Green travel means travelling in which the journey or part of the journey is made using low-emission means of transport (such as bus, train, or car-pooling; note! not ships or ferries) with the aim of minimising the emissions related to the mobility period, by reducing flying for example. The participant is entitled to the green travel grant when the main part (at least 50% in kilometres) of the whole travel, or at least one direction of the round trip, has been made using low-emission means of transport. Note that ship is not one of the green travel methods.

Starting form academic year 2024-2025, student who travels by using the green travel methods (at least 50% in kilometres) get higher travel grant than others. In addition, the student gets additional grant for actual travel days (max. for 6 days).

Travel Grants:

Additional grant for travel days (long-term exchanges):

• The grant for a travel day is the monthly grant for the destination divided by 30. For example, the grant is 540€/ month, the grant for travel day is 18€.
• when the main part of the travelled journey or at least one direction of the round trip has been made using low-emission transport, the grant will be paid according to the actual travel days, however, for a maximum of 6 travel days. For example, the student travels two days to the destination and two days back home with green travel methods, will receive 4 x 18€ = 72€ + Green travel grant from the table above (for example 417€ when the one way distance is 500 - 1999km).

Additional grant for travel days (short-term exchanges):

• The grant for a travel day is the same than for the physical part of the intensive week (79 € for exchanges less than 15 days)
• when the main part of the travelled journey or at least one direction of the round trip has been made using low-emission transport, the grant will be paid according to the actual travel days, however, for a maximum of 6 travel days. For example, the student travels two days to the destination and two days back home with green travel methods, will receive 4 x 79 € + Green travel grant from the table above (for example 417€ when the one way distance is 500 - 1999km).

A student living in Lahti goes on an exchange to Frankfurt, Germany

Example 1 

The round trip is considered as green travelling, because more than 50% of the round trip is made using low emission means of transport.

Example 2

The round trip is not considered as green travelling, because more than 50% of the round trip is made using high emission means of transport.

Example 3

The round trip is considered as green travelling, because more than 50% of the round trip is made using low emission means of transport.

In order to receive the green travel grant

• Use this distance calculator to help you with planning your trip and filling the Green Travel forms. The grant is based on the straight line one-way distance, but the actually travelled kilometres will determine whether the trip is considered green or not. The distance is calculated from Lappeenranta campus to the main campus of the host institution regardless of on which campus the student is studying.
• The grant is applied on the same application form as the exchange grant.
• The student must fill an official declaration for the green travel grant and keep all the tickets and receipts for a possible check-up. On the declaration the student indicates their travel plan with travelled kilometres and means of transport.
• Please contact LAB International Mobility Services (outgoing@lab.fi / placement@lab.fi / shortmobility@lab.fi), if you have any questions about the green travel grant.

Train trips in Europe

There is a diverse railway network in Europe. Find good international railway connections to other European cities for example from Stockholm, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt and Milan. Consider using night trains to save money and time. You don’t need to book a hotel room and you will be travelling to the next destination while sleeping.

If you travel to or via Germany, get to know Deutsche Bahn. DB offers multiple international connections and enables you to add a stopover to a specific city if you want to explore the city or sleep in a hotel and continue your trip later. The website allows you to plan the whole trip, but you might have to buy the tickets separately on different websites. 

When travelling in or to Central or Southern Europe, Omio offers a good variety of routes. Omio allows you to buy tickets to the whole trip. Also, get to know Trainline.

Railway connections outside Europe

• If you travel to the US or Canada, get to know Amtrak
• In Japan you can buy a train pass through the country. Get to know Central Japan Railway Company.
• In Australia: for example, NSW trains

More affordable tickets for students and young adults

• Many train companies offer price reductions for students and young adults.
• If you go on an exchange within the Erasmus+ programme, get to know Interrail Global Pass for Erasmus
• People under the age of 28 get an Interrail pass at a lower price.

Read more about travelling by train

• Map of the railways in the world
• Plan your journey – Erasmus by Train
• Plan Your Interrail Trip | Interrail.eu
• Interrail Pass for Erasmus+ exchange students
• InterrailEU YouTube channel

• Flixbus and Ecolines in Europe, Lux Express in the Baltics
• Megabus in Canada, the US, and the UK
• Greyhound in Canada, the US, and Mexico

Sometimes flying cannot be avoided. Even then you can make choices to reduce environmental impacts. Avoid stopovers that increase the carbon footprint and try to find direct flights instead. Take the direct flight to the closest airport possible and rather than a connecting flight, take the train or bus to your final destination, if possible. From Helsinki there are many direct flights to the big cities in Germany, for example, from where you can take the train to many locations in Europe.

You can reduce the carbon footprint of the flight on your behalf by packing lightly.

For now, the ships and ferries are not considered as environmentally friendly means of transportation. However, slowly there are more ferries and ships with low emission liquified natural gas (LNG). These ships are, for example, Viking Grace and Viking Glory between Turku and Stockholm, and TallinkSilja Megastar and MyStar between Helsinki and Tallinn. Travelling in the northern part of the Nordic countries, the ferry Aurora Botnia from Vaasa to Umeå uses LNG.

The Erasmus+ programme doesn't consider even the LNG ships as green travelling for the time being.

Travelling with your own or a rental car is greener if there are at least two travellers per one vehicle. It is worthwhile to network with the other students going to the same country or even same university and plan the travelling together.

You can take advantage of carpool applications in Europe, or carpooling groups on social media. Please be careful who are you sharing a ride with.

Tips for greener travelling:

• The Fair Traveller's Guide
• 40 Green Travel Tips (The Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Travel)
• Use this calculator to calculate the environmental impacts of your travelling.

Read experiences of going on student exchange by train:

• Going on student exchange by train