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Getting to Tartu
Our recommended routes for travelling to Tartu are either:
1) flying to Tartu via Helsinki
or
2) flying to Tallinn and taking a bus to Tartu from there
Direct flight to Tartu
Tartu has a direct flight connection to Helsinki. This line is operated by Finnair and tickets can be bought from their website. This line operates on all days except Saturdays and there are 2 flights each day. Tartu airport is located about 10 km away and there is an airport shuttle to take you to the city centre. See more info:Tartu aiport website.
Via Tallinn
The main international airport is located in the capital Tallinn with direct flights from most of the major European cities. Information on airlines and schedules is available on the website of Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport. See next section on how to get from Tallinn to Tartu.
Travel from Tallinn to Tartu
Bus: From Tallinn Airport, we recommend to take the Lux Express bus to Tartu (it is recommended to buy ticket in advancehttps://luxexpress.eu/en). Travel time is 2,5 hours. Buses depart from 7 AM to 11:30 PM after every 30 or 60 minutes. There is no need to print out the ticket, you can just show your ticket’s QR code from your smartphone. Bus stop is located on the city side of the passenger’s terminal, next to the tram stop. You can also buy the bus ticket at the vending machine close to the bus stop in the airport.
If you need to get to the city center or Tallinn main bus station, it is convenient to use the tram line 4 from the airport to the city.
Train: You can take Tallinn-Tartu train from the central station (Balti jaam) or close to the airport (Ülemiste - 15 minute walk). Tickets can be bought online from Elron.
IMPORTANT! We do not recommend to use the train due to railroad constructions which makes the the travel time very long and some sections are replaced with substitute buses!
Some alternative options for travelling
By ship:
From Stockholm and Helsinki you can take a ferry to Tallinn, and then continue by bus/train to Tartu. There is a regular connection available both from Stockholm and Helsinki to Tallinn. The main ferry operators are Tallink/Silja Line, Viking Line, and Eckerö Line.
The boat 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): Tallink, Viking Line, Eckerö Line.
From Stockholm to Tallinn there is an overnight trip (~17h) which usually runs once a day. Possible carriers include (but are not limited to): Tallink, Viking Line.
Via Riga:
Riga airport (RIX) has better flight connections to European cities than Tallinn but not so many direct bus/train connections to Tartu.
Currently, there are 2 direct bus connections to Tartu available via Lux Express (only 1 bus directly from the airport - 4h 45 min). Bus tickets should be bought beforehand (for a specific trip) - there might not always be a place when buying the ticket on the bus.
There is also 1 train per day from Riga to Tartu, with a small stop in Valga for changing the train (total trip - 3h 47 min). Note that the train and the main bus station are ca 12 km away from the airport. Train tickets can be bought beforehand and are a bit cheaper than buying on the train.
Organisers
