© Raivo Aunap
Getting to Tartu
Air
Tartu has an airport (TAY) very close by, about 10 km away at Ülenurme ( openstreetmap, google maps). 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). 30 min flight connections between Helsinki and Tallinn airport are also rather frequent (ca 10 connections per day). Other way to reach Estonia from Helsinki's airport 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 , google maps ) is from the airport ca 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 Vilnius/Riga
There is also a recent train connection established between Vilnius/Riga and Tartu. One train per day takes you to Tartu in a bit less that 4 hours. It's important to note that in Valga you need to change into another train.
- Vilnius/Riga-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 from Tallinn Coach station (“Tallinna bussijaam”: openstreetmap , google maps ) to Tartu also stop at Tallinn's airport (“Tallinna lennujaam”: openstreetmap , google maps ).
- Tickets (for a particular day and time) can be searched and bought via mediator platform - TPilet website (has more bus options) or directly from the provider - Lux Express. 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
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.
3. From Berlin / Warsaw
FlixBus also offers various connections for reaching Tartu. You might have some stopovers in cities
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):
Organizers
