Getting Around Estonia

There are frequent connections to Helsinki in Finnland.

The journey takes minimum 1h and more.

There several lines with different prices.

It depends on if you are on a one way trip or and return trip.

See the hp for details.

A number of operators offer many daily trips to Tallinn, Estonia from Helsinki, Finland including Nordic Jet Line, Tallink, EstLine, and Silja Line. There is also regular service to/from Stockholm, Sweden and Rostock, Germany.

SEE AIR TRANSPORTATION INFO ON MY TALLINN PAGE.

To get around the country/region, use train and bus, I suppose, but I have not done it. I have only traveled within Tallinn.

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The tram network system in the city of Tallinn is comparatively short compared to those of other cities in Northern Europe. The total length of tram tracks in Tallinn is approximately 20 kilometers long.

There are only four tram lines in Tallinn linking four terminals in the city at Kopli, Kadriong, Ülemiste and Tondi. The trams are operated by TTTK. Nevertheless it has history which dates back to the late 19th century when first tram route was introduced in Tallinn! We boarded the tram in the town centre just for sight-seeing purposes and to satisfy our curiosity! Still it was quite a pleasant ride!

The Hop-on Hop-off open top London style double-decker city sight-seeing tour is an excellent way to see the city of Tallinn. It is very popular with foreign tourists especially families with children. You can get on and off the bus at any stop along the way. There are approximately 15 stops for red line town centre route.

City Sight-seeing Tour offers three different routes to choose, the other two are green line to Pirita and blue line to Rocco Al Mare. Heaphone commentaries in several languages are available on the bus. The Red line departs from Viru Väljak near the Viru Keskus Shopping Center. The sight-seeing's operating hours are between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. daily during the summer months. You may travel free-of-charge with the purchase of Tallinn Card.

Tallinn's Central Railway Station is located at Toompuiestee Street just outside the fortification wall on the northern end of the Old Town. It is a comparatively small central railway station with rail connections to Moscow and St. Petersburg. In other words it is possible to travel from any major cities in mainland Europe to Tallinn by trains. The railway station is still quite primitive and not modern by any standard! Nevertheless there are markets dealing in fresh food and vegetables at the Central Railway Station. You may even try your luck at slot machines inside the several casinos nearby!

Be aware that Estonia Air change their schedules for the summer and dont tell you or the operator that you booked the flight with! (Yes a scheduled airline that changes its schedule !!)
I had a return flight from London Gatwick to Tallinn on flight number OV101 on
Friday 25th May 2007 - my flight was booked and on the ticket it stated
Departs Tallinn 1615, Arrive Gatwick 1715 (local time)

I checked in at 1500 only to be advised by Estonia Air that they had changed to a summer schedule and the flight actually Departed Tallinn 1915 Arrived Gatwick 2015 !!
To cap it all on the outward journey they provided us with no food or drink and everything had to be paid for and the Estonia Air website still advertises the flight as arriving Gatwick 1715. Book with Easyjet or Scandinavian Airlines instead.
Please fellow travellers, do not get caught out like me - i missed my onward connection within the UK because of this.

To visit the biggest of our islands you can take a bus from the mainland (several buses daily from Tallinn) and buy a ticket directly to Saaremaa. Antoher possibility ist o go to the ferry terminal in Virtsu and then cross the sea independently.

You can not take a ferry straight to Saaremaa, instead of that you can take a ferry to a smaller island Muhu, then drive through that island and cross the long bridge between two islands. There are car-ferries taking you to the other side. Crossing between Virtsu on the mainland and Kuivastu ferry terminal on Muhu takes 25 minutes. Ferries make the crossing about 15 times daily. In highest season (for example around the midsummer) if there are lots of cars waiting in the line, the ferries are more frequent and usually leave as soon as the ferry is full.

It is wise to book a place for your car in advance in summer season, if you want to catch certain ferry and can’t afford missing it. Getting on board is not a problem if you travel on foot or by a bicycle.

For timetables and prices check this place: www.laevakompanii.ee. Note that timetables and prices are subject to seasonal variation. The same website allows you to book a place for your car online. You can also book by calling +372 452 4444.

By the way, in winter if the ice is strong enough, there is ice-road crossing the sea. So you don’t need to take the ferry and can just drive across the ice from mainland to Muhu.

Trains are cheaper than the buses in Estonia, but on the other hand also slower and rarer. Unfortunately new high-speed trains have not found their way to Estonia yet. The good side of this is, that there is something nostalgic about taking a train and hearing it’s voice in here:). Trains leave form the Baltic station (Balti jaam) situated just next to the old town. Tallinn is connected with Tartu, Valga, Narva and Pärnu. Trains stop in most of the settlements in their routes and are quite punctual with that. You will not miss the right station if you know the time when you shpuld arrive there..

You will find the timetables and stations from this site:
http://www.edel.ee/?CatID=6
So far the timetables are only in Estonian. Maybe few words will help:
“sõiduplaan” is the time table
“liin” is the line
“lähtejaam” is the departure station
“lõppjaam” is the destination
“kuupäev” is the date