UK citizens do not need a visa for
Estonia for stays of up to 6 months.
Page last
updated:
7 June 2010
UK to Estonia without flying...
The old city walls, Tallinn...
There's no need to fly to reach Estonia. You can
travel to Estonia by train+ferry via Copenhagen & Stockholm,
or by Eurostar and connecting trains to Rostock in Germany then cruise ferry
to Helsinki and on to Tallinn, or overland all the way by train+bus via Brussels,
Berlin, Warsaw, Vilnius & Riga. The journey from
London to Tallinn takes 3 nights, and is a great adventure
with lots to see on the way.
By DFDS ferry to Denmark, train to Stockholm,
then ferry to Tallinn. Take the 3 times a week
DFDS Seaways cruise ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg & train to
Copenhagen (shown in yellow on the map above), overnight train to Stockholm
(shown in red), then the overnight Tallink cruise ferry from
Stockholm to Tallinn (shown in pale blue). This takes 3 nights, including a
day exploring wonderful Stockholm. Times, fares,
information for this option.
By Eurostar, sleeper train to Germany, then cruise
ferry to Helsinki & on to Tallinn. This is a
straightforward and comfortable option, shown in dark blue
on the map above. You take Eurostar to
Paris,
the overnight sleeper to Berlin and connecting train to
Rostock, then the four-times-a-week Tallink cruise ferry from Rostock to
Helsinki and another ferry on to
Tallinn. The whole trip takes 3 nights, which
includes a day spent exploring Berlin.
Times, fares, information for this
option. Important update: Tallink
Silja have cancelled this route at least until the end of
April 2010. Please check on their website.
However, Finnlines (www.finnlines.com)
have started a new 3 times weekly service on the same route.
Overland all the
way by train and bus via Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw, Vilnius
and Riga. This involves long bus journeys in parts of
the Baltic states where there are now no trains, and one or
two overnight hotel stops making it the longest journey, at
least 4 nights. But you get to see a lot on the way.
Information for this option.
This is similar
to option 2, but you travel overland by Eurostar & sleeper
train to Copenhagen rather than DFDS cruise ferry. The
outward journey also takes 3 nights, though you get a night
and day in Stockholm rather than just a day, and on the
return leg it's faster, as it only takes 2 nights.
Departures are daily. On the map
above, it's the red line from London to Stockholm, then
the pale blue dotted line to Tallinn.
London ► Tallinn
Travel from
London St Pancras to Stockholm as shown
on the Sweden page, taking a lunchtime Eurostar to
Brussels on day 1, connecting Thalys train to Cologne, the
overnight City Night Line sleeper train 'Borealis' to
Copenhagen, and a daytime X2000 high-speed train from
Copenhagen to Stockholm, arriving around 17:40 day 2.
This is just too late to make that evening's overnight ferry
to Tallinn, so spend the night and day 3 in Stockholm.
Day 3, sail
from Stockholm to Tallinn overnight by luxurious cruise
ferry with Tallink. Tallink's ferries sail from
Stockholm Värtahamnen terminal every day at
17:45, arriving in Tallinn at 10:00 next morning (day 4
from London).
A
range of comfortable cabins is available. You can check sailing
dates, times and fares at www.tallink.ee.
To reach the Värtahamnen terminal in Stockholm, take a transfer bus
from the Cityterminal (the bus station next
to Stockholm Central Station). Buses leave at 14:45 and
15:50 to connect with the ship (please check these times
with Tallink). Alternatively, the
Värtahamnen terminal is an easy 550 metre walk from Gärdet metro
station. A taxi from Central Station to the
terminal will cost about £15.
Map of Tallinn showing ferry terminal.
Tallinn ►
London
Day 1, sail
from Tallinn to Stockholm on the daily Tallink cruise
ferry, leaving Tallinn daily at
18:00 and arriving in
Stockholm Värtahamnen at 10:00 next morning. A range
of comfortable cabins is available. In Stockholm,
take a taxi from the port to central station.
Day 2
, travel from
Stockholm to London as shown on the
Sweden page, taking a lunchtime X2000 to Copenhagen,
the overnight City Night Line sleeper train 'Borealis'
from Copenhagen to Cologne, a Thalys train to Brussels &
Eurostar back to London, arriving in London St Pancras
in time for lunch on day 3.
This is a comfortable and
leisurely option, with departures 3 times a week (4 times a
week in summer). It
takes 3 nights in either direction. If you'd prefer
less sea travel or need a daily departure, see option 1.
On the map above, it's the yellow
route to Copenhagen, the red line on to Stockholm & dotted
pale blue ferry to Tallinn.
London ► Tallinn
Day 1, travel from London to Harwich by train, leaving London Liverpool
Street at 14:18 and arriving Harwich 1 hour 25 minutes
later. Harwich International station is right next
to the ferry terminal. The train runs hourly, but
this departure gives plenty of time to catch the ferry.
Please double-check times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Day 1, sail
from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark aboard DFDS Seaways
'Dana Sirena'. The Dana Sirena sails from Harwich
every Wednesday, Friday & Sunday at 17:45 (increased to
every second day in June, July & August ), arriving in
Esbjerg at 13:00 next day (day 2).
www.dfds.co.uk
will confirm sailing dates. The Dana Sirena is a
modern and well-run ship, with comfortable cabins,
two restaurants, a bar, coffee shop and lounges, see the
photos below. On arrival at Esbjerg, take a taxi
or bus or simply walk to the
railway station. Bus number 5 runs from the ferry
terminal to the
station every 20 minutes, bus fare 15 Kr adult 8 Kr
child.
If you've a backpack or light luggage,
you can easily walk from the ferry terminal to the
pedestrianised town centre in about 10-15 minutes, from
where it's another 5-10 minutes walk to the station.
The station is a historic red-brick building, though not
very distinctively marked.
Day 2 afternoon, travel from Esbjerg to
Copenhagen by InterCity
train, leaving Esbjerg town station at 15:41 and arriving in
Copenhagen at 18:49. The journey is about 175
miles, right across Denmark in air-conditioned comfort. You can check times
for your date of travel at
http://bahn.hafas.de.
Day 2 evening, travel from
Copenhagen to Stockholm overnight, leaving Copenhagen
by frequent Öresund link local train at 21:23 arriving Malmö
at 21:58 (these Copenhagen-Malmö local trains run every 20 minutes). A sleeper train leaves Malmö
daily except Saturdays at 22:48
arriving Stockholm at 05:56 next morning (day 3). You
now have a free day in Stockholm. The sleeper
train has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and sleepers (1 & 2 bed
rooms with washbasin). Alternatively,
spend the night in Copenhagen and head for Stockholm the
next day. Regular
X2000 high-speed tilting trains link Copenhagen with
Stockholm, check train times at
http://bahn.hafas.de.
Day 3, travel
from Stockholm to Tallinn overnight by luxurious cruise
ferry with Tallink. Tallink's ferries sail from Stockholm
Värtahamnen terminal every day at
17:45, arriving in Tallinn at 10:00 next morning (day 4
from London).
A
range of comfortable cabins is available. You can check sailing
dates, times and fares at www.tallink.ee.
To reach the Värtahamnen terminal in Stockholm, take a transfer bus
from the Cityterminal (the bus station next
to Stockholm Central Station). Buses leave at 14:45 and
15:50 to connect with the ship (please check these times
with Tallink). Alternatively, the
Värtahamnen terminal is an easy 550 metre walk from Gärdet metro
station. A taxi from Central Station to the
terminal will cost about £15.
Map of Tallinn showing ferry terminal.
Tallinn ► London
Day 1, sail
from Tallinn to Stockholm on the daily Tallink cruise
ferry, leaving Tallinn daily at
18:00 and arriving in
Stockholm Värtahamnen at 10:00 next morning. A range of
comfortable cabins is available. Left luggage
lockers are available at the port and station. Spend day 2
exploring Stockholm.
Day 2, travel from Stockholm to
Copenhagen overnight, leaving Stockholm
daily except Saturdays at 23:06 by sleeper train and arriving Malmö at 06:27 next
morning. A connecting local
Öresund link train leaves Malmö every 20 minutes, with one at 07:02 arriving Copenhagen at 07:37.
The sleeper train has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and
sleepers (1 & 2 bed compartments). Alternatively, on
Mondays-Saturdays there is a
X2000 high-speed tilting
train leaving Stockholm at 06:21 and
arriving Copenhagen at 11:33, allowing you to spend
the night in Stockholm and travel next day (day 3) to make a
same-day
connection to Esbjerg for the ferry to England.
Check times and days of running at
http://bahn.hafas.de.
Day 3, travel from Copenhagen to
Esbjerg by modern air-conditioned InterCity train, leaving Copenhagen at
12:30 and arriving Esbjerg at 15:24. You can
check times at
http://bahn.hafas.de. Take a bus or taxi to
the ferry terminal, bus number 5 runs from the station
to the port every 20 minutes.
Day 3 evening, sail from Esbjerg to Harwich
aboard DFDS 'Dana Sirena', leaving Esbjerg ferry
terminal at 18:45 on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, arriving Harwich at
12:00
next day (sailings are increased to every second day in
June, July & August). See
www.dfds.co.uk
for sailing dates.
3D virtual tour of the Dana Sirena's cabins, lounges,
bars and restaurants.
Day 4, travel from Harwich to London
by train, leaving Harwich
at 13:06 and arriving London Liverpool Street at 14:33.
The train service runs hourly, you can check
times at
www.nationalrail.co.uk.
On board DFDS
Seaways from Harwich to Esbjerg...
The Dana
Sirena is a modern and well-run ship, built in 2002.
All passengers travel in cabins, and all cabins have a private
shower & toilet. Facilities on board include the 7 Seas buffet restaurant,
the Blue
Riband ą la carte
restaurant, Café Lighthouse (with WiFi access for laptops), Columbus Lounge,
and shop. The ship is child-friendly, with children's play
area, child restraints for cabin berths available from
reception, and highchairs available in all restaurants and
lounges.
3D virtual tour of the Dana Sirena's cabins, lounges,
bars and restaurants. Cabins come in three classes:
Seaways class:
1-6 berths with private shower and toilet;
Sirena class: 1
or 2 berth with private shower and toilet, TV (BBC World,
BBC Prime), complimentary minibar, breakfast included;
Commodore
Deluxe: Hotel-style rooms with double bed or two single
beds, TV (BBC Prime, BBC World), small sitting area, private
shower and toilet. Commodore cabins are on their own
deck with exclusive access to the Commodore Lounge which has
sea views, complimentary tea, coffee, snacks, beer and (in
the evening) free wine and spirits, PC with internet access
and WiFi access if you have your own laptop. Commodore
Deluxe is like travelling to Denmark
aboard a
floating hotel, highly recommended..!
Crossing the North Sea aboard the Dana Sirena...
Commodore class cabin
with double bed.
Sirena class cabin.
On board the
Tallink ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn...
How much does it cost?
London to
Harwichby train costs £24 return or £21.50 one-way.
Advance reservation isn't necessary, just buy tickets at the
station on the day of travel. Alternatively, if you
book with DFDS Seaways by phone, they can sell you a
London-Harwich train ticket with your ferry ticket for a
special price of £10 one-way or £20 return.
Harwich to
Esbjerg by ferry starts at around £158 return for two people
sharing a 2-bed cabin with private toilet and shower (= £79
each) or £147 return for one person with sole use of a
cabin. To
check sailing dates, times and fares for different types of
cabin, visit
www.dfds.co.uk.
DFDS
Seaways now has an airline-style pricing system so prices
vary, book early and avoid peak times to get the cheapest fares. Children under 16 travel at
reduced fare. Unfortunately, DFDS
won't now let solo passengers share cabins, the whole cabin
must be booked.
Esbjerg to
Copenhagen by train costs 297 Kr (£27) one way, 594 Kr
(£54) return for adults, or 149 Kr (£14) each way for
children and seniors over 65. Advance reservation is
possible but not necessary, and tickets can be bought at the
station on the day at those prices. Alternatively,
DFDS can sell you a train ticket with your ferry ticket, at
the same prices.
Copenhagen to
Stockholm by sleeper train costs SEK 760 (£56) one-way
or SEK 1520 (£112) return per person travelling in 6-bunk
couchettes, or SEK 1170 (£87) one-way, SEK 2340 (£174)
return per person travelling in a 2-bed sleeper, when booked
through SwedenBooking.com. Booked online at either
either www.sj.se, the price will be at least 10% cheaper.
Stockholm to
Tallinn by ferry:
The fare depends on cabin type and season. Fares
start at around £30 one way, £60 return. Check fares
and book online at www.tallink.ee.
How to buy tickets
Step 1:
Buy your Harwich-Esbjerg ferry tickets online at
www.dfds.co.uk
(no booking fee)
or by calling DFDS Seaways on 0871 522 9955, although there's a £20 fee for phone bookings.
Phone lines are open 09:00-17:30 Mondays-Fridays,
09:00-17:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays.
You can buy
your London-Harwich & Esbjerg-Copenhagen train tickets at
the station on the day of travel. No reservation is
necessary, and there's no price advantage in buying tickets
in advance. But if you want to save queuing at the
ticket office, you can buy
the London-Harwich ticket online at
www.nationalrail.co.uk and the Esbjerg-Copenhagen ticket
(with seat reservation) at
www.dsb.dk,
the Danish Railways website. This is in Danish, but
it's not difficult to work out how to use it if you're
familiar with the way such booking systems work. You
pay by credit card then print out your own ticket.
remember that Copenhagen in Danish is 'Kobenhavn'.
Alternatively, if you book by phone, DFDS can add both UK
and Esbjerg-Copenhagen tickets to your ferry fare, including
making a seat reservation on the Esbjerg-Copenhagen train.
Ask DFDS about special cheap train fares from other UK
stations to Harwich, too.
Step 2:
Buy the Copenhagen-Stockholm tickets online at
www.sj.se
- see advice on
using sj.se here. You buy online and pick up your
tickets from the SJ vending machines at Copenhagen station.
Bookings open 90 days before departure. Alternatively, you can buy
Copenhagen-Stockholm tickets by email
with
www.swedenbooking.com, email
info@swedenbooking.com or call + 46 498 203380.
Tickets can be posted to UK addresses, or tickets can be
picked up by entering your booking reference into the
automatic machines at Copenhagen or at stations in Sweden, including at Malmö
and Stockholm. The fares shown above include Swedenbooking's 10% surcharge over Swedish Railways' prices,
and they also charge an SEK 100 (£7) booking fee.
Step 3: Buy the
Stockholm-Tallinn ferry tickets online at www.tallink.ee.
Don't fly to Estonia, cruise there..! The
Tallink ship from Rostock to Tallinn, with
cabins, bars, restaurants, sauna and health club.
Photo courtesy of Superfast Ferries, who originally
marketed this service.
This is the route shown in dark
blue on the map above.
Departures 4 times a week, and the journey takes 3 nights.
Important update: Tallink Silja have cancelled
this route at least until the end of April 2010.
Please check on their website. However, Finnlines (www.finnlines.com)
have started a new 3 times weekly service on the same route.
London ► Tallinn
Day 1, travel from London to
Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at
16:02 (15:32 at weekends), arriving Paris 19:17 (18:47 at
weekends).
Day 1 evening, travel from Paris to Berlin
by sleeper train, leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof
at 08:59 next
morning. This train runs runs on Mondays, Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays until 25 March 2010, then daily for the
summer until 28 October 2010, then on Mondays, Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays again until March 2011. On days when
it's not running, leave London in the morning using daytime
trains to Berlin and spend the night in a hotel, see the
London to Germany page.
The Paris-Berlin
overnight train is one of the
German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains. It
has modern sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at
the end of the corridor, all rooms with power points for
mobiles & laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in
a 4- or 6-berth compartment), ordinary seats (not
recommended) and a bistro-restaurant
car. Inclusive fares are charged covering
travel plus sleeping accommodation. The
sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast in the
restaurant car.
More
pictures and information about this train.
Day 2
afternoon, take a train from Berlin
to Rostock in northern Germany. The train takes
around 3 hours, there are regular departures through the
day, you can check train times at
www.bahn.de. In Rostock, take a taxi
from the station to the port (Rostock
Überseehafen),
about 25 euros. Boarding starts at 21:30.
You must reach the terminal no later than midnight, as
this is when the last boarding for foot passengers takes
place, on a 00:30 shuttle bus from the Tallink office
out to the ship.
Day 2 evening, board the
four-times-a-week
Tallink cruise ferry from Rostock to Helsinki.
Boarding starts at 21:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
Fridays & Saturdays and you sleep the night on board. The ship actually sails from Rostock next
morning (day 3) at 05:00, arriving at
Helsinki Länsiterminaali
(West Harbour) at 08:00 on day 4. The ship is fast,
modern, and has a full range of cabins, bars,
restaurants, cinema, children's play areas, WiFi, and a health
club with sauna and jacuzzi. You can check details
at
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
Day 4, change ferries in
Helsinki. A Tallink ferry sails from Helsinki Länsiterminaali
at 10:30 arriving Tallinn 12:30. A range of
Helsinki-Tallinn ferries is available daily, if you want
to spend some time in Helsinki, see
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
Map of Tallinn showing ferry terminal.
Tallinn ►
London
Day 1, sail
from Tallinn to Helsinki by Tallink ferry, leaving
Tallinn daily at 14:00 and arriving Helsinki at 16:00.
To connect with the ferry to Rostock you need to leave
on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, but there are
a range of ferries daily if you want to stop off in
Helsinki on the way, see
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
Change ferries in Helsinki.
Day 1
evening, sail
from Helsinki to Rostok in Germany on the luxurious
four-times-a-week Tallink cruise ferry, leaving Helsinki
on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays at 21:00
and arriving in Rostok at 23:00 just over 24 hours later
(day 2). The ship is fast, modern, and has a full
range of cabins, bars, restaurants, cinema, children's
play areas, WiFi, and a health club with sauna and jacuzzi.
Spend the night in a hotel in Rostock.
Day 3, take
a train from Rostock to Berlin. The train takes
around 3 hours, there are regular departures through the
day, you can check train times at
www.bahn.de.
Day 3, travel from Berlin to
Paris by excellent City Night Line sleeper train
'Perseus', leaving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 19:57 and
arriving Paris
Gare de l'Est at 09:23 next morning. This train
runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 27
March 2010, then daily until 30 October 2010, then on
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again until March
2011. On days when it's not running, spend the night
in Berlin & take daytime trains back to London next day,
see the London to Germany
page for details. The Berlin-Paris sleeper has ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and brand-new sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth standard
rooms with washbasin or
deluxe rooms with private shower & toilet, highly
recommended), plus a bistro-restaurant car.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
Day 4, travel from Paris to
London by Eurostar. A Eurostar leaves Paris Gare
du Nord at 11:13
arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
How much does
it cost?
London to
Berlin by Eurostar+sleeper train starts at around £79
one-way or £159 return including a couchette in a 6-bunk
compartment. For full details of fares in each type
of seat, couchette and sleeper, see the
London to Germany page.
Berlin to
Rostock costs around 33 euros (£25) one-way, 66 euros
(£50) return.
Rostock to
Tallinn by Tallink ferry starts at 107 euros (£73)
one-way or 190 euros (£130) return in an airline-style
reclining seat or 196 euros (£135) one-way, 327 euros (£225)
return with a berth in a 4-berth cabin. For details of
prices in each type of cabin, including 2-berth cabins and
deluxe suites, see
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
How to buy
tickets online...
It takes several
websites so it's best to try a dry-run on all of them first
to check prices and availability before booking for real,
but here's how it's done:
Step1, book the Paris-Berlin sleeper train. Go to
www.bahn.de, which is the German Railways website.
Select 'English' top right.
Book from Paris to Berlin
Hbf and back by the overnight sleeper train.
Availability of both cheap 'spezial' special fares and
fully-flexible full fares will be shown, for each type of
seat, couchette & sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out
your own tickets in .pdf format. Easy! Note that
the prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the
total cost for all passengers selected, not per person.
Step 2,
book your Eurostar. Go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris, using the Eurostar
times above as a guide. By all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Return fares start at
£59, but for one-way fares on Eurostar
see this
advice. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address or picked up at the station if you're travelling at
short notice or booking from overseas.
Step 3, book the Rostock-Helsinki & Helsinki-Tallinn ferries.
You can book both online at the Seat61 Ferry
Shop. If you speak German (or are handy with the language tools at
www.google.co.uk), you can book both ferries online at the
German version of Tallink's website,
www.tallinksilja.com/de/, but this online booking system
isn't currently available in English. You can also
book by email or phone direct with Tallink through Tallink's
English-language international website,
www.tallinksilja.com/en/.
Or you can book these ferries by phone with Tallink's UK
agents, DFDS Seaways, on 0871 522 9955.
Phone lines are open 09:00-17:30 Mondays-Fridays,
09:00-17:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays.
Step 4, you simply can buy your Berlin-Rostock ticket
when you get to Berlin at the station, or buy it online at
www.bahn.de.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
London-Berlin-Rostock train tickets: You can buy
all the
London-Berlin-Rostock tickets from the
UK's
Deutsche Bahn office, on 08718 80 80 66.
Lines open 0900-1700 Mon-Fri, no booking fee.
Alternatively, you can also buy them from
www.europeanrail.com (a booking fee is charged).
Rostock-Helsinki ferry ticket: The best way to
book is by phone with Tallink's UK agents, DFDS Seaways, on
0871 522 9955. Phone lines are open 08:30-20:00
Mondays-Fridays, 08:30-17:00 Saturdays, 10:00-16:00 Sundays.
Option 4: London to Tallinn
overland
via Brussels - Berlin - Warsaw
- Vilnius - Riga:
The
overland option from London to Tallinn via Brussels, Berlin,
Warsaw, Vilnius and Riga takes about 4½ days. It can
only be booked from the UK as far as Warsaw, where you will
need to buy a ticket for Vilnius, then you will need to re-book
again in Vilnius for the bus or train to Riga and in Riga for the bus
to Tallinn. See the London to
Latvia page for information on the journey from London
as far as Riga.
Riga and Tallinn are linked by regular buses, taking 5
hours and costing about £10 - see www.eurolines.ee
and www.eurolines.lv
for times and fares.
Local trains run by Edelaraudtee link Tallinn with
many Estonian towns, including Pärnu,
Viljandi, Valga, Tapa & Tartu. For times & fares,
see www.edel.ee
- Click 'English' then your browser 'back' button then
'Sõiduplaanid ja-hinnad' at top left.
For a route map, click 'Kaart' at the top.
The website www.elektriraudtee.ee
only has info for the suburban electric trains to the
Tallinn suburbs.
Tallinn is linked to Riga by regular Eurolines bus
with a number of departures daily. Journey time is
about 5 hours, fare about 230 Krooni (£10 or $18). See www.eurolines.ee
and www.eurolines.lv.
These two Eurolines website show slightly different buses,
so you'll need to visit both!
Tallinn
▶ Riga by train...
It's possible to avoid the bus and
travel from
Tallinn to Riga by train, if you don't mind spending the day
on a couple of local trains.
Travel from Tallinn to Valga by
train, leaving Tallinn
at 06:40 and arriving in the town of Valga, right next
to the Latvian frontier, at 11:33. The fare is 140 Krooni (£8
or $13), and you can pay on the train.
Times may vary - you can check current times for this Estonian train at www.edel.ee
(You can check times for
this train at www.edel.ee. Click
'Eng' top right for English, then use the journey planner.
For a timetable in .pdf format, leave it in Estonian and click
'Sõiduplaanid ja-hinnad' on the right. For a network
map, again use the Estonian version and click the 'Raudteekaart'
map graphic on the left.
Wikipedia entry on Valga.
Travel from Valga to Riga by
train. This is now easier, as from April 2008 the
Latvian train service from Lugai to Riga has been extended
4km across the border to start in Valga. The 11:42 train from Valga will get you to
Riga at 15:03. The fare is 2.29 Lats (£2.60 or $5), it
can also be bought on board the train. The distance is
168 km. You can check times for the Latvian train at www.ldz.lv,
click 'English' then 'Passenger traffic'. For a
network map, click 'Marrutu shēma'.
For the return Riga-Tallinn train
service, see the Latvia page.
Above: The Tallinn-Moscow sleeper train...
Tallinn
▶ Moscow by train...
There
is a safe and comfortable overnight train between Tallinn & Moscow run by GoRail (www.gorail.ee,
formerly EVR Ekspress). The 'Tallinna Ekspress'
(pictured right) runs daily, with 1st class 'Spalny Wagon'
2-berth compartments, 2nd class 'kupé' 4-berth compartments,
ordinary seats and a restaurant car.
Fare: Tallinn-Moscow costs around 650 kroons
(£35 or $70) in a reclining seat (not recommended), 1,300 kroons (£65 or
$130) one-way
travelling in a 2nd class 4-berth sleeper (recommended for
most travellers), or 2,500 kroons
(£130 or $260) in a 1st class 2-berth sleeper.
How to buy tickets from Moscow to Tallinn: You
can buy tickets at the station in Moscow or you can easily
book online using the Real
Russia online booking form here. You pay online
and collect tickets at the station in Moscow using the
e-ticket option, or collect them at Real Russia's offices in
Moscow.
How to buy tickets from Tallinn to Moscow: You
can buy tickets at the station in Tallinn or you can easily
book tickets online using
the Real Russia online booking form here (a 15-23%
mark-up is included in the fares shown, and tickets
will have to be sent to you for an extra courier charge as they
cannot be collected in Tallinn and the e-ticket option does
not work there). However, the cheapest way to buy
tickets is to email GoRail's associated travel agency,
www.gotravel.ee (click
'transportation' at top right, then click 'train').
Traveller Tomas Ersson booked by email through the GoRail
website: "I just made an inquiry via their website and
received a quote and a from to fill out as an attachment.
The fare was relatively cheap, about 60 euros per person in
a 4-berth sleeper. I filled in the form with names,
passport & visa card number, signed it, scanned it and
emailed it back. One or two days later I received an email
attachment which I printed & used as our ticket. At
the station in Tallinn, I just showed them the print out and
got on to the train! We were already on the passenger
list and the train departed as planned, hassle-free for us."
How to use the GoRail website: You can check
times and fares at www.gorail.ee,
though there's no online booking. The English version
isn't very useful, so leave it in Estonian.
'Sõiduplaanid' means timetable, 'Piletihinnad' means prices.
On the prices page, 'Istevagun' means seat, 'kupee' means
4-berth sleeper, 'SV' means 2-berth sleeper.
Tallinn
▶ St
Petersburg by train...
Unfortunately,
as from August 2008 there is once again no train at all
between Tallinn and St Petersburg. The original
overnight train was
withdrawn in 2004, a victim of bus
competition, then a new daytime train was introduced in March
2007 run by GoRail (www.gorail.ee,
formerly EVR Ekspress). This was then replaced an overnight train
once more in October 2007, but this was itself
withdrawn in August 2008, due to higher track-usage fees and
fuel costs.
You now have to
endure a 7 hour bus journey from Tallinn to St Petersburg,
see
www.eurolines.ee. At least the communists knew how
to run a proper train service!
One way to avoid
7 hours in a bus is to sail by ferry from Tallinn to
Helsinki (2 hours, ferry sails every few hours, fare from 26
euros,
www.tallinksilja.com), then take the afternoon train
from Helsinki to St Petersburg (two trains daily,
see
the Finland page for details).
Tallinn ►
St Petersburg
St
Petersburg
► Tallinn
No
train service
No
train service
Tallinn
depart
-
St Petersburg (Vitebski)
depart
-
St Petersburg (Vitebski)
arrive
-
Tallinn
arrive
-
For
direct trains between London and
Moscow or St Petersburg, see the London
to Russia page.
Tallinn
▶ Helsinki by
ferry...
Tallinn is linked to Helsinki
by a variety of shipping lines, operating both conventional
ships (2½ hours) and fast ferry (1½ hours). Services
run daily. Operators include Tallink,
Silja Line,
Nordic Jet Line, Eckero Line, Linda Line.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Summer 2010 edition (June to December 2010)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
make
sure you invest in a good guidebook. For the serious independent traveller this
means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide. Both books provide a similarly excellent level of
practical detail and cultural and historical background. You
won't regret buying one..!
My own book, an essential
handbook for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and
is available from Amazon with shipping worldwide.
Find
a hotel
in Tallinn or anywhere in Estonia, Lithuania or Latvia...
It's
easy to book hotels in Tallinn to go with your train and ferry tickets, but
there are almost too many hotel booking websites to choose
from. The answer is to use
www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search form below.
This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which searches all the main hotel booking sites for you
(Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere and many
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide. Alternatively, try the Tallinn page on
www.venere.com.
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance.
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a pre-paid euro currency MasterCard from Caxton FX...
You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency MasterCard, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' MasterCard.
Find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
