Out of all the travelling that I have done within Europe during the last few years, the train journey from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to Helsinki city centre is definitely one of the easiest, cheapest as well as one of the most user-friendly forms of transportation I have ever used and is by far the best way to travel after arriving in Helsinki.

During my visit, I took lots of photos and have written lots of up to date information, directions and instructions in this blog post to help anyone planning their own trip to Finland.

Helsinki Vantaa Airport is located 20km from the centre of Helsinki and the airport train station is located underground between Terminals 1 and 2. After leaving baggage reclaim and customs, just follow the signs for Railway Station / Rautatieasema / Järnvägsstation and do not worry as the entire walk is inside so you do not need to go outside during the freezing cold winter months. You also do not need to worry about getting lost – it really is so simple and all of the signs are predominately in English (as well as in Finnish and Swedish) so it is impossible to go wrong.

Our flight arrived into Terminal 2 and the walk from baggage reclaim and customs to the train station took just over five minutes. There are also toilets on the way to the station in case you need to use them before getting on the train to the city.

After following the Railway Station / Rautatieasema / Järnvägsstation signs, you will reach a series of two escalators (with a walkway between them) that will take you down to the train station itself. There are also elevators available if you have any larger bags or strollers with you.

Once on the platform you will see several ticket machines in the centre of the platform in front of you – you can use either these or the HSL App on your phone to buy your train tickets to travel into Helsinki.

We used the machines on the platform to buy our train tickets when we arrived in Helsinki and the HSL App (we both downloaded it before travelling to Finland) to buy the tickets for our return journey a few days later. I have included full instructions of how to buy tickets using the HSL App later in this blog post.

If you need to access mobile data whilst visiting Finland, you can purchase a travel E-Sim through Airalo. If you would like to use my referral code NIKKI8866 when signing up, you will receive £2.50 / US$3 off your first purchase.

Helsinki is split into different zones and as Vantaa Airport is located in Zone C and the city centre is in Zone A, you will need to buy an ABC ticket – and there are also signs along the walk to the station to tell you this. See I told you that it was easy!

The ticket machines can be used in Finnish as well as in English and Swedish. After selecting which language you want to use on the first screen:

Select “Helsinki City Center / ABC”

Select how many Adult/Child tickets you would like to purchase.

As of October 2021 the current ABC single ticket fares are:

Adult €4.10
Child (7-17) €2.10
Child (Aged 0-6) Free of Charge

There is no price difference to buying tickets on the machines at the station or on the HSL App.

You can pay for your tickets with Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard only) or by cash and all ABC tickets are valid for 90 mins from time of purchase.

There are two platforms at the train station – one for the P Train and one for the I Train and you can take either train as they both travel to Helsinki Central Station. The only difference is the P Train and the I Train travel in opposite directions in a loop from the city centre via Helsinki Airport and take different routes along the way.

Whilst it does not matter what train you take from the airport, the P Train is slightly quicker but as they both go to the same place, take whichever train arrives first – again I told you it was really easy. Also do not worry if the information screen above the platform briefly says Helsingfors as that is just the Swedish name for Helsinki.

The travel time from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to Helsinki Central Station is:

P Train – 28 Minutes
I Train – 33 Minutes

Trains usually run every ten minutes during the day so you will not have to wait for long for the next train if you just miss one. You can find the timetable here – make sure to check what time the first and last trains are especially if travelling early in the day or late at night.

Once onboard the train there are no dedicated luggage storage areas by the doors but there are racks above the seats and you can simply keep any larger bags on the floor next to you throughout the journey – just try not to block any of the aisles. There are also power points to charge your phone and you will be able to follow the journey on the television screens throughout the carriages and there are also announcements (including in English) at each stop.

There are occasionally spot checks by ticket inspectors so make sure to keep your ticket handy throughout the entire journey just in case you are asked for it – we were asked to show our tickets on our return journey at Helsinki Central Station before being allowed to enter the platform and board the train.

After arriving at Helsinki Central Station, you can use your ticket to transfer onto the metro, bus or tram (or even the Suomenlinna Ferry) as it is valid for 90 minutes after purchase.

It is also incredibly easy to buy train tickets using the HSL App. We bought our tickets for the return journey back to Helsinki Vantaa Airport using the App a few days later and it was a very quick and simple to do.

To buy tickets from Helsinki Central Station to Helsinki Airport using the HSL App simply:

Select “Single Ticket” and then choose “ABC” in the Travel Zone drop down list – you can also add the Departure and Destination stations if you prefer but going by Zone is much quicker and easier as you already know what ticket you need. Then select either Adult or Child and the time that you would like the ticket to be valid from – you can choose either “Now” or any time in the next twenty four hours.

In the Payment Method box, add your credit card details (you can use Visa, Mastercard or American Express) and click continue.

The QR code for your ticket will show in the App and you can then purchase any additional tickets for anyone else travelling with you if they do not have their own mobile device.

To get back to the airport from Helsinki Central Station, you simply need to take either the P Train or the I Train once again.

On the information screens, as well as the letters P and I, you can also look for the names Lentoasema / Flygplatsen / Airport – they all mean the same thing but the screens continuously change between Finnish, Swedish and English. There will also be an airplane logo next to each train going to the airport.

So that is how simple, quick and easy as well as cheap and inexpensive it is to take the train between Vantaa Airport and Helsinki City Centre. If you have any other questions about this train journey, Helsinki Airport or even visiting Helsinki itself, ask below in the comments and I will try to do my best to answer them.

Enjoy Finland!

Since this blog post was written back in 2022, some of the information may no longer be accurate or up to date. Be sure to do your own research and check official websites for the latest details before making any of your own travel plans.

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