The
easiest way to get to Pärnu is to take a bus either from
Tallinn (ca. 2 hours) or
from Riga (ca. 2.5 hours). The buses run regularly almost every hour. Recommended
bus lines: Lux Express and Ecolines. Other options are available.
The Pärnu bus station (Pärnu bussijaam) is a modern building on the border of the old
town. The hotels are within a pleasant 3-15 minute walk. You can also call a taxi
Both Tallinn and, especially, Riga are well-connected to the major European airports.
These cities (together with Vilnius) serve as hubs for AirBaltic, which flies the new
Airbus A220 (formerly Bombardier CSeries).
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from Riga (ca. 2.5 hours). The buses run regularly almost every hour. Recommended
bus lines: Lux Express and Ecolines. Other options are available.
The Pärnu bus station (Pärnu bussijaam) is a modern building on the border of the old
town. The hotels are within a pleasant 3-15 minute walk. You can also call a taxi
Both Tallinn and, especially, Riga are well-connected to the major European airports.
These cities (together with Vilnius) serve as hubs for AirBaltic, which flies the new
Airbus A220 (formerly Bombardier CSeries).
====================================================
How to get to Riga Bus Terminal from Riga airport.
When you exit the airport building in Riga, walk ca. 50 meters on the walkway
to reach a Narvesen kiosk and buy a bus ticket. The kiosk is located inside
the gray building on your right:
The ticket is valid for a
single ride only and costs 1.15 EUR (as of March 2019). The same ticket purchased from the driver
costs 2 euros (exact change is often required).
Proceed to the bus stop, located across the parking lot, slightly to the right.
You can see a bus at the bus stop on the previous slide.
Once you have reached the bus stop, look back to see the airport entrance
(zoom in and you can see a Narvesen sign on the right).
At the bus stop you have two options: Bus 22 or Minibus 322. From my experience,
the minibus runs more often, every 10-15 minutes (that's what the schedule looked
like on June 11
), is
more comfortable, and runs faster. Here is the regular busschedule
The bus terminal in Riga is very close to the main rail station. You should get off
at the Stockmann shopping center, which is between the two.
The ride should take you about 20-25 minutes.
The taxi service in Riga is much more expensive - expect to pay 20 euros or more.
The last time I was in Riga, Uber was not available there.
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How to get to Tallinn Bus Terminal from Tallinn airport.
By public transportation: Tram No. 4 goes directly from the airport (Lennujaam) to
the bus station (Bussijaam). Google Maps does not know about this tram line because
it is relatively new. You can see the bus station from the Bussijaam tram stop and will
need to walk 260m to get to the bus station. You can buy a ticket from the driver for
2 EUR (correct change is needed). The tram ride takes about 6 minutes. Consider this
option during rush hour. You can see the current location of the tram on this map.
Other options: Uber, Bolt, or a regular cab from the airport are all fine to use. Using
Uber or Bolt, the cost will be around 4 EUR during day time and the ride takes around
7 minutes in medium traffic.
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Bus from Tallinn to Pärnu. You may buy tickets online, at a machine at the bus station
(or at the airport), or at the bus station ticket counters. Most buses will take just under
2 hours to get to Pärnu. The buses are very frequent. Here is a schedule. Most buses
will have WiFi, but some local buses do not. Look for the WiFi symbol when booking your
ride. As the Pärnu Music Festival (and our own conference, of course) draws a lot of visitors,
it is strongly advisable to buy your tickets ahead of time. Here is some useful information
about tickets/e-tickets/sms-tickets/mobile app tickets/refunds etc.