Linda Line

Took Linda Line from Tallinn to Helsinki and thought it was super easy — check the map for the dock info. It’s right next to Linnnahall (the Soviet amphitheater on the coast), so it’s not in the usual dock space. Bought tickets online and everything went smoothly.
Show up 20 minutes early for docking. You don’t go straight to the boat — check-​in happens in the building to the right, and then you enter the boat.
Boat has all the necessary amenities: duty-​free shopping and a good café. The ride was pretty smooth, but there are some tummy-​rumbles. I’d recommend a Dramamine for those who are prone to sea-​sickness or don’t have their sea-​legs yet.

Have you ever wondered what riding in a toy boat on the open seas might feel like? What about sitting on a stranger’s lap or queuing up for an Irish coffee and a pack of cigarettes even though you’re not a smoker just because you think maybe you’d like to take it up before you drown? Well… Linda Line in foul weather is just the mode of transport you’ve been looking for!
Kidding! (kind of). I’ve taken Linda Line so many times — obviously I like it. In good weather, the speed and price can’t be beat. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good old rollicking ride on Eckero or Tallink, but with a toddler in tow (Omg! I’m a mom! I have a lump of noise covered in dirt on my hands and his offspring, too!) and a husband I can barely understand half the time, 1.5 hours is about all I can take in a confined space on a large body of water. Take the game «20 questions», multiply it by 11.9 and you have the sum of 1.5 hours of being Me.
If you have a kid or a short temper, Go VIP or Comfort Class over Tourist. If you are 18 – 22 and stay in hostels/​are backpacking around (I don’t judge — I’ve been there and Tourist Class would have seemed like a night at the Ritz) tourist is a good, cheap way to go. Upgrading to Comfort/​VIP class is only 15e more expensive per adult and 5e more for kids. If you have Tourist Class tickets but take a massive enough stroller/​pram, they will have little choice but to send you to Comfort Class, so it could be ok to chance it in that case and hope for the best.
In VIP/​Comfort Class, you’ll board first and it will happen in an orderly fashion. In Tourist, you will board in a long ass line and you’ll wish you’d arrived earlier, so you didn’t have to take those seats in between the singletons who don’t want to sit next to other singletons but also don’t give a shit that there are groups of people/​families who may wish to sit together. Just ask those people to move. Don’t expect miracles, though — these people don’t care about you. Then pray your kid pukes so you can really drive home the point that if daddy had been sitting in that seat, poor Singleton wouldn’t be covered head to toe in little Tommy or Janie’s breakfast.
The Linda Line is clean, Comfort Class or VIP is really spacious and comfortable and the service is table side so you don’t even have to get up. There is better food and sometimes it’s free. So is alcohol. You’re (I’m) going to need that. Even Tourist Class is ok considering the brevity of the trip. The boat really can get knocked around pretty good so take some dramamine before you go. The alcohol shop is well-​stocked considering it’s the size of a NYC closet and carries chocolates and booze for dirt cheap. The food, drink, and cigarettes are also super crazy inexpensive and not bad at all. Lunch in the upper classes is actually Price: Quality very good.
Bottom line: Get to Tallinn fast. Take Linda Line. Don’t be cheap: upgrade a bit for a better experience. Or don’t and take someone you really like being close to. Just make sure to brush your teeth and take breath mints because you will be REALLY CLOSE. Leaving on a Friday vs. a Saturday = a 30 euro different. So try to leave a day early or travel mid-​week.
Highly recommended in the areas of cleanliness, service, speed, and comfort. Prices are competitive with Eckero and Tallink, depending on the day. Bön Voyage!
PS– they weren’t even assholes about my son projectile vomiting all over their (very) clean seats in VIP section recently. They probably talked mad trash about us after we left. But they were very efficient and business-​like about the whole situation while it was happening. And happening again. And again. And then during the clean-​up phase. Thanks again! See you next week, Linda!

My trips to and from Tallinn were both on time, easy to find in both cities and were comfortable in tourist class.