University of Tartu Library Conference Centre
Travel to Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia and the oldest town in the Baltic states. Tartu is situated in southern Estonia and connects to the world primarily through Tallinn, Estonia’s capital and is the European Capital of Culture in 2024.
By Plane
The biggest airport in the region is the Riga International Airport (RIX). The Latvian national carrier airBaltic is the largest carrier that serves the airport, followed by Ryanair. The airport is located in the Mārupe Municipality west of Riga, approx. 10 km from its city centre.
Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL) is the largest airport in Estonia as well as the only airport offering international services. The Tallinn airport is located on the edge of that city, on the road to Tartu. The distance between Tallinn airport and Tartu is 180 km.
Tartu Airport. Finnair flies to Tartu several times a week via Helsinki Airport.
By Bus
From Riga, Vilnius and Warsaw, Tartu can be reached by bus. Lux Express Group is the largest international express routes coach operator in the Baltic region offering bus services in 7 countries. Lux Express operates international and Estonian domestic routes. See more: https://luxexpress.eu/en/
There is a bus stop in front of the ground floor exit from the airport (head straight from the Arrivals on the first floor to the bus stop through the ground floor). Drivers sell tickets, but buses can occasionally be full (i.e., you will not be admitted to the bus), so booking a ticket online is recommended. The bus timetable and online ticket booking system is available at www.tpilet.ee/en. When booking, please indicate Tallinn lennujaam (Tallinn airport) as your starting point.
By Train
Train is another option for reaching Tartu. The train stop Ülemiste is not as close to Tallinn airport as the bus stop, but trains are never completely full, so you can always find a spot. You can buy ticket on the train or you can just take a seat and the conductor will come to you and sell you the ticket. See www.elron.ee/en for the timetable.