Tallinn Airport (Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport, IATA: TLL) sits four kilometers southeast of the city center in the Ülemiste district. The airport opened in 1936 and carries the name of Estonian president and writer Lennart Meri, who served from 1992 to 2001. The single passenger terminal handles approximately 3.5 million passengers annually. All arriving international passengers use the Schengen or non-Schengen gates depending on origin. Estonia joined the Schengen Area on December 21, 2007, eliminating passport controls for arrivals from other Schengen states. The baggage claim hall contains four carousels. The arrivals hall opens directly to ground transportation options without intermediate security zones.
Currency exchange counters operate in the arrivals hall, but rates average eight to twelve percent below interbank rates. ATMs from Swedbank, SEB, and LHV line the wall opposite baggage claim and dispense euros at standard interbank rates plus individual card issuer fees. Estonia adopted the euro on January 1, 2011, replacing the kroon at a fixed rate of 15.6466 krooni per euro. No Estonian bank charges ATM withdrawal fees to foreign cardholders, though your issuing bank likely does. The Swedbank ATM nearest to customs exit accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, and JCB cards.
The tram line connecting the airport to Tallinn city center began operation on October 24, 2017. Tram number 4 departs from a covered platform 120 meters from the terminal exit, reached by a marked walkway. The journey to the final stop at Balti Jaam (Baltic Station) takes 16 to 18 minutes depending on traffic signals. Trams run every ten minutes from 6:00 to 23:00 on weekdays, every twelve minutes on weekends. A single journey ticket costs two euros when purchased from the conductor using cash or contactless card. The same ticket costs 1.50 euros when purchased through the Tallinn transport mobile app or at the airport information desk. Tickets validate for one hour on all Tallinn public transport. The tram passes through Ülemiste, Kadriorg, and Viru districts before terminating at Balti Jaam, which connects to bus and train networks.
Tallinn public transport operates on an honor system with random inspections. Controllers wear yellow vests and carry handheld validators. The fine for riding without a valid ticket is 40 euros if paid immediately to the controller, 60 euros if paid within three days at a service center. Controllers accept cash euros only, not cards. The transport app is called Pilet and works in Estonian, English, and Russian. It requires a functioning mobile data connection to purchase tickets. If data roaming is expensive, purchase a paper ticket before boarding.
Taxis queue directly outside the arrivals hall exit. Official airport taxis display yellow license plates and a taxi sign on the roof. Since November 2020, all legal taxis in Tallinn must use taximeters. The flat rate from airport to city center is twelve euros, established by city regulation and displayed on a sign at the taxi rank. Journey time ranges from ten to fifteen minutes in light traffic, twenty-five to thirty-five minutes during morning rush (7:30-9:00) and evening rush (16:30-18:30). Drivers accept cash euros and most accept contactless cards. Bolt (the ride-hailing app founded in Tallinn in 2013 under the name Taxify) charges seven to nine euros for the same journey. Uber withdrew from Estonia in 2018. The Bolt app requires mobile data and a payment card on file. In January 2023, Tallinn taxi regulations mandated that all meters display price in euros with two decimal places and print receipts when requested.
Rental car desks for Avis, Europcar, Sixt, Hertz, and Budget operate from a corridor on the ground floor of the terminal, past baggage claim and before the exit. All require an international credit card in the driver's name and a valid license held for at least one year. Drivers using licenses in non-Latin scripts must present an International Driving Permit. Roads in Estonia drive on the right. Speed limits are 50 kilometers per hour in urban areas, 90 on rural roads, and 110 on motorways unless otherwise marked. The E263 motorway connects the airport to central Tallinn in twelve minutes outside rush periods. Winter tires are mandatory from December 1 to March 1. Between October 15 and April 1, rental agencies may require winter tires depending on weather. All agencies charge extra for winter tire fitting.
Tallinn Port (Vanasadam, Old Harbor) serves ferry connections from Helsinki, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg. Terminals A, B, C, and D spread along a two-kilometer waterfront north of the Old Town. Terminal D (D-Terminal), opened in 2017, handles the majority of Helsinki traffic. Tallink and Viking Line operate hourly crossings during daytime hours, with reduced frequency in early morning and late evening. The Helsinki-Tallinn crossing takes two hours on conventional ferries, 90 minutes on high-speed craft. Stockholm ferries dock at Terminal A after an overnight journey of approximately sixteen hours. Foot passengers exit terminals directly into parking areas with minimal infrastructure. Bus number 2 stops 400 meters from Terminal D and runs to Viru keskus (city center) in fifteen minutes. Taxis wait outside each terminal. The fixed rate to Old Town is eight euros from any port terminal.
Arriving by ferry from Helsinki places you at the port between 9:30 and 18:00 depending on which departure you selected. The 7:30 departure from Helsinki docks in Tallinn at 9:30. The final convenient day crossing departs Helsinki at 16:30 and arrives at 18:30. Later ferries are classified as overnight services, arriving the next morning. If your ferry docks after 23:00, tram service has ended and bus frequency drops to every thirty minutes. Taxis remain available but confirm the metered rate before entering. Some drivers attempt to negotiate higher rates with late arrivals.
St. Petersburg train service ceased in February 2022 and has not resumed. The previous route used the overnight train departing Moskovsky Station in St. Petersburg at 23:59 and arriving at Balti Jaam in Tallinn at 8:26. No replacement service exists. Riga-Tallinn bus service operates via Lux Express with five to seven daily departures. The journey takes four hours and fifteen minutes. Buses depart from Tallinn Bus Station (autobussijaam) at Lastekodu 46, located 1.2 kilometers southeast of Old Town. Tram 2 and tram 4 stop directly outside the bus station.
The currency situation requires clarity because misinformation circulates widely. Estonia uses the euro. No establishment legally accepts the kroon. Some tourist-facing restaurants print prices in euros and krooni on menus as a historical reference, but payment occurs in euros only. Sweden uses the krona. Russia uses the ruble. Latvia uses the euro. If arriving from any of these countries, exchange remaining currency at airport exchange counters before exiting, as exchange options in the city center carry worse rates and shorter operating hours. The Tavid exchange counter in the arrivals hall opens from 6:00 to 23:00 daily.
Estonia enforces customs limits on alcohol and tobacco aligned with European Union standards. Travelers from non-EU countries may import one liter of spirits above 22 percent alcohol or two liters below 22 percent, plus four liters of wine and sixteen liters of beer. Tobacco allowance is 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of tobacco. Travelers arriving from EU countries face no limits for personal use, but quantities exceeding 10 liters of spirits, 90 liters of wine, or 110 liters of beer trigger questions about commercial intent. The customs hall at Tallinn Airport uses red and green channels. If carrying nothing to declare, walk through green. If unsure, use red. Officers conduct random bag checks in the green channel approximately once per hundred passengers.