Helsinki Zoo Korkeasaari

Helsinki Zoo is located on the island Korkeasaari close to the north of the city centre, I went in August and it was warm but there was plenty of shade around the zoo. The zoo was founded in 1889 which makes it the oldest in the world it has animals from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and America. From my visit I would class it as more of a wildlife park as there is loads of walking and fantastic views of the harbour as well as being all outdoors.

Getting to the zoo is easy and hassle free, In the morning I went to the main train station in Helsinki and waited for the 16 Zoo bus to come along which takes 25 minutes to get to the zoo taking you through cute neighborhoods and quiet roads. Tickets were 3 euros and the bus ran every 20 minutes.
Coming back I went for the ferry option the pier is located just behind the exit it ran every 40 minutes and tickets were 3 euros. It was a quick journey around 10 minutes and gave you a brilliant view of Helsinki.

Entrance to the zoo was easy to locate and they also had English speaking staff with easy to locate stickers on the windows, it cost 12 euros to enter annual tickets are 50 euros. Once entering you climb a hill till you reach all the animals then you are allowed to explore and see all the animals close up. The animals are behind glass and some are more freely behind fences, they have massive enclosures with plenty to do. The zoo has a nice outdoor cafe with plenty of tables and chairs as well as having toilets and a great gift shop.

The zoo is a great family day out as well as being great if your a solo traveler and want to explore, I would say it's suitable really for only summer as it is pretty much all outdoors but it's still a great place to visit.

Jess XoXoXo

Travelling with Finnair

Finnair and Ryanair are classed as the economy and budget airlines for European flights, I've come across a lot of bad press for these airlines but on my recent trip to Helsinki I found myself using one of the airlines Finnair. At first I considered changing airlines but then I thought why? all I've heard is she said, he said and so I booked my flight with Finnair and set about my journey to Helsinki.

The best thing about Finnair is the price of flights, most of the European flights come under or just over £100 which I can not complain about. The flights have all the normal things you have on a high end flight but you can add extras such as extra baggage, pre made meals, seating and more but of course there is an added charge to do all these things. Finnair fly to Europe, America, Asia and the middle east at affordable prices.

Once on the plane I found the seats to be comfortable and a lot larger then most airlines, they have a fold out table and a screen in the head of the seat to view movies and to see the take off/landing of the plane. The staff on board are great and answering any questions, I fell asleep on the flight and awoke to a sandwich and drink in front of me which I hadn't asked for - this was a great extra and I was impressed they didn't just skip me as I was asleep. The flight wasn't over packed or full so I didn't have any customer problems but I did however need the toilet and had to queue for around 10 minutes before going to the loo as there were only two cubicles on the flight.

At the end of the flight the staff all come around and asked if everything was ok and also handed out chocolates, I was extremely impressed with the price, staff, overall flight and all the added extras and would never hesitate to book again with Ryanair or Finnair.

Traveling with Eurostar

One of the best ways to get into Europe is by train using the Eurostar, with cheap prices and short waiting times it's the perfect option. I traveled on the Eurostar in January 2014 and went by standard class to Paris. Tickets for a youth passenger is £69 return which is a fantastic price.

Booking is quite an easy process you just type in your details and pick a price and voila you have booked, they also give you the option to book seats which is helpful if you need a power socket as they only have them in two carriages. Standard class allows 30 minute check in, you can choose food from a waitrose buffet and that's about it, so a nice basic travel option.

Checking in was a bit hard due to the fact London St Pancras is large and you can get a bit lost, but once you locate the machines in which you need to print your ticket you can go through the the Eurostar waiting room. The waiting area has toilets, shops and restaurants as well as some helpful desks where you can pick up metro tickets and tour guides for Paris. After waiting 30 minutes you go through to the train station area where it's your job to find your carriage and hop onto the train.

The train had a lot of luggage space and was rather large, the seats on the other hand were not large at all they were in fact rather tiny and made it impossible to sit next to someone luckily the women next to me moved as she needed a plug socket, However in Standard plus you can book spacious seats. The train was in the tunnel for around 20 minutes before entering France, it went along countryside and then into Paris, it was a nice easy journey that I wouldn't mind doing again.

Getting of the train was nice and easy as you have your luggage and after a few security checks you go through an exit and you are in Paris Gare Du Nord station!

Hotel Boissiere Paris

This budget hotel is located in the Levallois-Perret area of Paris so around 10 minutes by metro line 3 to the centre of Paris. It has a fantastic range of shops and restaurants close by from a Sushi Bar, Mcdonalds, Sephora to a pharmacy is it perfect for the everyday traveler. Just a five minutes walk and you are at the Louise Michel metro stop, which is connected to a few more shopping streets.

The hotel has a 24 hour reception with extremely helpful staff, up a short flight of stairs is the lift taking you  up to a corridor of rooms. You have a key to access your room and inside you have a wardrobe, bed and linen, a table, a shower and a toilet. The only problem is the toilet and shower are literally in your room, and there is no door or wall to block it which for some people may be to unbearable but as a budget traveller it's easy to open the window next to the toilet. The rooms are cleaned daily and the towels and linen are changed daily.

You can also for an extra 5 euros have a breakfast which is served in a nice bright breakfast room, you can have cereal, bread and jam, yogurts and plenty of drinks. To stay at Boissiere it will cost you 35-39 euros per night, which I can't argue with as it's Paris this is a fantastic rate! They have a website you can check out here !

Kongressikoti Hotel Helsinki

This hotel is located in Snellmaninkatu which is around a 20 minute walk to the centre or you can jump on the 7a tram just outside the hotel and be in the centre in 10 minutes. It is on a quiet hill and just around the corner from a military museum and a peaceful park. Also on the street is a quiet bar and some small shops so everything you need for your stay at Kongressikoti.

The hotel is run my a women who's name I didn't catch, on arrival you are buzzed in with the lift to your left, just four floors up you come to a door and behind that door is a corridor with the 10 rooms. There is one shower and toilet to share between the rooms so it is more like a hostel which I didn't mind. In the bathroom there was a few toiletries and a washing machine, the toilet and bathroom are cleaned daily and are kept in nice condition. There is also a kitchen which has everything you need and more, they have a great range of cereals and teas, as well as a fridge/freezer, toaster, microwave and cooker, I was highly impressed.

My room was small and basic it had a chest of drawers, a table and chair, a mini fridge, a bed and linen provided there was also a sink and a mirror. The window opened out to a view of rooftops and an impressive view of the city you could open the window fully which I liked as most places have child locks on. It was cleaned daily and I had a fresh towel daily as well, I was impressed as it was a single women working and she was able to cleaned and maintain a hotel all by herself I also asked a for a hairdryer which she provided.


To stay at the Kongressikoti it will be around 40-50 euros a night, for Europe that's a good price.

About Me and This Blog

Welcome to my Travel blog, I started blogging six years ago and that was my Beauty blog which you can reach here . I decided to open and create a second blog for all my travelling as it didn't fit in with my original blog.

I go for solo travelling and will be keeping you updated with all my travel hacks, tips and of course where I've been and what I've been up to. I will of course be mostly reviewing abroad destinations but when I do go on a UK break I will be blogging about that as well.

So I do hope you enjoy this blog and look forward to here about my first trip away to Spain!