Exploring cultures and communities – the slow way

There are new shipping routes aplenty for the 2009 summer season. We take a look at what's new in the world of European ferries, with many developments in the North Sea, Baltic and Mediterranean markets.

article summary —

Few are the travel pleasures that match a long journey by ferry. Ferries and cruise ships are quite different experiences. The latter is more inclined to seclude the traveller from the outside world, while the humble ferry often offers an inviting foretaste of the community for which you are bound. To board the Cal Mac ferry at Oban bound for Barra is already to catch a whiff of the outer isles.

A good ferry jouney is slow travel at its very best. To hop onto the morning boat at Harstad in northern Norway for the journey out to Stamsund in the Lofoten Islands, with four stops along the way, is one of Europe's most rewarding days afloat. And it is a service that, weather permitting, runs almost every day of the year.

Spring 2009 sees dramatic changes in European ferry services.


This is just an excerpt. The full text of this article is not yet available to members with online access to hidden europe. Of course you can also read the full article in the print edition of hidden europe 26.

About the authors

hidden europe

and manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.

This article was published in hidden europe 26.