Estonia

Understand

Some visitors tend to see the Baltic states as being similar countries with regional differences. They share a common recent history: the three countries declared independence in 1918 at the collapse of the Russian Empire, were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, by Nazi Germany in 1941, and again by the Soviet Union from 1944 until independence was restored in 1991. However, there are differences between the countries' languages (Estonians speak a Finnic language unlike Latvia or Lithuania) and religion (Estonians are irreligious; Latvians are mostly Lutherans; and Lithuanians are Catholics). Also, Estonia is more oriented towards Northern Europe, while Lithuania is oriented towards Central Europe. Tourism to Estonia has been growing, with statistics showing a jump from 1.8 million to 6 million foreign visitors between 2005 and 2015.

History

After seven centuries of German, Danish, Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Occupied and forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it re-gained independence in 1991 through its "Singing Revolution", a non-violent movement that overthrew an initially violent occupation. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia moved to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It is now one of the more prosperous former Communist states, enjoying a high-tech environment, an open and liberal economy and a transparent government system. On the other hand, it is faced with a fairly low (but growing) GDP per capita and modest long-term population decline. In 2011, the euro was adopted as the official currency.

People Estonia is bigger than the Netherlands or Denmark by area, but is one of the least densely populated countries in the EU, with 1.3 million people. Ethnic Estonians

Getting there

Visa Estonia is a member of the Schengen Agreement. See Travelling around the Schengen Area for more information on how the scheme works, what countries are members and what the requirements are for your nationality. In summary:

There are normally no immigration controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty; there may be such controls temporarily, such as in connection with important events and various crises. The operators may carry out identity checks before passengers board international flights, ferries or trains, even between Schengen countries. Citizens of the EEA countries and Switzerland do not need visas to travel in the Schengen area, and may stay up to 90 days with no requirements other than having a valid ID card or passport. See European Union#EEA citizens. Normal visas granted by any Schengen member are valid in all countries that have signed and implemented the treaty (with exceptions for some overseas territories). The granting country may offer additional rights (such as longer stays or right to work) that apply only locally.

By plane Tallinn (TLL IATA) is Estonia's main international gateway. In addition to direct daily flights to/from all major Scandinavian (Stockholm Arlanda; Copenhagen Airport; and Oslo) and Baltic cities (Riga and Vilnius), there are direct flights from many major European hubs like London, Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport, Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol, and Warsaw. Eastward connections are from Kyiv (temporarily suspended). AirBaltic provides the majority of the service, with the rest being provided by Finnair, SAS, Lufthansa, LOT and others. Easyjet, Ryanair, and Wizzair provide low-cost options to Tallinn, albeit from far fewer places than most international airports in neighbouring countries. C

Getting around

In Estonia, the public transport system is well-developed. As of July 1, 2018, Estonia will have created the largest 24/7 free public transit zone in the world for local residents.

By bus Estonia has a comprehensive bus network all over the country. Nearly every city can be accessed by a direct bus from Tallinn or Tartu. Other big cities have their own bus routes, such as Narva–Pärnu. Beside that, most of the towns and villages have regular bus connections to the nearby larger cities and towns. Smaller places are often only served in the morning or noon, and late afternoon (17:00/18:00). City connections generally operate up to 21:00. Make sure not to miss the last bus, or not to get stuck during daytime in a smaller town or village. All connections are available online through Tpilet.ee (for long distance connections) and Peatus.ee (for short distances and local connections – enter/choose the exact station name to get meaningful results; e.g. "Tallinna bussijaam" and not "Tallinn"). Load a pilet.ee mobile app to buy local bus tickets. The websites and apps are mostly available in Estonian, English, and Russian. You can always buy tickets from the driver, except in Tallinn public transport. You can also buy tickets for many connections online with Tpilet.ee or Tpilet bussipiletid app. Sometimes the mobile site does not show the purchase option, and you might want to switch your smartphone web browser to "Desktop mode". It is sometimes more preferable to buy a bus ticket online, especially with Simple Express or Eesti Buss buses. So check ahead, and if there is still time, buy right before the trip, or even in advance if you have a specific plan. This even applies to