Travel Guides

Estonia

Estonia car hire

Being a stone’s throw from Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Russia, Estonia is nicely placed for a north-European/Baltic adventure. Estonia is fast becoming a popular tourist destination due to its wild nightlife, wonderful cities and beautiful medieval buildings nestled amongst modern, high-rises.

It’s a cool or cold country to visit any time of year, so car rental is recommended to stay warm while you’re exploring. Prices can fluctuate so it’s best to compare car hire in advance to make your dollars stretch further, now that the country has adopted the Euro.

Best attractions

Surprisingly, Estonia’s beaches are very popular with sun-worshippers and they are very pretty too. There are wonderful medieval towns and buildings still standing in the north, in Tallinn and in Noarootsi in the west. Tartu, the city in the south, has a wealth of cultural heritage that is beautiful to see.

Haapsalu is the place for beach holidays and lively seaside, summer partying. There are lots of festivals that take place throughout the summer, particularly Folk Music Festivals and jazz ones too. American travelers tend to go to Estonia in the summer to take advantage of these festivals.

Best time to go

The summer time, from May to August, is the warmest but it is still fairly cold compared to the US. There are national parks and mountains to the south, and if you like to snowboarding or skiing, these would be best visited in the wintertime.

There is no visa requirement for entry into Estonia, thanks to the Schengen Agreement the country is part of. That gives you a total of 90 days stay in the EU, so you’re free to try out other nearby countries for three months before you have to leave. There are no flights direct to Estonia, but a stop in London or Paris will break up the long flight nicely.