Transport to Tartu
Water
Although Tartu is located on the shores of river Emajõgi, it is not possible to travel here by boat alone. If you still fancy a seafaring trip, the easiest option would be to take a ferry to Tallinn, and then continue by bus or train.
1. From Stockholm
This is an overnight trip (~17h) and usually runs once a day by varrier. Possible carriers include (but are not limited to):
2. From Helsinki
The trips between Helsinki and Tallinn are frequent and take roughly 2.5-3h with some of the carriers offeríng the possibility to stay on board over night for the last trip of the day. Possible carriers include (but are not limited to):
Air
Tartu has an airport (TAY) very close by, about 10 km away at Ülenurme ( openstreetmap, googlemaps ). The flight connection has resumed between Tartu and the Finnish capital Helsinki (HEL) on March 31, 2024. after a long break caused by covid. There are 12 scheduled flights per week between Tartu and Helsinki. Flights from Tartu depart at 06:00 in the morning and 15:00 in the afternoon, while those from Helsinki leave at 13:50 and 23:55.
Tickets can be purchased via Finnair's web page.
Other closest airports are:
- Riga RIX (Latvia). Requires a bus/train connection to Tartu (approx. 5 hours).
- Tallinn TLL (Estonia). Requires a bus/train connection to Tartu (approx. 2.5/2 hours). Buses departing at half-hours have a direct connection from Tallinn airport to Tartu bus station.
- Helsinki HEL (Finland). Requires a boat trip across the Gulf of Finland (~3.5h) to Tallinn and from there a bus/train to Tartu.
Train
1. From Tallinn
Trains from Tallinn are less frequent (ca 12 trips per day) than buses. But
“Ekspress”-labeled trains run a tiny bit faster with a total trip time ranging
from 2h - 2.5h. The closest train station Ülemiste (
openstreetmap,
googlemaps
)
from the airport is a 1 km walk away.
- Tickets (for a particular day and time) can be searched and bought via Elron website. For example for trips from Ülemiste station to Tartu: LINK
NB! 1st class tickets will reserve you a seat. Standard class seats are assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis. Standard tickets can also be bought on the train from the wagon attendant (cash or debit/credit card).
2. From Riga
Currently, there is no direct train connection between Riga and Tartu, two different tickets will need to be bought with a change of trains in the Valga / Valka ( openstreetmap, googlemaps ) border twin-town.
Bus
1. From Tallinn
Bus trips from Tallinn are very frequent (every half an hour during rush hours, otherwise every hour during daytime) with a total trip time of about 2.5h. Most (but not all!) buses departing Tallinn Coach station (“Tallinna bussijaam”: openstreetmap, googlemaps ) for Tartu will stop at the airport (“Tallinna lennujaam”: openstreetmap, googlemaps ).
- Tickets (for a particular day and time) can be searched and bought via TPilet website. We suggest buying the tickets beforehand (they need to be bought for a specific trip) - there might not always be a place when buying the ticket on the bus.
2. From Riga
The bus option is also scarce but faster (5h) than train: currently there are 2 direct connections available via Lux Express.
- We suggest buying tickets beforehand (they need to be bought for a specific trip) - there might not always be a place when buying the ticket on the bus.
Bicycle / hiking / motorcycle / car
The road is an adventure - you make your own schedule.
A few things to remember if you are planning for a motorized trip:
- there are no motorways in Estonia, only a few of the main highways have dual carriageways in parts.
- Estonia has right-hand traffic and an extensive road system, the quality of which varies
- the speed limit on the highways is 90 km/h and 50 km/h in urban areas unless specified otherwise.
- while driving in Estonia, all passengers are expected to wear seat belts and lights must be switched on at all times.
- Estonian laws against driving under the influence of alcohol are very strict and follow a zero tolerance policy.