Travelling in Finland

As in every country, Finland too has its own peculiarities in the public transport sector. Here's a quick guide to help you with your transportation needs in Finland.

• Train
• Bus / Coach
• Bus - Tampere
• Plane
• Tram / Metro
  

Train travel

All railroads in Finland are owned and opperated by VR (Valtion Rautatiet), a governmental monopoly. Train tickets can be bought either at the cashier, the ticket automats, internet, or on the train (extra 2 euro charge if ticket office is open). The tickets include travel and a seat. The wagon and seat numbers are writen on the tickets.

Special seats are available for people traveling with pets, computers, or strong allergies. These must be requested while purchasing the ticket and are subject to availability. They do not cost extra. Night travel cabin beds cost extra and must be reserved in advance.

Some trains are equiped with a restaurant carriage. These serve food, snacks and drinks, includin alcholic bevarages. It is forbidden to eat your own food in the restaurant carriage. Prices are usually considerably higher for products than in local stores.

Discounts: Students get a 50% discount when showing the student ID. If you have not yet been issued a student ID card, you can get a temporary card from the railway station by presenting a photograph and a signed document from the your education center (university, polytechnic, etc). This will cost a few euros.

Timetables, prices, etc:
http://www.vr.fi

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Coach bus travel

Traveling by coach bus (between cities) is very comfortable. Travel times are slightly longer than by train, but prices are slightly cheaper, too. Coach bus lines are operated by private companies, but there is a central organization to co-ordinate timetables, cargo, etc. This is called Matkahuolto.

Coach stops are marked with a blue sign of a bus stop. Tickets can be bought either at the ticket office at the bus station, or from the bus driver.

Discounts: Students get a 50% discount when showing their student ID.

Timetables, prices, etc:
http://www.matkahuolto.fi

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Local bus travel - Tampere

Travelling within cities varies a little bit from town to town. Here are few general guidelines and then Tampere specific guidelines.

General (all Finland): Busses should be boarded from the front door and exited from the rear doors. Busses don't stop at every stop automatically. To stop the bus, give it a sign by waving or extending your arm when it approaches the stop. While traveling, to have the bus stop, press the stop button before your stop. Busses don't list all destinations in their windows, but only the line number and the final destination. Busses ordinarily charge an extra night fare after midnight. Local bus stops are marked with a yellow bus stop sign. Bus fare usually has a one-hour time validity, during which you may change busses at no extra cost.

It is customary to fill all empty rows of seats before sitting next to someone. This has to do with the Finns love for personal space. Read more about this from the Finnish culture page.

Tampere specific: Tampere has it's own city-wide bus transport service TKL (Tampereen Kaupungin Liikennelaitos). These are blue and white in colour. There are also some private companies that operate bus traffic, such as Väinö Paunu Oy and Valkeakosken Liikenne Oy. The fares within city limits are always the same, irrespective which bus line you use. Passing city limits, the fare increases with distance.

Discounts: Normally a student discount exists for monthly and serial tickets. No student discount is ordinarily given of the night fare.
In Tampere the student discount is 25% if traveling with a Tampere bus card. The bus card is obtained from the TKL office with a proof signed by your education center. The card has a deposit of around 7 euros, which is returned to the owner when they return the card. NOTE: If you are under 24, you get a yoth card with the same discount already counted into it.

Timetables, prices, etc:
http://www.tampere.fi/english/publictransport/index.html

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Air travel

Travelling by aeroplane is similar to air travel anywhere else in the world. The national airline of Finland is Finnair. Finnair is part of the One-World alliance and some of their flights will collect air miles for One-World members.

Cheaper airlines that operate from Finland are e.g. Blue 1, the SAS subsidiary and Ryanair (from Tampere-Pirkkala airport) and Wizzair (from Turku airport)

For timetables, bookings, prices, etc:
http://www.finnair.fi
http://www.blue1.fi
http://www.ryanair.com
http://wizzair.com/

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Tram & metro

Trams and metro are present in Helsinki. Here are some guidelines for traveling with them.

Trams: Boarding a tram may be done from any door. Trams only stop on requested stops. To stop the tram, press the stop button before your stop. Tickets may be bought by text message. The instructions will be printed at the tram stop. Tickets can also be bought from the driver. In this case you should board from the front of the tram.

Metro: Metro tickets are bought from ticket machines located near the entrance to the metro station. Boarding and getting off can occur from any door.

For timetables and prices in Helsinki:
http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/HKL_en/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/HKL/en/Etusivu

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