Finland
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The Finnish transport system is well developed and very popular in Finland. Dry and warm trains are very good for covering long distances between cities not only in summer but also in cold winter weather when waterways freeze. Currently, the only railway operator in Finland is the state-owned VR.
Most domestic bus passenger transport uses an extensive road network.
About 25 airports have regular passenger services. Finnair and Nordic Regional Airlines operate air services both within the country and abroad. Helsinki is optimally located for large-circle routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Therefore, many international travelers visit Helsinki with a stopover between Asia and Europe.
Thanks to icebreakers, the country's 23 ports are open all year round. Passenger services are provided from Helsinki and Turku, which have ferry connections to Tallinn, Mariehamn, Sweden and several other destinations.
Train
To create a convenient route, it is very useful to use the interactive map on the vr.fi website at this link. In the map program there are all the names of Finnish railway stations.
About Tickets
Purchasing channels for single tickets for long-distance traffic:
- website vr.fi
- VR Matkalla mobile app
- Station ticket offices (Helsinki and Tampere)
- Ticket vending machines. Please note that you can buy a single long-distance ticket from a ticket vending machine no earlier than 30 days before your journey.
- VR customer service telephone: 0600 41 900 (3,55 € / answered call + lnc/mcc), Mon–Fri 5–22, Sat–Sun and public holidays 7–22. When calling from abroad: +358 923 192 902
- R-Kiosks. A 1 euro supplement/ticket will be charged at the R-Kioski. Please note that you can buy a single long-distance ticket at R-kioski no earlier than 30 days before your journey.
- Travel agencies and VR retail partners
- With card payment from the train conductor. There is a surcharge for tickets sold onboard the train, which is 3 € for trips shorter than 76 km and 7 € for longer trips.
Your ticket may be delivered by e-mail ticket or as a printed ticket. When you buy your ticket signed in, you will find all your tickets in one place on your own account.
Multi-tickets for long-distance trains
Eko class: by signing in on vr.fi website or to the VR Matkalla app, you can buy and use 10 or 30 journey multi-tickets to Eko calss.
Ekstra class: To purchase a 10 or 30-trip multi-ticket for Ekstra Class, log in on website vr.fi or the VR Matkalla app.
If you have a VR user name, you can also buy your multi-ticket from our customer service or from VR service points. You can find and book your trips in the "My tickets" section.
You can buy a season pass using the VR Matkalla mobile app.
Season passes are available for several different periods, from a minimum of 14 days to a maximum of one year. You can buy a season pass for either Eko or Ekstra class. With an Ekstra season pass, you can choose your seat in Ekstra class, as well as upstairs in the restaurant car or in Eko class.
Season passes for long-distance trains are also valid on commuter trains on the same route. The pass is personal, so please remember to bring your ID.
Night on a train
Let Lapland’s magic enchant you! You can now buy night train trips until June 2025, private cabins starting from EUR 49, cabins with shower starting from EUR 74. Tip! Search for a journey and tick "show cabin prices on night trains" in the search results to easily compare prices for different days. You can buy this ticket on the website vr.fi .
Assistants travel for free
If you have an illness or injury and you need assistance during your journey, you may be eligible for a free assistant’s ticket. The assistant must travel the same leg as the assisted person, but can also board the train at a station along the way. The assistant must be over 18 years old. Each passenger can have one assistant travelling for free. A guide, aid or hearing dog always travels with you free of charge.
Cars on night trains
Take the night train and continue your trip well rested in the morning with your own car. Car spots start from €39, motorcycles from €29. A sleeper cabin + a car spot combo can be as little as €88 (cabin €49 + car €39).
New! You can now add a car spot to your ticket also after the initial purchase.
The VR Matkalla app is the best way to buy tickets for VR’s commuter and long-distance trains. The app offers single tickets, multi-tickets, and season tickets for regular travellers.
Near railway stations
The maps of the vicinity near of long-distance railway stations show connections, routes, services and important places in the immediate vicinity of the stations, as well as contact information for taxis and callbacks. The maps are located near platforms and underpasses.
The maps are available on this web page in pdf format. The maps are currently in Finnish and Swedish.
By night train to the northern lights
To get to the northern lights, it is convenient and comfortable to take the night train.
To see this beauty, people go to ... Rovaniemi.
BUS
Buses and Coaches
City and intercity coach services are regular and frequent, even to remote parts of the country. Buses are clean and modern with air conditioning, reclining seats, seat belts and toilets. Individual power sockets and Wi-Fi are standard and free.Bus stations have restaurants and shops. Luggage left at one station is sent to its final destination, even if transfers to buses and different bus companies are involved.
Matkahuolto, ExpressBus, Onnibus, FlixBus.
Onnibus
Onnibus offers cheap tickets for long-distance bus services throughout Finland, with routes extending as far north as Levi in Lapland.
Major destinations include Helsinki, Turku, Pori, Tampere, Vaasa, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kajaani, Kuopio and Kotka, with stops in smaller towns in between.
Onnibus website www.onnibus.com offers information on tickets, timetables, routes, bus stops, bus facilities and more. Tickets can be purchased online or via the app with numerous payment options: credit card, online banking, etc.
When creating a route on the company's website or in the app, please note that you have the option to specify not only Finnish cities as your destination, but also cities in other European countries. This company offers direct routes abroad.
Onnibus app
Mobileapp
Matkahuolto
Tickets, timetables and fare information you can find on website www.matkahuolto.fi .
Tickets can be purchased online or at Matkahuolto terminals, Matkahuolto agents and many travel agencies.
For regular travellers, Matkahuolto offers season or multi-trip tickets loaded onto a travel card. Travel cards can be topped up at R kiosks.
Matkahuolto also provides an economical and reliable parcel delivery service.
Buying a ticket for someone else
Series and season tickets purchased from the Trips and Tickets app can be conveniently transferred to another person, as long as the ticket product is transferable.
Matkahuolto
app
ExpressBus
2400 departures weekly
The Helsinki Bus Station located at Kamppi Shopping Centre is one of the most modern bus stations in the world.
Tickets can be purchased online or from bus drivers or various sales outlets.
ExpressBus accepts Matkahuolto travel cards.
ExpressBus expressbus.fi
Information on ExpressBus travel is available from the Matkahuolto service.
ExpressBus operate directly to the ports of Helsinki and Turku
Many ferry arrivals are extended to the West Terminal, Olympia Terminal or Katajanokka Terminal. For more information use company's timetable. Enter the terminal name as the destination. You can also ask for information about port connections at Matkahuolto service points.
In Turku, the route is extended to the port at ferry departure times. This also applies to ferry arrivals; you can board the ExpressBus directly from the ferry.
Some ferry operators offer special fares if the bus ticket is purchased together with the ferry ticket from a travel agent or ferry operator.
Reach Helsinki-Vantaa Airport ExpressBus coaches take you directly to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Please see more information about destination: Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
Platforms at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport:
Terminal 2 - platform 23-24
FlixBus
German international bus giant FlixBus has started operations in Finland with a bus/ferry service from Vaasa to Warsaw with stops in Finland in Vaasa, Närpiö, Pori, Rauma, Raisio, Turku, Salo, Espoo and Helsinki. FlixBus plans to expand its domestic routes and connections to its European network. Prices for domestic routes seem comparable to Onnibus. International bus routes seem cheaper or comparable to flights. Journeys should be researched individually. Tickets can be purchased online.
FLIXBUS app
HELSINKI
HSL is a company, which cover the public transport network: trams, buses and metro.
The HSL area and zones includes Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, Syuntio, Kirkkonummi, Sipoo, Kerava and Tuusula.
The HSL area is divided into four areas, labelled A, B, C and D, extending from the centre of Helsinki.
Before buying a ticket, check the zones you travel through and buy a ticket accordingly.
In Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, i.e. in zones A, B and C, you need an AB or BC ticket, depending on the area you travel in. NB! There are no one-zone tickets for zones A, B and C.
You can see the zone boundaries on a map in the route search. The route search also tells you which ticket you need for your journey.
You can use the card to pay for all your public transport journeys in the HSL area. You can top up your card with a season ticket, day ticket or value. The card costs 5 euros. You can also purchase day tickets online on your HSL card for journeys in Tallinn or Tartu.
We have published for you a map of the metno, trams and railway trains routes in Helsinki. You can find visual information about the bus routes on the website Journey Planner, tickets and fares, customer service | HSL. There are a lot of bus routes. You will very easily find the route you are interested in.
TAMPERE
Tampere Regional Transport Nysse offers a good route network in Tampere and the surrounding towns. You can find bus and tram routes and timetables on the Reittiopas website, which is also available in the Nysse Mobiili application. The same tickets can be used in trams and buses, and you can buy tickets on Nysse Mobiili -mobile app or by using contactless payment – or use a Tampere travel card.
Bus 103 takes you to the airport ›
The bus runs daily between Tampere-Pirkkala Airport and Tampere. The route passes through the train station and bus station in the city center.
The line has connections for both departing and arriving flights. Schedules may change due to changes in flight schedules.
To the exhibition center ›
Tampere Exhibition and Sports Center is located 6 km from the center of Tampere, on the border of Pirkkala. The journey takes about 20 minutes on line 12 from the city center.
Buses 101, 102 and 104 are in service only during the major events. The schedules can then be found in the Journey Planner.
101 Tampere city center - Exhibition center
There are 97 bus routes operating in Tampere and the region.
Other bus serviceIn addition to the Nysse bus and tram lines you can also travel by U-busses which service is planned and organized by an external operator. You can pay for your trips with Nysse tickets but only in the Nysse zones.
The U-bus timetables can be found in the Nyssen Journey Planner.
43U (Pälkäne -) Kangasala - Tampere
56U Lempäälä - Säijä (school bus)
57U Lempäälä - Lastunen (school bus)
68U Valkeakoski, Tykölä - Tori koulukampus
Tickets and payment methods
- buy tickets to your personal Tampere travel card
- check your travel card’s ticket information
- check your other card- and customer information
- set e-mail reminders for your travel cards
- order a personal Tampere travel card
About app
The Tampere.Finland application brings the user a versatile selection of Tampere services. The application is aimed at city residents, tourists and other people doing business in the Tampere area.
Currently, the application includes Tampere region public transport Nyssen Lissu Liikentenseuranta, Repa Reittiopas, Tampere Tunnetuksi Ry's Rakas Tampere Pass,
FERRY
Finland is one of the most popular ferry destinations in the Baltic Sea. From Helsinki, popular ferry routes include Tallinn, Stockholm, Lübeck (Travemünde), Åland Islands (Mariehamn/Långnäs) and occasionally Riga. From Turku, you can also reach Stockholm via Åland. From Finland, you can find the most modern and luxurious ferries in the Baltic Sea. Popular ferry operators include Tallink Silja, Viking Line, Eckerö Line and Finnlines.
Popular Ferry Routes from Finland
Åland - Helsinki
Åland - Tallinn
Åland - Stockholm
Åland - Turku
Naantali Finland - Kapellskär Sweden
Naantali Finland - Långnäs Åland Islands
Mariehamn Åland Islands - Helsinki
Mariehamn Åland Islands - Kapellskär Sweden
Mariehamn Åland Islands - Stockholm
Mariehamn Åland Islands - Tallinn
Helsinki - Travemünde Germany
Helsinki - Stockholm
Helsinki - Tallinn
Helsinki - Åland
Turku - Kapellskär Sweden
Turku - Långnäs Åland Islands
Turku - Mariehamn Åland Islands
Turku - Stockholm
