Getting to Tartu

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 offering the possibility to stay on board overnight 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 was resumed between Tartu and the Finnish capital Helsinki (HEL) on March 31, 2024, after a long break caused by Covid-19. 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:

  1. Riga RIX (Latvia). Requires a bus/train connection to Tartu (approx. 5 hours).
  2. 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.
  3. 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”-labelled 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 the 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.

  • Riga-Valga schedules/tickets: LINK
  • Valga-Tartu schedules/tickets: LINK

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 the 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 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.

Department of Geography,
University of Tartu

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