How to Reach Tallinn and Get Around:
A Hassle-Free Transport Guide

Tallinn is one of those places that’s easier to reach than most people expect. You can get there by ferry from Helsinki, bus from Riga, or flight from most of Europe – the options are genuinely good for a city this size. Once you’re there, getting around is even simpler. The Old Town is entirely walkable and trams and buses smoothly cover everything else.

I’ve visited Tallinn twice, arriving by bus from Riga the first time and by flight the second. I also took the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki for a day trip, which was honestly one of the highlights of the whole trip.

In this Tallinn transport guide, I cover the realistic options for getting to Tallinn depending on where you’re coming from, plus everything you need to know about getting around once you arrive, based on what actually worked for us in practice.

Find more practical details for planning your trip in my Tallinn travel guide.

How to Get to Tallinn: Transport Guide

Best Ways to Get to Tallinn (Quick Overview)

Flights to Tallinn

Tallinn Airport is small and easy to navigate, one of the least stressful airports I have been to. It’s well connected to most major European cities, with some long-haul options too.

How to Get from Tallinn Airport to the City Center

The airport is close to the city center and you can reach it within 15-20 minutes. The most straightforward option is tram line 4, which runs frequently and drops you close to the Old Town. This is what I used during one of my trips.

You can also take bus numbers 2 or 15, although in practice, the tram is usually more convenient and easier to navigate.

If you prefer not to deal with public transport after a flight, taxis are reasonably priced. Using Bolt is the easiest and cheapest option, as you can order it directly from the app and avoid any confusion with pricing. The ride is short, so it won’t be expensive. Alternatively, you can use the metered taxis.

You can also order the airport transfer in advance, which would reduce the waiting time.

Ferries to Tallinn

The ferry connection between Tallinn and Helsinki is one of the best things about visiting either city — it makes day trips or short breaks easy. It takes about 2-2.5 hours to travel between the two cities. You can also find longer ferry routes to Stockholm from here.

We took the 2.5-hour ferry to Helsinki and it was genuinely one of the highlights of the whole trip. The ships are enormous and the approach into Helsinki harbor is beautiful.

Here is my practical guide on the Tallinn to Helsinki ferry trip.

How to Get from the Tallinn Ferry Terminal to the City Center

The main ferry terminal is very close to the city center. If you are staying nearby, you can even walk about 15-30 minutes, depending on your hotel area. If you don’t want to walk, you can easily find tram (lines 1 and 2) and bus stops nearby.

Our hotel was under 15-minute walk away, so we walked one way and hopped on a tram on the way back.

Intercity Buses to Tallinn

Long-distance buses connect Tallinn with Riga, Vilnius and other cities. This is the most common option for traveling between the Baltic cities.

How to Get from the Tallinn Bus Station to the City Center

The buses run from the central bus station, which is accessible by trams and buses. You can take tram line 4 (the one that runs from the airport) to get to the city center.

Interestingly, having seen a number of bus stations, I normally expect the areas around them to be unpleasant. But this area is pretty central. The main road just around the corner, where trams run, is very nice to walk on. When we arrived to the station, we just took a pleasant walk to our accommodation.

Intercity Bus Companies Traveling to Tallinn

If you are coming from Riga, you have several bus companies you can choose from. They take 4-5 hours, depending on the time of day. There are dozens of departures daily and it’s really very easy to get a bus.

From Vilnius buses are more tiring, as they take up to 10 hours. If you need to travel directly from Vilnius to Tallinn, I honestly wouldn’t really try a bus and would fly instead.

For traveling to Tartu, Narva and other cities inside Estonia, Lux Express is the only company that covers these routes.

Lux Express is my preferred option. It has very comfortable seats. Buses are new and we arrived from Riga to Tallinn very easily, even after a long flight to Riga. The seats have personal screens. So if you are able to, I would recommend taking Lux Express. Also, while somewhat more expensive than the other options, the difference is really not all that much, if you book in advance.

Flixbus is another most common option. It’s generally the cheapest as anywhere else in Europe. However, I am not their fan. While I have not taken Flixbus on this route, I have used it elsewhere and experienced delays. They are notorious for this, if you ask other frequent travelers. So if you do choose it, be aware of the possibilities. Another thing is, they usually take the longest – I am not really sure why.

Ecolines is a good balance between cheaper tickets and comfortable trip. The main downside is that they don’t run as frequently as the other two companies. We took them from Tallinn to Riga and they were fine. It was a completely uneventful ride, just a smooth bus ride.

How to Get Bus Tickets to Tallinn

At the bus station: If you don’t have fixed plans, you can get a bus ticket on the spot at the bus station. This should be very easy, especially outside the summertime, when the tickets are hardly ever sold out. In summer, you might have to wait some for the next available bus. We didn’t know when we would manage to get to the bus station in Riga after our flight so left the ticket purchase to the last minute. Of course, it was more expensive compared to booking in advance. We also had to wait about half an hour for the next bus, as the one departing immediately was sold out.

On the official websites of the bus companies: I have linked the official websites for each company above. I myself haven’t used this but they all offer this option.

On third party websites: I personally used Omio for purchasing bus tickets from Tallinn to Riga. It’s a very user-friendly app and I often rely on it.

Trains to Tallinn

Trains are a newer addition to the options for traveling to Tallinn. Tallinn’s main train station – Baltic station is located just outside the Old Town, which makes traveling by train easier.

The Vilnius-Riga-Tallinn train runs once a day, while there’s an additional service between Riga and Tallinn. To get to Tallinn from Vilnius, the train takes almost 11 hours. While from Riga, you could reach Tallinn in about 6-8 hours. While they take longer than buses, trains are comfy. They are also more expensive than buses. I haven’t tried them on this route yet, but the time difference is quite big, plus they run too rarely.

You can also get to Tartu, Valga and other Estonian cities by train.

How to Get Train Tickets to Tallinn

To book train tickets from Riga to Tallinn, you have to check out the official website of the Estonian Railway. By the way, note that for Riga, you should choose Riia, as it’s the name for Riga in Estonian apparently. Even if you are using English version of the website, you still can’t search for Riga, so first time I was trying to find ticket, I got confused, before figuring it out.

For train ticket from Vilnius to Tallinn, as well as Vilnius to Riga, you will have to purchase them on the Lithuanian Railway website.

Getting Around Tallinn

Tallinn is one of the easiest European capitals to navigate. The Old Town is compact and entirely walkable, and you can cross the entire area in just half an hour. In practice, you will rarely need public transport for sightseeing. Besides, no cars are allowed on most streets around the Old Town. The only thing to keep in mind is that the streets are cobbled and can be uneven, especially around Toompea Hill, so comfortable shoes are essential.

Public Transport in Tallinn

In most cases, you will only need transport for specific routes, like for getting to and from the airport, reaching Kadriorg Park, or traveling between the bus station, ferry terminal, and your accommodation.

Trams and buses are reliable and easy to hop on. We especially liked trams. There are some older and newer trams, so we loved seeing which one we would get.

You have two major options for buying public transport tickets in Tallinn:

• The easiest option is just tapping your contactless bank card. You can do this at the front of the tram or a bus, when boarding. This will provide you with a one-hour ride on public transportation. We simply did this throughout our stay, as we didn’t want to bother with buying the Ühiskaart. It worked seamlessly without needing to buy anything in advance.
• Ühiskaart is a contactless transport card. You can charge it while buying it at the relevant booths. After that you can charge it either online (although the website doesn’t always work and the app might glitch) or at the same places you bought it from. It only really makes sense if you are staying longer or using public transport frequently. For a short visit, tapping your bank card is much simpler.

Taxis and Ride Hailing Apps

Taxis are reasonably priced in Tallinn. If you hail one on the street, they should have meters and you will be paying the fare according to it.

However, we preferred the ride-hailing app Bolt. Bolt is widely used in Tallinn and is usually cheaper and easier than hailing taxis on the street. We used it a couple of times and had good experiences. By the way, Bolt is an Estonian company. Uber also operates here though, if you prefer it.

To help you further plan your trip, my Tallinn travel guide covers accommodation, costs and what to book in advance.

For the day-by-day route, see my 2-day Tallinn itinerary.

 

Hello I am Ket,

A traveler, planner, and sweet tooth behind Hit the Road Ket.

Travel isn’t just my passion – it’s a lifeline for my mental health. Having lived in three cities and explored 60 countries (and counting!), I created this blog to share my experiences, smart tips, and itinerary advice with fellow travel lovers.

I’m all about making the most of limited time, finding scenic routes, and turning every trip into something memorable – coffee in hand, of course.