Lappeenranta is well connected by road and rail, sitting on Highways 6 and 13 and on the eastern main railway line. Trains from Helsinki take about two hours and forty minutes; coaches around four hours. The city is 220 km from Helsinki, 230 km from Joensuu, and 156 km from Savonlinna.
Lappeenranta has a small airport with flights to Helsinki (about 40 minutes). The Saimaa Canal, which starts at Lappeenranta, links the lake system to the Gulf of Finland and handles most of eastern Finland's inland waterway traffic. The main cargo port at Mustola is on the canal within city limits.
As a border town, Lappeenranta is also a gateway to Russia. The Nuijamaa border crossing handles road traffic and the Vainikkala crossing handles rail. Vyborg is only about 56 km away, and St Petersburg roughly 215 km.