smartarse or genuinely thought they were with you? 

Probdbly grand for 3-4,nights not much more 

They were at other end of bar. He must have thought every Ireland fan knows every other Ireland fan, the tube.

If you join RISSCW you will still be the same as everyone else as you will get a ticket if you have done so many away's like everyone else . 

Mieow 

Great Shout 

Booked up for this now, direct to Helsinki on matchday arriving 3:20pm, ferry to Tallinn on Friday and might take in Estonia v Azerbaijan that evening. Direct home on the Ryanair then on Saturday afternoon, €245 all in, not including whatever the ferry costs.

checkout the taxi price from the airport in Tallinn before you fly - they rip you off bigtime

Old Irish bar will be the saviour. We've been in there in Aarhus and Copenhagen in the last few years.

The one in helsinki is €3.50 pints of a local lager all day during midweek 

Until Irish fans turn up in their numbers and the price doubles.

Correct - or if we suss a place that's cheap, and some gombeen on here as usual posts it out to the world about it, then the price doubles.. It's like when we try to keep a lid on travel routes and some bungalow head posts on here saying  - I found a cheaper way, and ryanair double the price.  

Nope. Didn't happen to NI fans there late last year and didn't happen to us in Aarhus or Copenhagen.

Price is the price midweek is what the NI fans I know said 

Or pre book a taxi