Travel guide to Solmukohta 2024

A Week in Finland and Solmukohta 2024 are both taking place in Tampere, Finland. If travelling from outside the country, your first likely destinations are Helsinki or Turku; both of which are about 2 hours’ travel to Tampere.

Note that April in Tampere averages a balmy 0-8°C, and while weather shouldn’t cause too many disturbances for transport, you’ll still want good shoes and some warm clothes to get around comfortably.

Nearly everyone you meet will likely speak at least a little English. Customer service culture in Finland isn’t overly friendly or talkative; do not expect bus drivers to smile, or say hello.

Finland uses euros (€), and most cards should be accepted everywhere. Card payment is possible in nearly all shops, bars, restaurants, and taxis. Tipping is not customary in bars, restaurants, or taxis.

Trains are operated by VR, and there are multiple coach operators. A good site and app that consolidates all bus and train travel allowing you to search for the best options is Perille. Bus and train tickets are usually readable from your phone. Trains and most coaches have power outlets or USB sockets and free (though not 100% reliable) WiFi.

Arrival and departure times

Check in to Solmukohta 2024 begins at 15:00 on Thursday 11th, with opening ceremony starting at 17:00.

Check out from the hotel should be done by 12:00 on Sunday 14th. Closing ceremonies start at 12.00, and will be over before 13.00, at which time we will need to be out of the conference areas.

Getting to Finland

Flying

For the majority of participants flying to Finland we recommend flying to Helsinki and continuing from there to Tampere with a train or a bus.

There is an airport in Tampere, the Tampere-Pirkkala airport, that has some direct flights e.g. from Stockholm and Riga. Please, do not fly to Tampere via Helsinki, as that is not only a carbon nightmare but also not very convenient; the airport is some distance away from the city proper and it is as fast to take the train from Helsinki.

Boat

Getting to Helsinki from Tallinn, Estonia is a fast and easy 2-hour trip that can cost as little as €10. Ferries from Tallinn arrive in Helsinki throughout the day.

You may also travel from Stockholm, Sweden, either taking a ferry to Helsinki or Turku (Åbo). You can book a cabin with up to 4 people, and if you book when there’s a sale, you can get a ticket for less than €20 per person each way. Ferries from Stockholm arrive in Helsinki the next morning; ferries from Turku sail twice a day, one overnight, which arrives in the morning, and one that sails in the morning to arrive in the evening. Note that WiFi coverage can get spotty on some ferries, so go enjoy the karaoke bar.

Ferries arrive in one of three harbours in Helsinki, but all three have good public transport connections to the railway station and bus terminals. The Port of Turku is connected to the long-distance trains (the station is called Turku Satama).

Booking:
Viking Line – routes from Stockholm and Tallinn
Tallink Silja – routes from Stockholm and Tallinn
Eckerö Line – Tallinn-Helsinki only

Getting to Tampere

Train

Trains from Helsinki to Tampere run several times per day. The travel time is 1.5-2 hours. When departing straight from the Helsinki airport you need to first take the regional train P to Tikkurila and from there continue on to Tampere.

From Turku the travel time is about 2-3 hours, and the stations are either Turku or Turku Port.

Train tickets must be purchased in advance before getting on the train. You can plan your journey and purchase your tickets from VR’s webpage. We recommend you buy your train tickets several weeks in advance for the best price. Travel cost from Helsinki and Turku to Tampere vary typically between €8.90 and €25.

If you are travelling with a group of friends, you can buy a maximum of 10 individual train tickets at a time from the VR online shop.

Bus

There are also numerous bus companies operating between the cities of Helsinki and Tampere, and Turku and Tampere. The cost of a bus ticket is usually lower than the train option. We recommend checking the timetables and the ticket prices on Matkakeisari that does the search across multiple operators.

Purchasing your ticket in well in advance will ensure the best price. Prices vary from as low as €5 up to €30 depending on the company and how much in advance you buy the ticket. All of these trips are about two to two-and-a-half hours.

If you’re going straight from the Helsinki airport to Tampere, there are a few bus connections with Onnibus or Matkahuolto. In Helsinki city centre, buses depart from the long distance bus terminal in the basement floor of Kamppi mall, a 5-10 minutes walk from the railway station. Kamppi also houses a regional bus terminal on its ground floor so look for the Matkahuolto logo, to get to the long distance terminal.

In Turku, the bus station is in the city centre about 13 minutes’ walk from the central train station. There are also direct buses from Turku port to Tampere.

Getting around in Tampere

The central area of Tampere is very compact and thus very walkable. The distance from the main railway station to the hotel for example is 2.4 km.

For journey planning you can use the Nysse journey planner or Google Maps.

Nifty words

lentokenttä = airport
satama = port
rautatieasema = railway station
linja-autoasema = bus terminal
lippu / liput = ticket / tickets
juna = train
bussi = bus
taksi = taxi
olut = beer
siideri = cider
punaviini / valkoviini = red wine / white wine
kuohuviini / “skumppa” = sparkling wine
alkoholiton = alcohol-free
gluteeniton = gluten-free
laktoositon = lactose-free
kasvis = “veggie”
vegaani = vegan
kasvissyöjälle = for vegetarians
lihaton = meat-free
myötähäpeä = a shared sense of shame you get when you watch someone embarrass themselves in front of other people