Interrail Wiki

Wiki about Interrailing in Europe

Interrailing in Finland

In Finland there are two main types of trains; commuter trains and domestic long-distance trains. Train travel is safe and reliable in Finland – and generally the whole country is safe to visit. Just don’t sleep at train stations! 😉 Somebody will ask that, always… You will be kicked off from the station.

Stations in Helsinki

Main station of Helsinki is just called ‘Helsinki’. Every train going to/from Helsinki also stops at Pasila if you need to switch trains. Smaller train stations at Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa are just named after the neighborhood the station is in, so the station names don’t mention Helsinki in them (for example, Pasila. It’s approximately 5 min from Helsinki main station, it’s still in the city of Helsinki but it’s just called Pasila). If you are traveling from direction of Tampere to direction of Turku and you need to change trains, it is easiest to do in Pasila. Any transfers should be doable in 5-7 minutes in Pasila, where station is just a one platform on top of tracks, when in Helsinki main station it can take 15 minnutes or more, if you do not know the underground shortcuts. Helsinki is end of the railways, so you need to make a quite long detour to get from platform 2 to platform 17. Long-distance trains from/to Helsinki always use the middle tracks, that are closest to the main enterance.

Reservations and pass validity

You cannot reserve seats by yourself on the Internet, you need to call VR if you want to reserve a seat. Reservations cannot be made in their chat. Reservations are not mandatory for seats, but are required for beds in night trains. Reservation prices fluctuate; price to reserve seat is 25% of the full-priced single ticket for seats and 50% for beds in night trains. Reservations are only possible on Intercity (IC), Night trains and Pendolino/Pendolino Plus (S) trains. Single ticket prices are easy to check on VR.fi. Booking in advance is usually cheaper.

You can use replacement buses even you do not have a reservation for the train that it is replacing. This is confirmed from VR in August 2022.

TLDR; Interrail pass is valid on all VR trains.

From 2024 or 2025, HSL (Helsinki Regional trains) aren’t included in Interrail pass anymore. Below is a line map of commuter trains. Interrail is valid on green VR trains, not purple HSL trains, which require you to buy a ticket.

Railway stations and routes on a map

https://www.vr.fi/en/railway-stations-and-routes

Train timetables are available on (vr.f)[vr.fi] Official App is VR Matkalla, available on:

Apple:

Android

OR at reittiopas.fi if you’re at on HSL area (Helsinki region).

Interrail is not valid on metros in Helsinki and Espoo. With HSL app you can buy tickets for trams, local busses and metros. Bus and tram drives do not sell tickets, but contactless payment for adults is avaible in all HSL vechiles. You can also buy the ticket in advance with an app or from a ticket machine or a shop selling the tickets. App sells the cheapest tickets, next is the contactless payment and most expensive way is to use shops to purchase tickets. Map of ticket machines and shops can be found here. Tickets prices starts at 3€. Day tickets starts at 9€. HSL website and app called Reittiopas (Journey Planner) suggest what ticket you need if you travel with bus/tram/metro or with Ferry to Suomenlinna. You need to have valid ticket with you when boarding into tram or bus. When travelling with metro, you need to have valid ticket before entering the metro platform area – so before going into the elevator or escalator. There is blue line and card readers which indicate the start of metro platform area. There is sometimes ticket control in the metro platform before entering the metro train itself, so really, be sure to have valid ticket before entering the platform area. Buying ticket on the escalators can cost you €100… Controllers know how much time the escalator trip takes and they will look in which second you bought your ticket. Buy it before entering the escalators/lift.

Accessible train travel

The M, G and O commuter trains are unfortunately not accessible by wheelchair.

VR offers a free taxi service between Kotka and Kouvola if you can not board the O-train. This service is availabel ONLY between Kotka and Kouvola. Call VR customer support before using this service to make sure interrail pass is eligible for the service. https://www.vr.fi/en/facilities-and-services/accessible-train-travel

Generally, all other trains should be accessible. You can use vr.fi to start make a new booking and filter that you are traveling with a wheelchair. That will only show trains with step-free access. There is one Z and R train during rush hour that is not accessible. This can be seen in the station screens with small steps symbol. It is also visible on Train Departures web site, https://junalahdot.fi/?lang=3

VR has customer service for accessible train travel. It’s contact details can be found here:

https://www.vr.fi/en/facilities-and-services/accessible-train-travel

Commuter trains

Commuter trains doesn’t require reservation and it’s impossible to make one. All seats are free to take, so go into the train, choose your preferred seat and show your ticket if asked.

Regional trains

https://www.vr.fi/en/trains/regional-trains Like commuter trains but between smaller cities and often older trains. These cannot be found on Helsinki region. No reservation needed or even possible, just hop on the train an show your ticket if it’s asked.

Railbus Dm12

https://www.vr.fi/en/trains/railcars

Photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/VR_Class_Dm12_4401_Rail_Bus.jpg

Railbuses have no locomotives, as the machinery moving the train is part of the coach. Railbuses operate on non-electrified railway line sections. They are diesel trains. Please note that railbuses have less space for luggage than other trains

Reservations

Cost of reservation is dynamic, starting on 2024. Seat is 25% of the single ticket price and bed on a sleeper is 50% of the ticket price.

Long-distance trains

InterCity (IC in timetables) or Pendolino/Pendolino Plus (S in timetables). IC is the most common long-distance train in Finland.

No separate first and second class. There is Extra Class “for more comfortable travel”, which is kinda first class. Consult customer service or your conductor if you want travel here. With full priced tickets it cost usually around €10-15 to upgrade in two hour journey, and around €15-25 in four hour journey.

On normal priced train tickets in Finland the seat is included in the price, so that’s why there is no self service possibility to reserve seat only. If you sit on a random free seat, do not be surprised if someone says that you are sitting on their seat – it is possible, since all non-Interrail passengers have a spesific seat reserved to them in their ticket. You can start to make a booking in VR website to see what seats are avaible.

If you wanna bed in your sleeper train, you need to reserve it. Bed is ready made and quite comfortable 🙂 Usually 2 beds per cabin, some older train cars might have 3 beds. Reserve beds via phone or at train station with customer service (only in person in Helsinki, so I recommend calling to VR). Reservation can be paid with credit/debit card on the phone, the reservation will be send into your email. No need for printing it.

2-person cabin for night train from Helsinki-Kemijärvi

Tip: You can check available seats by trying to buy a ticket on vr.fi. Find the train you’re planning to take and select a seat you would like to have. You cannot reserve seat only, but you will see which ones are taken 😉 This also applies to beds. If you reserve a seat or bed, you can ask the customer service to select a spesific seat for you – just say the carriage and seat/bed number.

To see more information about the actual trains, see

Night trains

If you book your night train early, you can get private cabin for €49 with full priced ticket. So if you wanna buy a private cabin for night train, decide if it’s cheaper to pay for a reservation + Interrail Travel day or just buy a regular train ticket online. https://www.vr.fi/en/night-trains

  • Restaurant cars
  • Cabins are for 1–2 or 1–3 people.
  • You can also select an adjoining downstairs cabin (2 + 2 persons), with a partition that can be opened. You can book these cabins via our customer service.
  • Accessible & pet cabins available.

Night train cabin prices

These prices are checked from VR on September 2022. VR does not sell only beds since start of the pandemic, but whole cabins only. From helsinki to North (Oulu, Rovaniemi, Kemi, Kolari, Kemijärvi, Tornio) the price of night train reservation is 100-104€ per cabin. Note that it is the same price for either 1 or 2 people. Price asked from VR in September 2024 a few days before departure for 2-person cabin Helsinki-Rovaniemi was €92. The reservation price starting from 2024 is dynamic, and it is 50% of the normal price seen on vr.fi. So booking in advance can save you money.

There is no quota for Interrail travelers, so if there are cabins left on the train, you can reserve it for yourself by calling VR. The bedding will be provided for 2 passengers either way, and both passengers will need to have an Interrail pass. There are a few cabins set aside for traveling with pets. They will come with a dog bowl and will be right by the door. These are very limited in number, so it is advised to book as early as possible.

The restaurant cars are open till 2AM. Cost of main dishes ranges from €12-16 and starters are around €7. Salads are around €10. Alcohol is also served and can be expected to cost €10-15 per serving.


Maps

Trains on live map

View your train on map. See next stations and if it’s delayed or not etc. https://junatkartalla.vr.fi/?lang=en-US Train schedules by Fintraffic, shows also platforms: https://junalahdot.fi/?lang=3

Station maps in Helsinki region

https://www.hsl.fi/en/travelling/printable-maps-and-timetables

Station maps on other parts of Finland

Site is in Finnish, but just click the name of the station to download a map (png or PDF) https://vayla.fi/vaylista/aineistot/kartat/asemien-lahialuekartat

International connections

One international connection, starting from 2026, and luckily multiple other (cheap) options.

Sweden

Only international train to/from Finland serves between north Finland and north Sweden: Train stops at Oulu, Kemi, Tornio-Itäinen, Tornio, Haaparanta (Sweden). Interrail is valid.

https://www.vr.fi/en/by-train-to-haaparanta

Another option is to take train from Helsinki to Tornio-Itäinen if the timetables to Haaparanta does not work for you. You can easily walk to Haaparanta/Haparanda (Sweden). It’s about 4-5 km walk. There is one hour difference between Finnish and Swedish time zones, so be aware of that. Trains stop more often in Kemi than in Tornio. There are some busses between Kemi and Torniom see Matkahuolto.

Ferries between Finland and Sweden

Take a night ferry from Turku or Helsinki to Stockholm, Sweden. Interrail discounts available, ferry with own cabin starts at about 25€. Daytime ferries also avaible between Stockholm and Turku. Use Benefits portal and select ‘Ferries’ as a category. Multiple companies offer this journey; Tallink Silja & Viking Line. Multiple ferries every day and basically every company is offering same services and same kind of ferries, so choose the one that has the best price and timetables for you. https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/ Note that sometimes ferries are cheaper when you join their free discount program (for example Viking Line club) than if you were to use Interrail discount.

Estonia

Ferry from Helsinki (multiple ports in Helsinki available) to Tallinn. Abour 2-3 hour journey or night at ferry. Use Benefits portal and select ‘Ferries’ as a category. Multiple companies offer this journey; Tallink Silja & Viking Line. https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/ Eckerö Line also offers this trip. No Interrail discount available, but day ferries starts at 4€. Multiple ferries every day and basically every company is offering same services and same kind of ferries, so choose the one that has the best price and timetables for you.

Germany

There is option to take a ferry Helsinki – Travemünde. It’s almost 24 hours. Interrail discount available: https://benefitsportal.eurail.com/benefits/finnlines-ferries/ This is more a cargo ship type ferry than ferries between Finland and Sweden or Estonia. Also less ferries and more expensive trip.

Other things to know

Busses

Cheap busses to places without railways

Limited journey opportunities. https://www.onnibus.com/home

Long-distance busses in Finland

https://liput.matkahuolto.fi/connectionsearch?lang=en#breadcrumb

Things to know

  • Water is very high quality and you can drink straight from the faucet. Carry your own water bottle, don’t use your money to bottled water 🙂
  • Credit & debit cards works almost everywhere. Small amount of cash is of course nice to have with you.
  • Don’t assume that you can buy a bus ticket from the driver. It’s often required to buy in advance.
  • Most of adults speak English, especially younger ones.
  • Nature here is beautiful and you should enjoy it! You can go camping, pick some mushrooms and berries and go to swim at random lakes. More about everyman’s rights: https://www.visitfinland.com/en/articles/finnish-everyman-rights-the-right-to-roam/
  • National parks in Finland https://www.nationalparks.fi/

Skiing in Lapland

Long-distance trains have excellent interchange opportunities to skiing resorts all across Lapland from Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi, Kolari and Oulu. VR has a great page about it: https://www.vr.fi/en/to-lapland-by-train

Finnish cities to visit

Trying to keep this part quite short. You can find more info about these places with Google or with links I provided here 🙂

Helsinki

City-owned website about things in Helsinki: https://www.myhelsinki.fi/

Porvoo – city with heritage railway

Starting from 2026, heritage railway runs from Helsinki, Kerava or from Sipoo to Porvoo. See timetables on their website (Interrail is not valid): https://www.porvoonmuseorautatie.fi/44449

🚍 About one hour bus journey from Helsinki. 5-10€. Tickets & Timetables from Onnibus or Matkahuolto. 🚍 Bus timetables inside the city of Porvoo can be also found on Matkahuolto. Beautiful old city & Cathedral. https://www.visitporvoo.fi/en/sights/old-porvoo/ https://www.visitporvoo.fi/en/sights/must-to-see-in-porvoo/

Turku

Lapland

  • 🐻‍❄️ No polar bears 😉 But the most amazing nature in both winter and summer.
  • Accomodation is expensive especially in the peak times (middle of summer and winter).
  • https://www.vr.fi/en/to-lapland-by-train

Tampere

Hyvinkää

Small Finnish city with Railway museum (Rautatiemuseo). Commuter train R from Helsinki (to Riihimäki, via Hyvinkää) takes about 45 min. Trains run every 30 minutes. Possible day trip destination from Helsinki. There is a small shopping center called Willa in Hyvinkää, few restaurants and cafes there. Kulmakonditoria aka Kulmis is a local gem offering cafe and food. Cinnamon bun is classic!

Kuopio

Jyväskylä

Savonlinna

Oulu

https://visitoulu.fi/en/

Vaasa

https://www.vaasa.fi/en/see-and-experience/

Kotka

Originally written by u/vignoniana, last updated by u/seqv on October 2023 & vignoniana on 2026.