Travelling to Tartu

Travel information

BY LAND:

There is bus service between Riga and Tartu (Eurolines, Ecolines ) and St. Petersburg and Tartu (Eurolines). Tallinn-Tartu line is served by bus every half an hour, train goes twice a day.

BY AIR:

Tallinn Airport is served by Estonian Air, Air Baltic, CSA Czech Airlines, Finnair, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa, EasyJet and Flynordic. The easiest way to get from Tallinn to Tartu is by bus which takes another 2.5 hours. The Tallinn-Tartu line is served by bus every half an hour.

Another option is Riga Airport, which is served by Air Baltic, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines, Finnair, Israir, KLM, LOT; Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, EasyJet, Ryanair. The Eurolines bus service is available once a day. The bus from Riga-Tartu departs at 19.00 pm and takes 4.5 hours.

BY SEA:

Helsinki-Tallinn line is served by Eckeröline, Linda Lines, Nordic Jet Line, Silja Line, Viking Line, Tallink. A trip from Helsinki to Tallinn takes 1.5 hours by the quick boats and a slower boat takes about 3-3.5 hours to get to Tallinn.


GETTING TO TARTU BY BUS FROM TALLINN

From Tallinn Airport to Tallinn bus terminal:
Tallinn bus terminal is situated quite close to Tallinn Ülemiste Airport. You can take a taxi or public transportation to get there. As Tallinn airport is a relatively small one, it is easy to find the area where public transportation and taxis are waiting in front of the terminal. It is a short distance by taxi and it should not cost you more than 100 kroons (7 EUR) to get to the bus terminal. It is also possible to use public transportation: Bus No 2 stops just in front of the arrivals hall. The bus terminal (“Autobussijaam”) is the fourth stop on the route , but you still have to cross 2 intersections to reach to the bus terminal. A ticket on Tallinn public transportation costs 15 kroons if you buy it from the bus driver.

From Tallinn Sea Port to the bus terminal:
It takes a little bit more time to get to the bus terminal from the port and it is easier to get there by taxi. Othewise, you can take Bus No 2 that stops in front of terminals A/B and terminal D. From terminal D, it is three stops to the bus station ("Autobussijaam"). The tram stop is appr 300m from the port, you should take Tram No 2 (direction Ülemiste), it takes 5 stops to the bus station. From the stop, you still have to cross 2 intersections to reach the bus terminal. A ticket on Tallinn public transportation costs 15 kroons if you buy it from the bus or tram.

From Tallinn bus terminal to Tartu:
Buses leave almost every 30 minutes from 06.10 in the morning (6.10 a.m.) until 23.00 at night (11 p.m.), usually from platform 1. Tickets cost approximately 120 - 150 kroons and can be purchased from a ticket office inside the bus station or from the bus driver. You need to show your International Student Card ISIC to get a student discount. It will take you 2.5 hours to reach Tartu. Please note that there are many buses that have several stops on the route, make sure that you take a direct one ("ekspress"). Most of the buses are comfortable and some even offer snacks and drinks for sale. You can check the schedule here.

If you arrive late in the evening you will have to spend the night in Tallinn. There are different hotels and hostels where you can find accommodation in Tallinn.

On your way back to Tallinn by bus, you can ask the driver for a stop at the airport.

There is also quite comfortable train connection between Tallinn and Tartu, but the train goes only twice a day, at 7.46 and 16.50. The travel takes 2hs 15 minutes. The train ticket costs 115 kroons, (140 kroons I class). The train station is situated close to the centre and not far from the port. From the port, you can take trams 1 and 2 in direction Kopli, it is only 2 stops to the train station ("Balti jaam").

Please check the Schedules of Public Transport and the map of Tallinn.

Most of important places in Tartu are in the walking distance from the bus station. The hotel where you are staying in Tartu is situated right next by bus terminal, Hotel Dorpat. You can consult an interactive Map of Tartu here or download it here.

You can check the weather forecast for Tartu here.