Non bike related trip to Tallinn

AndyB_11

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Just for a laugh my wife and I have decided to spend the new year break in Tallinn, flights booked using Ryanair (convenience outweighs potential aggravation) and accommodation booked in a nice apartment I used last year so I know where we are relative to bars, restaurants, supermarket etc so all the hard work is done.

Now comes the obvious question...

Given that there may be snow around and we’re only going to be a 15 minute walk from the town centre is it worth hiring a car? Last time I was there I had the bike with me but once it was parked up behind the gates at the apartment I didn’t bother moving it because I only had 36 hours to dispose of and everything in the centre is a short walk away but is there anything that comes under the heading of ‘must see’ that isn’t walkable? Another option is public transport but previous experience in the area suggests that trains are horribly slow and I don’t have a clue about bus availability.

If there’s something that anyone can suggest that’s about an hour or so away on a good day and the weather is ok I might hire a car and lose one or two of the 6 days we’ve got away from home going further afield.

We did look at going to St Petersburg but I persuaded the wife that a trip there isn’t worth the effort if it’s only for a short time, train times for a 200 mile trip are horrendous and flights are expensive so even though cost wise we wouldn’t be worried about paying for a night there even though we’d still be paying for the apartment in Tallinn it’s best left as one for the future.

Feel free to tell me to do my own research because we’ll probably do that anyway but sometimes real life experience from people with similar interests can expose places that aren’t on the local tourist information sites.
 
Tallinn though nice enough for a day is not a patch on Riga or Helsinki :thumb2
Riga is a 4 hour £20 bus ride from Tallinn and Helsinki an even cheaper 4 hour ferry trip across the Baltic Sea.
Both cities much nicer than Tallinn.
 
My memory is suggesting that the nicer parts of Helsinki are a fair way from the port but that’s not to say that an overnight stay is out of the question, Same with Riga with both being a realistic proposition if we aimed to get there by midday and leave 24 hours later.
 
My memory is suggesting that the nicer parts of Helsinki are a fair way from the port but that’s not to say that an overnight stay is out of the question, Same with Riga with both being a realistic proposition if we aimed to get there by midday and leave 24 hours later.

You can walk from the port in Helsinki into town quite easily from the eastern port (I think the Tallin ferry comes in there?) along a street with plenty shops, cafes, etc. Also there are some nice streets near the eastern port itself and plenty places to eat and drink in town, not all eye wateringly expensive.
 
You can walk from the port in Helsinki into town quite easily from the eastern port (I think the Tallin ferry comes in there?) along a street with plenty shops, cafes, etc. Also there are some nice streets near the eastern port itself and plenty places to eat and drink in town, not all eye wateringly expensive.

+1 We had four nights recently in Helsinki, we enjoyed the city very much, they had some fantastic buskers. Food and drink are expensive, but we found going on to Tallinn afterwards that it was almost as expensive there. We had a couple of nights in Tallinn and then went to Riga for a few days which we found to be cheaper and thought it best of the three cities.
 
I’ve got to admit that we may run out of things to do inTallinn so either a quick run down to Riga or the ferry to Helsinki for an overnighter is open as a realistic option but the main thing is to get away from the UK for our wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve and just chill out and enjoy ourselves.

I’m not too worried about the cost of dining out as long as it keeps below the Norwegian bar that was set pretty high last summer and where we’ve got an apartment booked in Tallinn is about 5 minutes walk from a really good pub that has countless good beers plus serves liver and onions. Now while liver and onions is definitely not high on the list of food my wife would choose I like it so as long as they have something she’ll eat I’ll be ok :D

As for the driving, Wessie has known my wife long enough to know that she doesn’t drink beer at lunchtime though she does have a tendency to either nail the cider or dark beers once the sun has gone down :beerjug:
 
Bit late to the party Andy, but do check what is available in Tallinn on New Years' Eve. It was a few years back but I spent NYE in Estonia when my brother lived out there and they tend to be home with family, it certainly wasn't a party night, which perhaps (with the Mrs you're not looking for) but it might well be worth doing some research on what to do for that night :thumb
 
Well it’s rapidly approaching departure day so I’ve had a look at the weather forecast and the expected high temperature on the day we arrive is -2c so I might pack some gloves :D
 
Tallinn

Well it’s rapidly approaching departure day so I’ve had a look at the weather forecast and the expected high temperature on the day we arrive is -2c so I might pack some gloves :D

It´s going to be fine here in Tallinn. Monday +6 and tuesday is going to be well in + degrees. If you have time, pop in to my bar and ill buy you and missus a drink. New year parties everywhere so i think youll enjoy.
 
I’ve only just seen this and we’re on a flight home midday tomorrow or we'd have been in to see you. That assumes we haven’t already because we’ve been out until well after 1am every night so far 🍺

It’s been a really good break and we’re back in the summer for a one night stopover when we do the Finland MotoGP round so which is your bar?
 
Last year, I went with my husband to Tallinn for a weekend and we rented a car there. But we did it because we wanted to see the outskirts of the city. Therefore, it seemed to us that renting a car is the best option.
We were in Lahemaa National Park - the largest national park in Estonia.
We were here in autumn, the landscapes are simply amazing, fiery red.
We also visited the Pärispea peninsula, where the northernmost point of Estonia is located - Cape Purekkari, on this peninsula there are many large mammals. And where there are swamps and forests - a place of accumulation of elks, wild boars, lynxes, foxes, and brown bears.
We also visited the Viru bog and the captain's village Käsmu.
We really enjoyed
 


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