Arriving

By plane:   Most travellers arrive at Helsinki-Vantaa airport 15 kms N of Helsinki. Take the 615 bus downtown if you want to start saving money right from the start. It costs 3,60 EUR (pay the driver) and it is a bit cheaper than the Finnair nonstop bus plus that it gives you a free tram/bus/metro connection for 80 mins. The bus picks up some people in the airport's technical areas, but then it heads for the highway for the Main Railway Station almost just as fast as the Finnair Bus. Should you need the Finnair Bus option later, you will find it on the Eliel Square on the W side of the Railway station.

Tampere-Pirkkala airport is the entry point of those arriving with Ryanair. Their connecting bus takes you to Helsinki for 25 EUR in 2 h 15 mins. Consider seeing Tampere first, though. It's a lively and scenic place with good connections southwards to Helsinki later on.

By ferry:  All ferry harbours in Helsinki have bus or tram connections to the  Mannerheimintie main street and the central bus and railway stations.

From the Katajanokka terminal (Viking, Nordic Jet Line) it's trams 4 and 4T, from the Olympia and Makasiini terminals (Silja Line, Sea Cat, Linda Line) it's tram 3T (towards the big white church). Most other regular ferries arrive in West Harbour, where bus 15 takes you to the nearest metro station and bus 15A to the Railway station. Pay the driver; 2 EUR for a tram ticket, 2,20 for a bus ticket, both valid for transfer within 1 hour.  You can also buy a 24 h tourist ticket for 10 EUR on the tram or bus.

By train or bus:  In Helsinki, you arrive in the middle of everything. The main railway and bus stations are within 200 metres from each other, the main bus station a little more disguised, located under the Kamppi shopping center. The Railway station is on the opposite side of the main Mannerheimintie street. This is considered to be the heart of daily Helsinki. To find the tourists' favourite area, keep walking a few blocks in the same direction that your bus or train came in and follow the Esplanaadi which begins at the Swedish Theatre.

Public transport route planners

Matka.fi is a most elegant public transport planner for all Finland can be found at  where you can type in any address in Finland and get suggestions for how to get there (no flights and no fares yet, but so far, so good). The link gives you an English interface.

Reittiopas is another route planner for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area with smaller coverage but with a variety of options on how you want to travel.

Going by rail 

Train and bus are relatively equal means of public transport in Southern Finland if you look at price, service, frequency and quality. All trains are operated by VR, the Finnish State Railways.

Long distance 

For long-distance travel, VR offers Pendolino trains with top speeds of up to 220 kmh, while the Intercity's make 160 kmh. Long-distance trains have restaurant or café cars or trolleys on board, and also facilities for PC and Internet working. Trains are usually punctual and delays of more than 10-15 mins are rare.

Three main lines leave Helsinki, one West to Turku, one North to Tampere and the third East to Lahti. Expect hourly departures from early morning to late evening, but none at night. If you want to travel along the South East coast of Finland, though, take the bus instead.

The line to Turku (160 kms W) connects to costal Tammisaari and Hanko via train change in Karjaa. The Turku trains also continue to Turku's harbour station for ferry passengers to Åland and Sweden. Depending on where you are heading in locally, you may also consider taking the bus to Turku, which is fast and may arrive a bit more centrally for you.

The Tampere (190 kms N) trains usually continue into W, central and N Finland and are usually faster than the bus, which also arrives a little more remotely in Tampere. The Tampere rail line has excellent connections to e.g. Jyväskylä, Oulu and Rovaniemi.

The Lahti (100 kms NE) trains is actually the route to Siberia if you like. Beyond Lahti you can reach St. Petersburg and Moscow by direct trains, or Finnish destinations such as Lappeenranta, Kuopio or Joensuu.

A long distance train journey of about 200 kms costs 25 EUR for Intercity and 30 EUR for Pendolino. There are slower and cheaper trains for some longer distances, but they are rare. Special fare offers are quite rare, but customary student, senior, family and group discounts apply.

In Helsinki, all long-distance trains stop at  Pasila 3 kms north of Helsinki Main Station. There is no train connection to Helsinki-Vantaa airport. If you have a flight-train connection, bus 61 takes you from Helsinki-Vantaa airport direct to the nearest Tikkurila railway station in about 20 mins, where nearly all long distance trains stop. The Tikkurila station is a quite small station with little facilities, so waiting long for your connection, especially at winter or night, may not be that pleasant. When in doubt, go via Helsinki downtown instead.

Local trains

Local trains in the Helsinki area indicated by letters, which don't seem to be assigned to the train lines by any given logic. The standard of the trains is good and they are clean and fast, but delays are frequent especially winter-time, so allow some 30 mins slack in your schedule if it involves a local train.

The local trains are integrated in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area two-zone fare system but some lines also go outside it. Lines A, E, I and M are entirely covered, but other "letter train lines" going beyond Espoo or Tikkurila may require a real railway ticket. On the Turku line there are also some local trains running Helsinki-Kirkkonummi-Karjaa and from Karjaa via Tammisaari to Hanko.

Much of public transport in the Helsinki Area is built up around the trains and feeder bus services as well as park & ride options are good.

Metro

Helsinki has only one metro line, though with two different extensions in the eastern end. It runs up until 23:30 every night. The main metro stations are, beginning from the west: Ruoholahti (connection to Tallinn ferries), Kamppi (bus station), Rautatientori (railway station), Herttoniemi (bus connection to Korkeasaari Zoo) and Itäkeskus (a shopping mall with several onward connections to eastern Helsinki).

Going to SE Finland (direction Porvoo, Kotka) you may save a buck by taking the metro to Itäkeskus (M) and board the bus at the express ( pikavuoro) bus stop on the street on the left-hand side when you arrive (under the pedestrian bridge). The buses pass there about 15 mins after their scheduled departures from Helsinki. Do it daytime, Itäkeskus is not a very pleasant place late night, neither is the metro. People are starting have safety concerns about unruly individuals on the metro trains and security guards have been deployed.

For a prolonged political dispute, there is no metro connection W to Espoo yet.

Tram

Helsinki is the only city in Finland with trams. The network comprises 9 main lines and new lines are being planned. Tram tickets are a few cents cheaper than other public transport tickets and the trams run until about 1 o'clock in the night.

Tram 3T takes you for a good tour around the main sights of Helsinki such as the Market Square, President's Palace, Senate Square, Aleksanterinkatu shopping street, Mannerheimintie main street, Kiasma art museum, Parliament House, Temppeliaukio Rock Church, the architecturally interesting Töölö suburb, 1952 Olympic Stadium, the traditional workers Kallio (where President Mme Tarja Halonen comes from), the Hakaniemi  "Red Square", Railway station, Eira with bourgeois and embassy villas and back to the Market Square.

According to Finland traffic rules trams have precedence over all other motor vehicles.

Going by bus

Finland's bus network has been considered one of the best in Europe. Focus seems to shift to intercity and express services, but the network is even expanding in many parts of southern Finland. Buses normally fall into three categories normal ( vakio), fast ( pika) and express . Bus schedules are usually revised on 1 Jun every year and 1 Jun - 15 Aug may be a period when seasonal exceptions apply - tourist destinations may be better served, while countryside loops and lines are withdrawn. 

In Finland, you can pay for the bus ride to the driver or a bus attendant. Credit cards are widely accepted, sometimes even on very local lines, but don't expect that anywhere in metropolitan or city areas.

In Finland, long-distance bus stops are marked with a blue-and-white bus stop sign. If there is an additional sign saying pikavuoro, it means that also fast and express buses halt there . Local buses stop at yellow-and-black bus stop signs. Both to get on and off the bus, you'll have to give the driver a signal as  Finnish buses don't stop at all stops listed in the timetable by default.

Long-distance and countryside 

The bus fare system is nationwide, except for some metropolitan areas, so prices are possible to calculate in advance. The bus stations, the ticketing and a freight system is being run all over the country by a company called Matkahuolto. Tip: if you for some reason need to have some items transported across the country, bus freight is many times more reliable, cheaper and easier-to-use than going to the nearest post office.

A quality alliance for long-distance bus operators, Expressbus, runs buses in a white-red-blue livery, which stands for a certain on-board standard. On a white express bus you are bound to find newspapers, a mobile phone connection, drinks for sale, air conditioning, toilets, and even 12V outlets for phone chargers, computers or other electronical devices. Most other bus companies are just as well equipped, though.

If you arrive in Helsinki-Vantaa airport and go somewhere else in Finland, a direct bus from the airport to Kotka, Porvoo, Lahti, Tampere, Pori and Turku may save you both time and effort. Usually they haul you to your long-distance bus by a feeder bus.

In S Finland, places E of Helsinki like Porvoo, Loviisa, Kotka and Hamina are best reached by bus. So are destinations NW of Helsinki along the road towards Forssa, Rauma and Pori. Also for travel to Turku bus is an option equal to the train, as the bus takes you more to downtown Turku than its three trains stations do.

Booking seats or buying tickets in advance is rarely necessary, except for holidays like Midsummer (late June) or Christmas. Bus fare examples:  2,60 EUR for 6 kms / 8 EUR for 50 kms / 32 EUR for 250 kms express. An extra fare of about 2,50 EUR applies to most fast and express buses.

City and local

In the Helsinki Area most of the public transport involves bus. A three-digit bus is usually a regional bus, where the higher 2-zone fare applies. With the exception of the area around the metro line, you will have direct lines to Helsinki centre combined with feeder services.

Bus 550 is a fast bus line taking you across the Helsinki from Itäkeskus (M) in the east to Espoo's Leppävaara train hub and to Tapiola and the  Westend bus terminal. The line is priced like all other bus lines in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

By plane

Tampere, Turku and Lappeenranta have airports with international service, but domestic flying between these destinations is not worth it, unless you have the flight as a cheap add-on to your international flight. Better take the bus or train.

Tourist specials and fares

Summertime the VR railway company offers a 115 EUR Holiday Pass allowing for free travel during 3 separate days during a 30-day period all over Finland.

For the Helsinki Metropolitan Area you can buy a 24 hrs tourist ticket on buses and trams. It costs 6 EUR for Helsinki and 10 EUR if you also want to go Espoo or Vantaa (where the airport is). Tickets for 3 and 5 days are also available at blue-and-yellow R-kiosks at airports, railway and bus stations at 12/20 EUR or 18/30 EUR.

In the Helsinki Metropolitan area a one-zone ticket valid in all public transport costs 2,20 EUR (transfer time 60 mins) and a two-zone 3,60 EUR (transfer time 80 mins). The ticket is valid also on the Suomenlinna ferry.