I went for work and thought it was wonderful. I think a day or two is enough. I was a veteran of living in Prague for several years (so I'm biased!), and really found it to be a miniature Prague. Very jewel-like center and charming. I also took a day trip to Helsinki. Stop by a market for salmon chowder, hit the flagship Marimekko, walk around, have an early dinner or late lunch and and you're back in the evening.

I visited Tallin as a day trip from Helskinki (took the high speed ferry). I highly recommend both places.

Estonian nature is lovely, but kind of 'uneventful', so the charm of it is more in longer visits - a week in the country really detoxes the mind like nothing else does.

If you want to get out of town for a day or half a day, go for a hike in one of the bogs. Very tranquil and can feel almost surreal, especially if you go at the right time of day, like early morning.
Of course, so high up north, the time of the year makes a big difference. Going on a nature trail is lovely in the summer and in the middle of winter, not so much in November.

For a city visit, I'd go to Helsinki or Riga. Helsinki is is closer and the trip itself is lovely. Make sure you take the 1.5 hrs ferry, not the slow 4.5 hrs one.

Other than that, enjoy the many many great food options in Tallinn. If you like beauty and spa treatments, then you can also treat yourself to all sorts of facials, massages and whatnot at prices that are less than half what the services cost in DMV.

Anonymous wrote:I found Helsinki pretty boring. Stick to Estonia.

Helsinki is awesome! Great food, gorgeous parks, design museum, bookstores, music... I spent one of my favorite weekends ever in Helsinki. Maybe you didn't have a good tour guide?

Anonymous wrote:If you do decide to go to Helsinki for the day, make sure to take the high speed ferry. Estonia and Tallin are neat places, though, and you can find ways to entertain yourself for two days. Lots of my Finnish friends actually go to Tallin for the weekend and love to do a day spa while they are there.

Most Finns travel to Estonia to buy crates of cheap alcohol to take back to Finland.

I found Helsinki pretty boring. Stick to Estonia.

If you do decide to go to Helsinki for the day, make sure to take the high speed ferry. Estonia and Tallin are neat places, though, and you can find ways to entertain yourself for two days. Lots of my Finnish friends actually go to Tallin for the weekend and love to do a day spa while they are there.

Anonymous wrote:If you want adventure tourism, go to Narva. It's on the border with Russia. You can stand at a park and wave to Russians on the other side of the river. But, it's about a 4 hour bus ride. Buses are really nice, just it's a long trip.

Rakvere is about 2 hours away, and has a nice castle.

Haapsalu is about 1.5 hours away and it's a lake town. Tchaikovsky used to hang around there.

Tartu is the university town. 2.5 hours away by bus or train.

Here's a link for the best bus service in town:
https://luxexpress.eu/en/

Instead of waiving maybe I can show them the middle finger?

Thank you! I’m thinking of spending a day in Tallin and then going someplace else. The person I’m going to visit suggested Helsinki, but I wasn’t super pumped because I thought the chance I go to Finland at some point in my life was far higher than I ever went to Estonia again.

If you want adventure tourism, go to Narva. It's on the border with Russia. You can stand at a park and wave to Russians on the other side of the river. But, it's about a 4 hour bus ride. Buses are really nice, just it's a long trip.

Rakvere is about 2 hours away, and has a nice castle.

Haapsalu is about 1.5 hours away and it's a lake town. Tchaikovsky used to hang around there.

Tartu is the university town. 2.5 hours away by bus or train.

Here's a link for the best bus service in town:
https://luxexpress.eu/en/

The old medieval town in Tallin is amazing. Highly recommend!

Was just there. The countryside is lovely but one day in the countryside isn't anything special. I agree with PP. Do Tallin which is amazing. Then take the ferry to Helsinki-- also amazing. Both are very easy to travel in and the ferry drops you off walkable to city center in both places.

Tallinn is lovely and good for two days, or compressed to one of you are ok with only hitting the main few sites. You could consider taking the ferry to Helsinki for a day or an overnight. It’s only 2.5 hours.

There are islands that I've heard are nice.

Looks like I’m going to have a chance to spend 2-3 days in Estonia - would love to hear from anyone who has been there on ideas of what to see beyond Tallin. There’s not a whole lot of info out there!