The public transport which supplies Helsinki and its surrounding areas (including Vantaa, Espoo and Sipoo) is efficient and clean, but quite expensive - the cost of living here is generally high, and sadly the public transport is no exception. The city of Helsinki itself is pretty small, and most people will just walk or cycle around; public transport is extremely useful for reaching neighbouring areas.

The Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport is only 20km from the centre of Helsinki. By bus the journey is 30-35 minutes, either by Finnair or the local service, 615. You can use a regional bus ticket and the journey will cost around €5. The train service is also about 30 minutes, so there’s no real advantage to either method over the other.

Alternatively you can get into Helsinki by taxi. The advantage is that it can drop you wherever you want to go, but given it takes the same length of time as the bus and train, but costs €35, it’s probably not worth it unless you share with a few other travellers.

One of the best things about the public transport in Helsinki is the universal ticketing system. For the entire region, a single ticket is valid on any form of transport, whether it’s bus, tram or metro. It’s €3.20 for a single ticket, however if you use a Helsinki Travel Card then you are entitled to a substantial discount, only €2.06 per ticket.

Of course it’s possible to use longer-duration tickets if you are regularly making trips, but you need to be making quite a lot of journeys for it to be worthwhile. If you’re living a fair while from the university, it might be very useful for you. With the travel card, a 30-day pass is €52.40, or €127 without one. Since the card only costs €5 to buy, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to get one if you want a season ticket!

You can find the timetables and any news regarding delays or works being conducted on the HSL website.