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TRAVEL INFORMATION

Updated October 30, 2015

Getting to Tallinn

direct destinations from Tallinn Airport (updated 09.11.2015) Amsterdam-Schiphol, Berlin Tegel, Brussels, Copenhagen-Kastrup, Düsseldorf-Weeze, Frankfurt-Main, Helsinki-Vantaa, Istambul-Atatürk, Kiev-Borispol, Kuressaare, Kärdla, London-Gatwick, London-Stansted, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Oslo-Gardermoen and Oslo-Rygge, Paris CDG, Riga, Stockholm Arlanda, Trondheim-Værnes, Vienna, Vilnius and Warsaw-Frederic Chopin. For information on the connections, see the web homepages of Tallinn Airport.

Tallinn is mostly served by traditional airlines whose flights are sold by any reasonable travel agent (Nordic Aviation Group - started 08.11.2015, Lufthansa, Finnair, CSA, LOT, Air Baltic).

Tickets to the flights of easyJet from London Gatwick, norwegian.com from Oslo Gardermoen, Ryanair from Bremen, Dublin, Girona, London Stansted, Manchester, Milan Malpensa and Oslo Rygge are only sold online by the airlines.

If you need to change planes, you should probably do this at Amsterdam (KLM,NAG), Frankfurt/Munich (Lufthansa), Copenhagen/Stockholm/Oslo (SAS,NAG) or Riga (Air Baltic). If you are travelling from Asia, it is likely that your best itinerary is with Finnair with a change at Helsinki. Finnair is very much oriented at the Asian market and offers quick connections from Europe from China, Japan, South Korea in particular.

Late arrivals at, early departures from Tallinn are not to be worried about (or to try to optimize away). These times are the norm for Northern European airports. Luckily for you, in Tallinn, the airport is max 15 mins by taxi from any point in the city center. The airport is small, so collecting luggage goes also fast.

For ferry connections from/to Stockholm and Helsinki, see the web pages of Tallink, Viking Line and Eckerö Line.

From Vilnius, Riga, St Petersburg the coach services of Lux Express and Ecolines are the most practical travel option.

Daily train connection Tallinn-Saint Petersburg-Moscow is operated by GoRail. The railway station is not far from the Old Town and harbour. From the railway station to the city take tram no. 1 or 2 or just walk 10 minutes through the Old Town.

Getting from the airport to town

The city is 4 kms from the airport and you reach it by taxi or scheduled bus.

Bus line no. 2 runs throughout the day (from early hours until quite late in the evening). You are travelling from "Lennujaam" (Airport) in the direction of "Reisisadam" (Passenger Port). The most centrally located stop in the city center is "A. Laikmaa" in front of Hotel Tallink, the travel time there is 13 min. The timetable can be found here.

(More about public transport and taxis in Tallinn below.)

Interactive Maps of Tallinn and Estonia

A good interactive map providing also public transportation information is offered by the Tallinn city.

Some alternatives are Delfi (Regio) and Google.

Time

Estonia (just as Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania, ...) uses East-European Time, EET, which is one hour ahead of Central European Time, CET, in other words GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer.

Electricity

The electricity supply is 220 volts AC, 50 Hz. European-style 2-pin plugs are in use.

Money and banks

From 2011, Estonia is using the Euro (EUR), the single European currency.

ATMs abound in Tallinn although they are not always well visible. Beware that an Estonian ATM first gives you your money and only then returns the card. Worse, you have to ask the machine to give your card back.

Luckily for you, these machines speak English. Almost all businesses (but not newsstands, bus drivers, taxi drivers) accept bank cards (even for the smallest payments) and the local people carry very little cash.

Postal services

Postage on letters and postcards (up to 50 g) within Estonia is 0.55 EUR, to Europe and the former USSR countries 1.20 EUR, to the rest of the world 1.30 EUR.

Post offices are open during the normal shopping hours. Stamps are also sold in newsstands. More information from Eesti Post.

Phones

Area codes are not in use in Estonia and there is no initial zero.

For international calls to Estonia: dial the prefix for intl. calls (00 in most countries), then the country code 372, and then the subscriber's number.

For international calls from Estonia: dial the prefix 00 for intl. calls, then your country code, etc. Calls within Estonia: just dial the full 7- or 8-digit subscriber's number.

The emergency number (fire brigade, ambulance, police) is 112.

There are 3 mobile providers: EMT, Tele 2 and Elisa. The GSM frequency is 900/1800 MHz.

The are no public payphones in the country.

Internet

Tallinn has become famous for its abundance of free, public Wi-Fi, which is available in nearly every café, restaurant, hotel and hostel, as well in open spaces such as city squares and parks. A map of free Wi-Fi hotspots hosted by the City of Tallinn.
Check out http://wifi.ee/ of public WiFi hotspots in the country.

Internet access through WiFI or some other form is also offered by all hotels. In reasonable hotels, this service is complimentary.

Getting around in Tallinn

The public city transportation system of Tallinn, consisting of bus, tram and trolleybus traffic, is quite efficient. The services are many and they run frequently. Most stops have timetables (affixed to the stop signpost) and many also have a map of the transport system on display (in the waiting booth). From the bus driver you can buy a paper ticket for a single journey, which costs 1.60 EUR. From the various sales points (R-Kiosk newsstands, Selver and Maxima supermarkets, post offices) you can buy a smartcard (Ühiskaart) for 2 EUR on which you can load prepayment or specific tickets, at a sales point or online at www.pilet.ee. The simplest is to prepay some amount. If you travelling with Ühiskaart, you have to validate the card on entry to the vehicle and the cost of a single journey (1.10 EUR) is subtracted from the prepayment. If you make a number of journeys during a single day, the total deduction from your prepayment is capped to 3 EUR.

A interactive public transportation map is available here. The timetables are here.

Taxis

Avoid rogue taxi operators, see this warning by the Tallinn airport.

Taxi rates vary a lot. All taxis must have the rates displayed on a yellow sticker on the side rear door window. Reasonable rates are: 2.00-3.50 EUR initial fare, 0.50-0.80 per km fare. Always request a printed request, all taxis must have taximeters and printers.

Some reliable companies are: Tulika Takso (+372 612 000), Tallink Takso (+372 640 8921), Takso 24 (+372 640 8927+372 640 8927), Reval Takso (+372 601 4600+372 601 4600), Q-takso (+372 644 1525).

You can also use the Tafixy app to order a taxi with your mobile phone (you can see the taxis near you and choose the one you like best).

For further explanations, see here.

Always request a printed receipt. All taxi cars are required to have printers.

Tourist information

Check out the webpages of the Tallinn Tourist Board and the Estonian Tourist Board.

An excellent rough guide with honest reviews is Tallinn in Your Pocket. For in-depth information on Estonia, check Estonica.

The Tallinn Tourist Information Center is located at Niguliste 2/Kullasepa 4 in the middle of the Old Town. Opening hours in winter time (Sept-Apr): Mon-Fri 9-18, Sat, Sun 9-15.


Last changed October 16, 2023 21:45 EET by local organizers, sven 'at' cc 'dot' ioc 'dot' ee

http://ioc.ee/JEM/