Finding your way from the Airport to Helsinki City Centre
Like most airports on the continent, Helsinki Airport is extremely well connected to the city centre despite actually being located in the nearby large town/city of Vantaa. Once you've got through Finnish Customs, which did not feature eGates, and collected your luggage, if any, you can head towards a couple of options to get your trip to Suomi (Finland) started.
Train
The default option I would usually take to get to or from any airport would be on the local public transit system - the most efficient option being the P/I line part of VR's (Finnish Railway) commuter traffic network. The heart shaped line, not dissimilar in function to London's Circle line, offering clockwise "P" trains and anti-clockwise "I" trains. Getting to the station is within an extremely short walking distance of the Airport having been designed for easy connectivity to get to/from the City.
It takes around 30 minutes and EUR 4.10 to get from the Airport to the City on the P train operating from 04h18 to 01h18 daily. There are options to connect onto long distance trains on the VR network at additional cost which can take you as far north to Rovaniemi, home of Lapland, and even five stations in Russia. Note that for almost all people from Europe or North America, you will need a visa to travel onwards to Russia. Likely for most people, taking the train will be the simplest and easiest option particularly if you are visiting on a stopover between connecting flights.
Taxi
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Image courtesy: YLE - Finnish State Broadcaster
Generally, unless in somewhere with little public transport connectivity or late at night, I will not go for a taxi to get from an airport to my hotel or City Centre. For those who prefer the comfort of private transport, taxis cost from EUR 40 to 60 for a one way journey - money I would much rather spend whilst on vacation there! Uber is available for ride-hailing at the airport as well as Yango (owned by Russian tech company Yandex) in addition to local taxi hailing apps such as Menevä or Taksini.
Coach or bus
Public bus operations in Finland are operated by Pohjolan Liikenne, a government owned enterprise. There is the option of taking Helsinki Airport Bus 615 which is a standard stopping service from the Airport to Helsinki City Centre near the main railway station - taking around 40 to 50 minutes. operating 24x7 and EUR 4.10 as a one way ticket. More convenient for travellers, however, is the Finnair City Bus - again operated by Pohjolan Liikenne - and services operating every twenty minutes from 05h30 to 00h45 daily. This option is faster than the Bus 615 taking only 35 minutes to get to the City Centre and was actually the option I chose when visiting Helsinki. The "bus" itself is more akin to a coach in the UK with reclining seats, a specific storage area for luggage, on-board WiFi and screens advertising things to do whilst visiting Finland. It is more expensive than other public transport options at EUR 6.30 but it does provide more comfort and is pretty easy to find your way into the city. Tickets for both types of bus services can be issued online or at ticket machines in Finland - or on-board the bus at a higher cost.
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Screenshot of prepaid mobile ticket for Finnair City Bus
How would I travel to the city if I visited again?
Currently the Finnair City Bus is not operating due to reduced airport demand during the pandemic but I expect it will return in the future when air travel traffic picks up again. Regardless, here's what I would recommend to you:
- Bringing lots of luggage? Take the Finnair City Bus.
- Anybody else, take the P train to the City.
Next up in this Helsinki Trip Report is a review of the Hotel Indigo - Helsinki Boulevard.