Car Hire in Helsinki - Getting to Helsinki

Travelling to Helsinki from just about anywhere in the world is relatively easy. Most people arrive at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, where about 120 international flights touch down every day. It is located 19kms from the centre of the city, and the journey into town takes around 30 minutes. You can take the Finnair airport bus, number 615, to the railway station, or catch a taxi directly to your hotel.

By car from western Scandinavia, the quickest routes to Finland are the E3 or E4 to Stockholm; from there, catch the year-round 14- to 16-hour ferry to Helsinki. From Travemunde in Germany, there is a year-round high-speed car ferry that takes 22 hours to reach Helsinki. From Denmark, you can take the car ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg in Sweden, or the Øresund Bridge/tunnel from Copenhagen to Malmö, and then drive to Stockholm and catch the car ferry to Helsinki.

Train services connect Helsinki with Lapland, St Petersburg and Moscow. You will also find the train convenient if you plan to travel around the country, as there is a comprehensive rail network connecting Helsinki with all major Finnish towns. The Central Railway Station is one of the most impressive buildings in Helsinki, and a sight worth seeing in itself.

You can get around the country quite conveniently by bus. The Central Bus Station is located on Simonkatu, and there are hourly services leaving to most of the country's main cities and towns.

As Helsinki is on the sea, there is also the option of travelling by ferry for people travelling from or to Estonia, Sweden and Germany; services operate to these destinations on a daily basis.

Within Helsinki itself, you can get around on a public transport system that was rated second best in Europe in 2003. With a single ticket you can ride local buses, the metro and even the ferry across to Suomenlinna. In summer, you can also ride one of the city bikes that are parked in convenient locations around the city for a deposit of €2.