Estonia Mini Guide
Estonia is one of the Baltic countries in Northern Europe and it has an extensive coastline with the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of
Finland. Estonia has borders with Latvia and Russia and sea borders with
Sweden and Finland.
Its people the Estonians, are keen nature lovers and the country has a massive amount of protected wild areas. These include the Karula National Park and Lahemaa National Park which has bays, peninsulas and forests and is 50 kilometres east of Tallinn. There is also Matsalu National Park, Soomaa National Park (where a peat bog can be found) and Vilsandi National Park which covers 238 square kilometres, including 163 square kilometres of sea as well as 160 islands and islets. Among the sights to see are the Jägala Falls which are Estonia’s largest waterfall. However, with the summers being short and the winters long and severe, there is not much time in the year to enjoy this countryside without being confronted by abrasive weather.
As Estonia is part of the Schengen Agreement there are many nationals who can enter the country without having a visa. Tallinn is the major airport and it welcomes regular flights from all of the surrounding Scandinavian countries. Airlines going into Tallinn include Finnair, SAS, Lufthansa, LOT, CSA, Air Baltic and others. Easyjet is one of a few low-cost carriers which has flights between Tallinn and major European cities. There are some good deals and travellers can pay as little as 120 Euros or £80 Sterling to fly roundtrip from London to Tallinn. The local currency is the Estonian kroon and you get best value by waiting till you get to Estonia to change any money.
If you are driving you can get to Estonia from Warsaw in Poland or Moscow in Russia. It is possible to rent reliable Rhino hire cars from either of these major cities for the journey. If you are renting in Estonia you are sure to find the prices especially cheap. One day trip where you are sure to see some pleasing aspects of the Estonian countryside is to drive from Tallinn to the city of Tartu which is Estonia’s second biggest. The round trip is about five hours, the scenery is interesting and the roads are of good quality. Many travellers are interested to see historical aspects of Estonia, especially the remnants of its communist past.