Getting to Tallinn and Tartu

Getting to Tallinn, capital of Estonia

The distance between Tallinn, Estonia's capital, and Tartu is approximately 200 kilometers, or about 2.5 hours by express coach or car.

 

By plane

There are direct connections to many major European cities. List of airlines flying to Tallinn is available at the Tallinn Airport homepage www.tallinn-airport.ee. Please turn also your attention to the Leaving the Airport https://www.tallinn-airport.ee/en/transport/leaving-the-airport/.

 

By ferry

From Stockholm and Helsinki, there is also a ferry connection to Tallinn. It is especially frequent from Helsinki, hence planning your route through there will not add much to the total duration of your trip.

 

By bus

Apart from that, Estonia has bus links with major cities in Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic countries. Due to the relatively short distances, coach trips from Riga and St. Petersburg are a good alternative to air travel. Both cities have direct connections to Tartu.

 

Getting to Tartu

BY BUS

From Tallinn, St Petersburg and Riga you can get directly to Tartu by bus (Lux Express, Ecolines, Eurolines). Tartu bus station is situated in the city centre.

 

Tallinn-Tartu express bus

There are hourly Lux Express buses which take passengers from the Tallinn Airport (stop "Tallinna lennujaam" in Estonian) on their way to Tartu. You can find most Estonian bus lines on the web site www.tpilet.ee. If you wish to get on the bus at the airport, it is advisable to buy the ticket in advance (online, printing out the ticket yourself). It is possible to purchase tickets up to 15 days in advance at the Tallinn and Tartu bus station ticket offices as well as online, including the possibility to board at stops „Tartu Näitused“ (at the university campus) and „Lennujaam“ (Tallinn airport). The journey costs about 10-12 € and takes 2,5 hours.

 

From Tallinn sea port to bus terminal - it takes a little bit more time to get to the bus terminal from Tallinn sea port (http://www.ts.ee/) and it's easier to get there by taxi.

 

BY TRAIN

Getting to Tartu from Tallinn by train

Trains for Tartu from Tallinn train station leave 3-4 times a day, and it takes a little more than 2 hours to get to Tartu. The train station is situated just outside the Tallinn Old Town and sea port, a taxi or tram No. 2 (from the sea port) can take you there ("Balti jaam" stop). Trains are rather comfortable and you can use WiFi in the first class. The website: https://elron.ee/en

Tartu train station is a little bit farther away from the city center, for first time travelers it is best to take a taxi from there to your destination.

 

Travel by CAR

You can rent a car from Tallinn and drive to Tartu. There are no freeways between Tallinn and Tartu, but you can drive along the Tallinn-Tartu highway and reach Tartu in approximately 2,5 hours.