Tartu is situated in southern Estonia and connects to the world primarily through Tallinn, Estonia’s capital. Tallinn is easily accessed by plane straight from most Europe largest airports. The Tallinn international airport is located on the edge of that city, on the road to Tartu. The distance between Tallinn airport and Tartu is 180 km. It will take approximately two hours to drive to Tartu.
From Tallinn, Tartu can either be reached by bus or train:
BUS
Bus is the most convenient way of getting from Tallinn airport to Tartu. The bus ride takes approximately 2.5 hours. There is bus stop in front on the “0 Floor” exit from the airport. I.e. you will have to go from Floor 1 (where the arrivals are) to Floor 0 (see the terminal map). Location of the bus stop is indicated on this scheme of Tallinn Airport Surroundings and this photo presents view to the bus stop from north. Another photo pictures the information plates with bus times. The drivers sell tickets, but buses can occasionally be full (i.e. you will not be admitted to the bus), so, booking a ticket in advance over the internet is a very good idea. The bus timetable and online ticket booking system is available here: www.tpilet.ee. When you do that, please indicate “Tallinna lennujaam” (Tallinn airport) as your starting point.
TRAIN
Train is another option. See www.elron.ee for the timetable. The train stop “Ülemiste” is not as near to Tallinn airport as the bus stop (see the scheme of Tallinn Airport Surroundings), but trains are never completely full. So, you can always get on train. You can buy ticket on the train, you can just find a seat and sit down, the conductor will come to you and sell you the ticket.
Please also see http://www.ut.ee/en/welcome-web/arrival-advice
If your plane arrives at night, when public transportation to Tartu is not available, please contact riin.rebane@ut.ee