- Travelling to Estonia
- Travelling to Tartu from Tallinn
- Transport in Tartu
- Entry to Estonia – visa information
Travelling to Estonia
You can find most of the necessary information on the Visit Estonia website. This is Estonia’s official tourist information website.
Arrival by air
The Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport is situated in Tallinn, which is 2.5 hour bus ride or 2 hour train ride from Tartu. The Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport has direct international flights to and from 30 destinations. The bus to Tartu stops at the airport every hour, making the journey convenient.
The airport's information service point is located in the departure hall. It opens 2 hours before the first flight and closes after the last arriving flight.
Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport: Ph. +372 605 8888
Tartu Airport has regular flights to and from Helsinki (Finland), making it a convenient gateway for international travel through Helsinki Airport airport, which has direct international flights to and from 150 destinations.
Another close international airport is Riga Airport in Latvia. Riga Airport has nearly 100 direct international destinations, including many flights to Tallinn Airport. Riga Airport has a bus connection with Tartu (journey time 4.5 hours), although there are only two departures a day, making this option less convenient.
Arrival by sea
Ships from Helsinki bring thousands of travellers to Tallinn's busy passenger port each day. There is an overnight ferry link with Stockholm. Large cruise ships stop in Tallinn from spring until autumn. Tallinn also welcomes visitors arriving by yacht.
Ferries cross the Gulf of Finland between Tallinn and Helsinki sail several times a day, covering the distance in roughly 2 to 3 hours. From late spring to late autumn high-speed vessels also operate on the route, reducing travel time to just 1.5 hours.
Ferries between Tallinn and Stockholm depart every evening, with the trip taking approximately 15 hours.
Port of Tallinn: ph. +372 631 8550
Arrival by bus
Three international bus lines offer connections to Tallinn from several other European cities, and some connections to Tartu. Services connecting Tartu and Tallinn with Riga, Vilnius and Warsaw operate several times a day.
International connections are provided by Lux Express, Ecolines and FlixBus.
Domestic bus lines, fares and timetables can be found here.
International and intercity buses arrive and depart via the Tallinn Central Bus Station (Tallinna Autobussijaam) or Tartu Bus Station.
Travelling to Tartu from Tallinn
Arrival by bus
The most convenient would be to take the Lux Express coach from Tallinn Airport. The buses leave every hour, from Tallinn Coach Station (address: Lastekodu 46, 10144, Tallinn) to Tartu Coach Station (address: Turu 2, 51014, Tartu). The journey lasts for 2.5 hours, but time flies when you are seated in the lounge area. The coaches have free WiFi, hot beverages and an entertainment system onboard. The bus also stops at the Tallinn airport when going to Tartu, and again on the return journey. Bus tickets, which costs about 15 €, can be bought here and at Tallinn Coach Station.
Arrival by train
The Elron train service has regular trips between Tallinn and Tartu a few times a day. The train leaves from Balti Jaam in Tallinn (address: Toompuiestee 37, Tallinn, near the ship port) and arrives at Tartu Railway Station (address: Vaksali 6, Tartu). Tartu Railway Station is located in a historical station building 1.5 km from the city centre. The journey lasts from 2 hours. Train tickets can be bought here, at the station or on the train.
Transport in Tartu
Getting to ENM
On foot
From the city centre walk up Roosi Street crossing a couple of other streets until you come to Muuseumi street. The address is Muuseumi tee 2, Tartu. The main access is via entrance A.
You will see the main entrance to ENM across the street in front of you. From Townhall Square it is approximately a 20 to 30 minute walk.
Public transport
From the city centre the no. 7 bus goes to ENM (stop name ERM) every half hour from Soola, Vabaduse Puiestee or Raeplats, until the last bus at 22:51 from the centre (Soola) and back from ENM at 23:00. Information is available: https://web.peatus.ee/.
From the Tartu Railway Station and through the city centre, the no. 25 bus goes to ENM (ERM parking slot) every hour from Raudteejaam (the railway station) or Kesklinn III (the city centre), with the last bus departing Raudteejaam at 20:40 and returning from ENM (ERM parking slot) at 21:14. Information is available: https://web.peatus.ee/.
Public transport tickets can be purchased using Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, or Visa Electron contactless bank cards. Contactless payment is possible if the bank card has the respective logo, and the cardholder has enabled contactless payments and online shopping. Payments can be made with both a physical card and a card added to a smart device. In Tartu, you can only buy a one-hour ticket (1.50 €) with a contactless bank card. Unfortunately, for technical reasons, tickets cannot be purchased via a contactless payment with an ISIC bank card issued in Estonia.
You can also pay for your ticket using Apple Pay Express Mode. Tartu also uses a chip card system, which can be purchased at R-Kiosk, shopping venues and other shops. A list of retailers is available: www.tartu.ee/bussikaart. The card costs 2 €. You can load money onto this card and buy tickets at sales points, online: https://tartu.pilet.ee/buy, and via your mobile phone. The cards can also be used in Tallinn (and likewise Tallinn cards are valid in Tartu).
Taxi
The Bolt app is very popular for taxis in Tartu and Bolt scooters are also available. We recommend electric taxi Elektritakso (+372 1918), or Forus Takso (+372 1200). Taxis are safe, and by using Bolt always available. Most taxi drivers speak some English and all taxis are equipped with meters. The journey from the centre to the Museum is around € 5.
Tartu Smart Bike
The bike share system Tartu Smart Bike is comprised of 750 bikes in 94 bike share stations across the city and nearby municipalities. Information is available: https://ratas.tartu.ee/.For more on public transport in Tartu.
Entry to Estonia – visa information
Nationals of the member states of the European Union and the European Economic Area and any third-country national who is a holder of a residence permit of a Schengen State do not need a visa to enter Estonia.
Non-EU citizens are advised to check the requirements at the web site of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Estonia does not have embassies in many countries. In some cases, embassies of other Schengen States represent Estonia in visa procedures. If there is neither an Estonian embassy nor a representative embassy in a specific country, the visa applicant must visit the nearest Estonian embassy. It is advisable to start the visa application procedure well in advance.