Estonia travel guide

Estonia is a safe European country with low crime rate. Use your common sense and you’ll be okay.

Please make sure not to drink any alcohol before driving – there’s zero tolerance and harsh penalties for drink-driving.

The police should generally speak English and they are very helpful. In case of emergencies call 110 for police and 112 for emergency (ambulance & fire brigade).

Estonia is a member of the Schengen Agreement. For EU, EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or Swiss citizens, an officially approved ID card (or a passport) is sufficient for entry. In no case will they need a visa for a stay of any length. Others will generally need a passport for entry.

There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty - the European Union (except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom), Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen member is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented the treaty. But be careful: Not all EU members have signed the Schengen treaty, and not all Schengen members are part of the European Union.

As of January 2010 only the citizens of the following non-EU/EEA/Swiss countries do not need a visa for entry into the Schengen Area; note that they must not stay longer than three months in half a year and must not work while in the EU: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Macedonia*, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro*, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Serbia*/**, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela, additionally persons holding British National (Overseas), Hong Kong SAR or Macau SAR passports.

FILM FESTIVALS

* Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). November/December. The festival combines a feature film festival with the sub-festivals of animated films, student films and children/youth films.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

* Tallinn Music Week, Tallinn. Spring. Showcase festival, aiming to stage the best and most outstanding Estonian talent on two nights in Tallinn's most vibrant live venues, as well as a networking event for the music industry professionals.

* Tallinn International Festival Jazzkaar. April. In addition to Tallinn jazz concerts also take place in Tartu and Pärnu.

* Tallinn Old Town Days, Tallinn. May/June.

* The Estonian Song Celebration (In Estonian: Laulupidu). First held in 1869, takes place every five years. In 2009, 35,000 choral singers gathered to perform for an audience of 90,000 people. It is recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

* Õllesummer Festival, (Tallinn). July. Approx 70,000 people attend the festival each year over the course of 4 days.

* Viljandi Folk Music Festival, Viljandi. July. Annual folk music festival in a small but picturesque town of Viljandi. Each year the festival draws over 20,000 visitors.

* Saaremaa Opera Days, Saaremaa. July.

* Leigo Lake Music Festival, near Otepää. August. Open-air concerts are held in completely natural venues on the hilly landscapes of the Otepää highland. The musicians' stage is on an island in the lake, surrounded by thousands of listeners on the sloping shore.

* Birgitta Festival, Tallinn. August. Music and theatre festival, held at the ruins of the historical Pirita (St. Bridget's) convent.

SPORT EVENTS

* Simpel Session, Tallinn. Summer/Winter. International skateboarding and BMX event.

Cars and motorcycles are the best ways to travel around Estonia as the roads are in good condition.

All road construction is done in summer time, because of our climate, so you can expect to encounter speed limits and some traffic diversions in summer.

Numerous ferries connect the mainland to the islands. Advance booking is advisable in summer during the peak tourism season.

Trains are relatively slow and cheap in Estonia. From Tallinn it is possible to reach most major cities by train: Narva, Tartu, Pärnu, Viljandi, Rapla, Valga plus some smaller towns.

More information: http://www.edel.ee

By bus you can reach almost everywhere in Estonia. They are faster than trains, but can be more expensive. Tallinn-Tartu lines have free wireless internet access on-board.

More information: http://www.bussireisid.ee and http://www.peatus.ee

Hitchhiking is common in Estonia. It is also safe (at least safer than in most countries). That doesn't mean that one should hop into any car that stops. Use your common sense and be careful who you accept a lift from.

BY PLANE

Tallinn is Estonia's international gateway. In addition to direct daily flights to/from all major Scandinavian (Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo), and Baltic cities (Riga, Vilnius) there are direct flights from all major European hubs like London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam and regional hubs like Prague and Warsaw. Eastward connections are from Moscow and Kiev. Local carrier Estonian Air provides half of the services and the rest is provided by Finnair, SAS, Lufthansa, LOT, CSA, Air Baltic and others. Easyjet is one of a few low-cost carriers that provide service between Tallinn and major European cities.

Close proximity and excellent ferry services with Helsinki allow for combination of open-jaw air travel.

Daily domestic flights are from Tallinn to the islands of Hiiumaa (Kärdla) and Saaremaa (Kuressaare).

* Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport or Ülemiste Airport (IATA: TLL) (ICAO: EETN), about 5 km from the city center, is increasingly becoming an airport hub of the Baltics. Estonian Air provides good quality services to a series of European cities. Other major airlines include Finnair, SAS and EasyJet. Bus line 2 rans from the airport to downtown Tallinn, taxis are also available.

* Tartu Airport or Ülenurme Airport (IATA: TAY, ICAO: EETU) is located 10km from Tartu centre. International flights include Riga and Stockholm. The airport's bus stop is located in front of the terminal. Bus travels on the route Ülenurme - Tartu City Centre. The bus fare is 15EEK (about 1EUR) and tickets can be bought from the bus driver.

* Kuressaare Airport (IATA: URE, ICAO: EEKE) is situated 3 km from the town of Kuressaare on Saaremaa island and offers regular flights to Stockholm and domestic flights.

BY TRAIN

International train services are to/from Russia, Moscow. Domestic services connect Tallinn with Narva in the east and Viljandi in the south, Pärnu in the south-west, Tartu and Valga in the south-east.

BY CAR

Good road connections are to the south (Via Baltica routing Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius-Warsaw) and east (Tallinn-Saint Petersburg). Domestic road network is dense and covers all regions of the country.

BY BUS

Lots of good and cheap connections from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Kaliningrad, Warsaw, and all larger Baltic and German cities. The most popular service provider is Eurolines, others include Ecolines, BalticShuttle and Hansabuss.

Eurolines can provide visa services to Russia, however it takes two weeks (one week rush).

BY BOAT

Ferry lines connect Tallinn with Sweden (Stockholm), Finland (Helsinki, Mariehamn) and also with Germany (Rostock) during the summer months. Tallinn-Helsinki is one of the busiest searoutes in Europe and has daily 20 ferry crossings and nearly 30 different fast-boat and hydrofoil crossings (the latter do not operate during winter). For details see Port of Tallinn passenger schedules.

Minor international routes include recently re-established connection between Latvia port of Ventspils and the island of Saaremaa and Paldiski - Kapellskär (Sweden) with two different operators.