Helsinki get around · Get around Helsinki
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Get around Helsinki
Get around Helsinki
All public transportation within Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen is coordinated by HSL . The following basic ticket types are available:
Tram ticket (raitiovaunulippu) (?1,80 from ticket machines, travel card button "0" ?1.37, not available from the driver) ? valid for one hour on trams only
City ticket (kertalippu) (?2 by mobile phone or in ticket machines, ?2.50 from the driver, travel card button "1" ?1.82) ? valid on all HKL services within city limits for one hour
Regional ticket (seutulippu) (?4.00, travel card button "2" ?3.36) ? valid for 80 mins within and between Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen
Full region ticket (?6.20, travel card button "3" ?5.20) ? the above plus Kerava and Kirkkonummi
The City ticket allows you to travel by almost any local public transportation method (buses, trains, trams, metro, Suomenlinna ferry) within the boundaries of Helsinki. The Regional ticket covers almost any public transportation method within the boundaries of Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen. However, if you purchase a specific Tram or Train ticket, you are allowed to travel only by tram or train respectively. All tickets allow unlimited transfers within their validity periods and regions. Children under 7 travel free, while tickets for children under 16 are half price.
Fares can be paid by cash when boarding (except on trams), by sending a text message to 16355 (valid on trams, metro and some buses; requires a Finnish SIM card) or by Travel Card (matkakortti), a reloadable smartcard sold at the R-kiosks and HSL offices, very similar to London's Oyster card. The Travel Card costs ?9 (nonrefundable) and gives a 25% discount on fares. Using it is slightly cumbersome, as you must hold your card against the reader and simultaneously press the numbered button corresponding to the desired ticket type. Hold the card without pressing anything to see the remaining value or to register a transfer. One unadvertised but handy feature of the card is that it can be used by multiple people at once ? just hold and press the button repeatedly, and the reader will beep and show "2x", "3x", etc. (For any subsequent transfers, holding it against the reader once is sufficient.)
Alternatively, you can opt for the Helsinki Card (1 day ?33 to 3 days ?55) or HSL Day Ticket (matkailijalippu) (1 day ?7.00), both of which offer unlimited travel within the city. Day Tickets are sold at HSL offices, R-Kiosks located in the city center, ticket vending machines or by the driver. The Helsinki Card also offers free admission to a number of museums and attractions.
The HSL Journey Planner will get you from a street address, place or sight to another by suggesting possible public transport connections, covering the entire metropolitan Helsinki region. Try eg. "Airport" or "Railway station" for place names.
Getting around by night can be a bit tricky (or expensive), as most trains and trams stop before midnight and the buses at 1.30. A limited night bus network, all leaving from either Elielinaukio or Rautatientori next to the railway station, runs on weekends and public holidays after 2AM, charging approximately twice the price of a daytime ticket.
There are no ticket checks getting on to metro, trains, trams or boats, but if you choose to ride ticketless look out for inspectors, as you risk an €80 fine.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Helsinki
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Helsinki Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
