Estonia

Estonia has joined the Schengen agreement, which means that you can enter on a European Union Schengen visa and there are no longer any ID/passport controls on the EU borders. More than 30 other nationals (including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan) can enter Estonia without a visa (detailed list at Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). A growing number of foreign visitors have been traveling to Estonia in recent years. According to Statistics Estonia the nation's statistical agency, 1.3 million foreigners visited the country in 2000, and that number climbed 38 percent to 1.8 million foreigners by 2005.

By plane

Tallinn is Estonia's international gateway. In addition to direct daily flights to/from all major Scandinavian (Helsinki, 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. Travelers can pay as little as EUR 120 (US$160) or £80 Sterling to fly roundtrip from London to Tallinn. From London's Stansted Airport, Easyjet provides nonstop service to Tallinn. From Frankfurt, choose from Lufthansa and Estonian Air. From Brussels, select from KLM, Estonian Air, Finnair, SAS, Lufthansa and Czech Airlines. From Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport, Easyjet serves Tallinn. From Amsterdam, choose from KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, Czech Airlines, Finnair, LOT Polish, and Northwest. From Rome's Fiumicino Airport, select from Alitalia, Czech Airlines, Estonia Air, KLM and Finnair. 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). Detailed information is available from Tallinn Airport timetable.

By train

International train services are to/from Russia, Moscow and Saint Petersburg. 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

The Narva-Ivangorod border bridge [Photo: Rolf Palmberg] 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. For details see Eurolines Estonia. 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 during summers also with Germany (Rostock) and Saint Petersburg. 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 later do not operate during winter). For details see Port of Tallinn passenger schedules. Minor international routes include recently re-established connection between Latvian port of Ventspils and the island of Saaremaa and Paldiski - Kapellskär (Sweden) with two different operators.