Vantaa Airport is the main air gateway of Finland, through it approximately 90% of all international flights of the country are carried out. Here more than thirty airlines land and take off planes, including several low-cost airlines, so beloved by zealous Russian travelers. However, Vantaa is located 17 kilometers from the Finnish capital, the cost of transport in Finland is very high, so the question is “how to get from the Helsinki airport to the center cheaply and quickly?” very relevant.
Airport Description
Helsinki Airport was built for the 1952 Olympics, was reconstructed several times, which is why in 2013 it was recognized as the best airport in Northern Europe. It consists of two terminals connected by the tunnel: T1 serves domestic flights, T2 serves international flights. Although it happens that the planes of foreign airlines use the T1 terminal strip.
The terminals have everything you need for passengers: two hotels; left-luggage offices; bars and cafes; spa with pools and sauna; barbershop; the shops; conference rooms and VIP room; mother and baby camera, playgrounds for children; Museum of Aviation and an observation deck that allows you to enjoy boarding and taking off planes. Public transport and taxi stops are located right at the airport exit, as well as the FINNAIR office.
How to get from Helsinki Airport to the center: options
If you take it away as a unrealistic hiking trip or bike ride from Vantaa to Helsinki, then the following options remain:
- Transfer from airport.
- Taxi.
- Shuttle FINNAIR.
- The train.
- Public buses.
- Transfer.
Transfer
This is the most comfortable, but also the most expensive way to get from Helsinki Airport to the center. As an alternative, a taxi transfer has several advantages over it. It can be ordered in advance even from home, having well thought over the required package of services. The driver will meet the client at the terminal at any time of the day, help with luggage, check-in at the hotel, and will be guaranteed to take you to any address indicated.
When ordering, you can choose a car of the required capacity and class, with a child seat, with a driver who speaks Russian. Transfer to the center of Helsinki is not a cheap pleasure, the minimum prices start from 45 € (for reference: 1 euro is about 75 rubles). However, in return, the client receives confidence, security and a variety of amenities. The transfer is especially good for companies of several people, travelers with young children, passengers with non-standard luggage and people who are afraid of a language barrier.
Taxi
Since it is sometimes necessary to get from the Helsinki airport to the center at night, when public transport does not go at all or rarely, taxi in this case becomes the only acceptable option. Finnish taxi drivers are not customary to impose on visitors. A string of cars with easily recognizable markings, patiently waiting for customers, can be found at the exit from the terminal. Many taxi drivers are fluent in English, but it is better for a traveler to memorize the name of the destination or write it down so that there is no confusion, because Finnish is quite difficult for a Russian-speaking person. A trip to the center will take about half an hour and will cost 45-60 €.
Shuttle FINNAIR
FINNAIR buses run between the airport and Helsinki Central Station at intervals of 20-25 minutes from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., the timetable can be found on the company's website or at the bus stop. Travel time is 30 minutes, tickets can be bought in advance on the Internet 9.80 € or from the driver for 9.90 €, 50% discount for passengers from 6 to 16 years old, children under 6 travel free. Unlike city buses, shuttles have a luggage compartment.
The shuttle is especially suitable for those who want to walk around Helsinki for a few hours to pass the time between flights, but do not want to delve into the particulars and subtleties of Finnish public transport and do not know exactly how to get from the city center to Helsinki Airport. Any resident of the capital will tell you where the central station is, and it’s easy to find easily recognizable buses with the FINNAIR sign there.
City bus
Helsinki has a very developed and thought out system of urban transport. The airport is connected to the capital by bus, stops are located near the exits from the terminals. If you take the main station, which is located in the center of Helsinki, as a landmark, you can get to it by three buses:
- No. 415, you need to go to the Elielinaukio stop, which is located near the station;
- No. 615 goes to the Rautatientori stop near the train station;
- No. 617 does not reach the station, but from its final stop Hakaniemi it’s only 700 meters to Senate Square and 1 kilometer to the central station.
The fine for a fare in Finland is serious - 80 €, therefore, before you get from Helsinki Airport to the center by bus, you must buy a ticket. The airport is located in the town of Vantaa, it does not have city transport rates, a regional ticket (Regional nicket) is required for travel. It can be bought:
- with the driver for 5.5 € (from 2:00 to 4:30 - at a nightly rate of 7 €);
- in the ticket machine, which is located at the bus stop near the T1 terminal for 5 €;
- through the special mobile application HSL Mobile ticket for 4.20 €.
For passengers aged 7-16 years, a 50% discount applies; for children under 7 years of age, travel is free. If the traveler plans to return to the airport on the same day, it makes sense to buy a regional daily ticket for 14 €, which, in addition to traveling from the airport and back, allows you to use any city transport during the day.
Another way to save money and get freedom of movement in the Finnish capital and its suburbs is to buy a Travel Card for 5 €, you can put the necessary amount on its balance. Travel Card provides the opportunity to pay at a bargain price for trips by metro, trams, buses, trains. For example, travel from Vantaa to the city center by bus will cost 4.04 €.
How to get from Helsinki Airport to the center by train
The railway connected the main airport and suburbs with Helsinki relatively recently, in the summer of 2015. Two railway lines form a ring road, shaped like a heart. On the western branch “I”, trains run counterclockwise from the airport, on the eastern branch “P” - clockwise. The journey time to the central station for both branches is about half an hour, so you can choose the train closest in time. Electric trains run from about 4:30 to 1:15 with an interval of 10-30 minutes, more often in the afternoon, less often in the morning and in the evening.
Before getting from Helsinki Airport to the city center by train, you need to follow the signs from the terminals to the Lentoasema train station. As in the case of the bus, a regional ticket for 5.5 € is valid on the trains, which can be purchased in the carriage or in a special machine at the station. Stops are announced in advance via the speakerphone, but for added convenience, passengers in the cars have LCD screens showing the real-time train route. However, it is impossible to drive past the center, since the central station is the final stop for both branches.