Tartu connects to the world through Lennart Meri Airport in Tallinn and Riga Airport in Latvia. Currently, no flight connections are from Tartu airport.
From Tallinn to Tartu:
The distance between Tallinn and Tartu is 186km.
Tallinn Lennart Meri Airport has direct air links to numerous cities. Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air also fly to Tallinn. You can choose between a bus and a train to travel from Tallinn to Tartu.
The bus journey or a car from the Tallinn Lennart Meri Airport to Tartu takes 2.5 hours. You can board the Tallinn-Tartu bus either from the Tallinn bus station or the Tallinn airport. Buses are relatively frequent: on average, they depart every 30 minutes. However, there are no late-night buses. The bus departure from Tallinn can either be ‘Tallinn bus station’ (Bussijaam) or ’Tallinn Airport’ (Tallinna Lennujaam) and destination ’Tartu Coach Station’ (Tartu bussijaam). Tickets can be bought online and downloaded to a smartphone. Tickets are available from the driver, too, but please note that buses tend to be full, and you would be much better off purchasing your ticket before the bus arrives! You can check the schedule and buy tickets here: https://www.tpilet.ee/. Ticket cost 10-16 euro.
The train is another option from Tallinn Airport to Tartu. The train station closest to the airport is ‘Ülemiste’. The train trip lasts about 2 hours. The train schedule is available only ten days in advance, but it is unlikely to change significantly. The ticket cost around 10 euros. https://elron.ee/.
From Tartu Train Station to Tartu City Centre it is less than one km. Possible to travel the distance on foot, by taxi or take a bus. The Bus line operates between the train station (Raudteejaam) and the City center (Kesklinn). The ticket cost is 2 euros; you can buy a Tartu bus card or a ticket from the website here: https://tartu.pilet.ee/buy ,or pay with a contactless bank card using a validator on bus board. More information:
https://tartu.ee/en/inner-city-bus-transportation#tartu-bus-card/How-can-I-use-the-bus-card?-
From Riga to Tartu:
The distance between Riga, the Latvian capital city, and Tartu is 250 km, about 4-5 hours by express bus or by car. The ticket price is 19-25 euros. Tickets:
https://luxexpress.eu/en/ (timetable below)
Tartu-Riga-Tartu timetable from 1. April 2023:
Riga – Tartu direction | ||
|---|---|---|
| Riga airport | Riga bus station | Tartu bus station |
| x | 09:00 | 12:50 |
| 13:30 | 14:15 | 18:05 |
| 17:45 | 18:45 | 22:45 |
Tartu – Riga direction | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tartu bus station | Riga bus station | Riga airport |
| 05:25 | 9:20 | 9:50 |
| 09:05 | 12:55 | 13:30 |
| 18:20 | 22:00 | x |
From some other countries:
Tallinn can also be reached by ferry, for example from Sweden (Stockholm) and Finland (Helsinki).
From the ferry terminal, the easiest way to get to the bus station (Bussijaam) or central train station (Balti jaam) is to take a taxi. Tram number 2 (in the direction of ‘Ülemiste’) or bus number 2 will also take you central train station (Balti jaam) or Tallinn bus station (Bussijaam). You can buy a ticket from the bus or tram driver or using a contactless banking card at the ticket validator. The ticket cost is 2 euros. See ticket information and timetable here: https://transport.tallinn.ee/#/ee
Further travel and tourist information
Please, see Visit Tartu webpage for more information about Tartu, for further travel connections and for tourist information.
Things to do and visit in Estonia, please see here.