Return route · €160 per car
Transfer and taxi Koidula — Tallinn: the way back from the border
Control is behind you and the barrier is up — that is where our part begins. We collect you on the Estonian side of Koidula and drive you to Tallinn: 270 kilometres via Tartu, about three hours, drop-off at the airport terminal, the port, a hotel or any address. There is no town and no taxi rank around the crossing, which is why the car back from here is booked in advance rather than found on the spot.
- per car
- €160
- on the road
- 3 h 5 min
- border to city
- 270 km
What the price covers
- The fare is fixed before departure: traffic and night trips do not change it
- Pickup at the airport and cruise port — the driver waits with a name board
- If your flight is delayed we wait as long as needed, at no extra cost
- A child seat on request, and no surcharge for luggage
- Pay in cash, by card or by bank transfer; no prepayment required
No scheduled transport leaves the crossing
Not a single bus leaves Koidula itself. The railway station is two kilometres from the checkpoint, but there are only a couple of trains a day on the line, and with suitcases that route looks easier on a map than on the ground. Timetables and opening hours change — check them before you travel.
In short. Koidula to Tallinn costs €160 for the whole car — up to four passengers with luggage. It is 270 km via Tartu, about 3 hours 5 minutes. The car waits on the Estonian side of the checkpoint, at the exit from its grounds.
Waiting is not billed. Nobody can say how long the queue on the Russian side will hold you, so we do not need an exact hour: give us an approximate one and the driver will wait. No prepayment, and you can settle in euros or in roubles, in cash, by card or by transfer.
The Russian side of this crossing is called Kunichina Gora; the Estonian side is Koidula. Need the other direction, from Tallinn to the border? That is the Tallinn — Koidula page, at the same price.
Price
What the Koidula — Tallinn taxi costs
The fare is the same as towards the border: the way back is not a separate service. You pay for the car rather than for a seat, so two, three or four passengers cost the same, and luggage does not change the sum.
| Service | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Koidula — Tallinn | €160 | the whole car, up to 4 passengers with luggage |
| Waiting at the checkpoint | €0 | the border queue cannot be predicted, so waiting time is not billed |
| Drop-off at Tallinn airport or the port | €0 | we take you to the terminal itself, not to the nearest stop |
| Koidula — Tartu | €80 | if Tallinn is not where you need: ≈ 65 km, about an hour |
| Luggage, child seat, late departure | €0 | no surcharge for suitcases or for the evening |
Paying. Cash to the driver — in euros or in roubles — by card or by bank transfer. There is no exchange office and no cash machine at Koidula, and Russian bank cards are not accepted in Estonia, so roubles help here more often than it sounds. No prepayment: the ride first, the settlement after.
Why you cannot simply hail a car at Koidula
The crossing sits in Setomaa, away from the main roads: 65 kilometres to Tartu, 270 to Tallinn, and Võru as the nearest town. There is no taxi rank at the checkpoint and no cars waiting — there are simply not that many local drivers. There is nobody to call through an app, and a Russian SIM card may not work in Estonia at all. A transfer booked in advance removes the whole chain: the driver is already there and knows who he is waiting for.
If Tallinn is not where you are going
From Koidula we also drive to Tartu for €80, and to Pärnu, Riga or the airport for a particular flight — those are quoted separately, so send the route and the time. The way back to the crossing is still €160: if you return in a few days, both trips can be booked in one message.
Airport and port
From Koidula to Tallinn airport and the port
Most of these trips are booked for a flight or a ferry. What matters is the countdown: three hours of driving plus an unpredictable border, and from that we work out when you need to be out of the checkpoint.
A flight from Lennart Meri airport
Give us the flight number and we will count the departure time backwards from check-in. On tickets and departure boards the airport is Tallinn Airport, code TLL; it is four kilometres from the centre, so the drive ends at the terminal door. If the border ate your margin, the driver tells you on the way rather than on arrival.
Ferries to Helsinki and Stockholm
We drop you at the right terminal in the Old Port; ferries and cruise berths have different entrances, so name the vessel or the operator in advance. Allow the same margin as for a flight — the ferry does not wait either.
Tartu on the way, not as a detour
The road from Koidula to Tallinn runs through Tartu anyway, so a drop-off there complicates nothing: tell us in advance and we will stop at the station, at Tartu airport or at an address. If Tallinn is not needed at all, the trip to Tartu costs €80.
How the trip works
How the way back from Koidula works
- 01
Tell us the date and roughly when you expect to be out
An exact hour is not needed — «in the morning» or «after lunch» is enough. If a flight or a ferry follows, give us its departure time and we will count backwards. The confirmation carries the price, the car's registration and the driver's phone: save it <strong>before</strong> you cross, because reception on the Russian side can disappear.
- 02
The driver waits beyond the control building
The car stands on the Estonian side of Koidula, at the exit from the checkpoint grounds. This is a road crossing, so people come out in different ways — some in the car that brought them to the border, some on foot after control; either way you are met at the exit.
- 03
The road through Setomaa and Tartu
First the local roads towards Põlva and Tartu, then the highway to Tallinn: 270 kilometres, about three hours. Halfway we stop for coffee and a stretch — after hours at the border that is usually worth more than twenty minutes saved, and the stop costs nothing extra.
- 04
Drop-off wherever you need
An airport terminal, a berth in the port, a station, a hotel or your front door — we drive to the address, not to the nearest main street. We unload the suitcases ourselves; you settle after the ride, in euros or roubles, in cash, by card or by transfer.
Comparison
Koidula — Tallinn: transfer, train or coach
The comparison is honest but short: there is almost nothing to compare at Koidula. The coach to Tallinn passes by, the train leaves from a station two kilometres away, and both options begin with walking there carrying your bags.
| Way | Price | Time | What matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| EstoniaTransfer private car | €160 per car | ≈ 3 h 5 min | the driver waits at the checkpoint, drop-off at the terminal or your address |
| Elron train with a change | Elron fares | line R46 plus Tartu — Tallinn | about 2 km on foot to the station, and only a couple of trains a day on the line |
| Ecolines coach Pskov — Tallinn | see the booking system | ≈ 7 h | it runs through the crossing, but boarding at the checkpoint itself is not provided for |
| Taxi from Võru or Tartu | by the meter plus the approach | ≈ 3 h 30 min | it has to be called in advance: no cars wait at the crossing, and the empty run out to it is in the fare |
When there is barely a choice. Crossing in the afternoon, once the train has gone. A flight or a ferry out of Tallinn the same day. A child, a pram or four suitcases between two people. And any situation in which two kilometres to the station means two kilometres along the verge with your luggage.
The car
The car waiting for you at Koidula
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid: four passenger seats, two large suitcases plus hand luggage in the boot, working climate control. On this route that is not a formality: the drive from Koidula is nearly an hour longer than the Narva one, and it starts where you have already spent hours at the border. In winter the car is on winter tyres — the first stretch runs on the local Setomaa roads, which are not the first to be cleared.
Kirill is at the wheel — the same person who answers WhatsApp and Telegram, and the one who will actually arrive. No dispatcher in between: you arrange everything with the driver himself. He speaks Russian, gets by in English, and takes it for granted that the hour you clear the queue is an estimate.
The border crossing
Where you are met at Koidula
The meeting point is the Estonian side of Koidula
The queue for entering Estonia
If you do not make it before closing
Phone numbers, just in case
Entering Estonia
What to allow for when entering Estonia through Koidula
As of September 2026. Rules on this direction change several times a year — check politsei.ee and the customs service before you travel; links at the end of the section.
Phones, money and no infrastructure at all
• A Russian SIM card may not work in Estonia at all: most operators have roaming switched off;
• cards issued by Russian banks are not accepted here;
• there is nowhere to get euros on the spot — the nearest cash machines are in Võru and Tartu;
• so save the driver's number and the car's registration before you cross;
• you can pay us in roubles — no need to look for an exchange office.
What you may bring into Estonia
• The officer at the border always has the final say;
• keep receipts for expensive items to hand, not at the bottom of a suitcase;
• prescription medicines with controlled substances need the prescription and a translation;
• we drive you to Tallinn, but the contents of your luggage are your responsibility, and we do not advise on customs.
A road crossing: how people come out of it
• A passenger driven to the border from the Russian side is cleared in Estonia and walks out of the checkpoint grounds alone;
• the rules for crossing on foot here have changed — if you are travelling without a car, check them in advance;
• how long control takes depends on the queue on the Russian side, not on the Estonian one;
• our part begins beyond the barrier and does not depend on how you came out.
Worth checking before you set off: politsei.ee for opening hours and crossing rules, emta.ee for what you may bring into Estonia.
FAQ
Transfer Koidula — Tallinn: common questions
How much does the Koidula — Tallinn transfer cost?
How long is the drive from Koidula to Tallinn?
Where exactly will the car be waiting?
What if the queue holds me up for hours?
Can I pay in roubles?
Can I leave Koidula by train or coach?
Will you take me straight to Tallinn airport?
Can I book both directions at once?
Book a transfer from Koidula to Tallinn
Send the date and roughly when you expect to clear the checkpoint — we will confirm the car, the price and the driver's number in one message. No prepayment; we wait on the Estonian side.
Prices and facts on this page were last checked . Crossing hours and border rules change — check politsei.ee before you travel.