Country

Estonia

Local name: Eesti Vabariik

Coordinates: 59°00′00″ N 26°00′00″ E

Population: 1,366,475; 1.4M
Continent: Europe
Local time: UTC+02:00; Europe/Tallinn · UTC+02:00

About Estonia

Estonia is a country in Europe. It is divided into 15 regions. Its population is 1,366,475.

From Wikipedia

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Built: 1918
Area: 45,335 km²
Official website: valitsus.ee

Source: Wikidata

Photos of Estonia

Saaremaa Sabine Hack · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hiiumaa iijjccoo · Public domain
Muhu Mark A. Wilson · Public domain
Kihnu KalervoK · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kassari Athanasius Soter · Public domain

Travel notes for Estonia

From Wikivoyage

Estonia (Estonian: Eesti) is a Baltic gem offering visitors the chance to see a tiny dynamic land on the shores of the sea. The northernmost and smallest of the Baltic states, Estonia has charming old towns and heritage back to the Hanseatic League. Tallinn's old town was built in the Middle Ages, but is in magnificent condition, with the city walls and towers almost completely intact, and it rates as one of Europe's best medieval old towns.

Visitors can also experience an ex-Soviet republic that is now part of the European Union. Traces of the Soviet era are still there to be seen, e.g. Paldiski, a deserted Soviet army base that was once off-limits to Estonians themselves, can easily be visited on a day trip from the capital, Tallinn. Estonia is renowned for its bucolic islands and extensive bogs that are now national parks with easy access for tourists. Glorious beaches pepper the extensive coastline, although the swimming season is short — after all, the Baltics are not renowned for warm weather.

Understand+

Some visitors tend to see the Baltic states as being similar countries with regional differences. They share a common recent history: the three countries declared independence in 1918 at the collapse of the Russian Empire, were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, by Nazi Germany in 1941, and again by the Soviet Union from 1944 until independence was restored in 1991. However, there are differences between the countries' languages (Estonians speak a Finnic language unlike Latvia or Lithuania) and religion (Estonians are irreligious, Latvians are mostly Lutherans, and Lithuanians are Catholics). Also, Estonia is more oriented towards Northern Europe, while Lithuania is oriented towards Central Europe.

Tourism to Estonia has been growing, with statistics showing a jump from 1.8 million to 6 million foreign visitors between 2005 and 2015.

History:

After seven centuries of German, Danish, Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Occupied and forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it re-gained independence in 1991 through its "Singing Revolution", a non-violent movement that overthrew an initially violent occupation. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia moved to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It is now one of the more prosperous former Communist states, enjoying a high-tech environment, an open and liberal economy and a transparent government system. On the other hand, it is faced with a fairly low (but growing) GDP per capita and modest long-term population decline. In 2011, the euro was adopted as the official currency.

People:

Get in+

Visa:

Estonia is a member of the Schengen Agreement. See Travelling around the Schengen Area for more information on how the scheme works, what countries are members and what the requirements are for your nationality. In summary:

There are normally no immigration controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty; there may be such controls temporarily, such as in connection with important events and various crises.

The operators may carry out identity checks before passengers board international flights, ferries or trains, even between Schengen countries.

Citizens of the EEA countries and Switzerland do not need visas to travel in the Schengen area, and may stay up to 90 days with no requirements other than having a valid ID card or passport. See European Union#EEA citizens.

Normal visas granted by any Schengen member are valid in all countries that have signed and implemented the treaty (with exceptions for some overseas territories). The granting country may offer additional rights (such as longer stays or right to work) that apply only locally.

By plane:

Tallinn (TLL IATA) is Estonia's main international gateway. In addition to direct daily flights to/from all major Scandinavian (Stockholm Arlanda, Copenhagen Airport, and Oslo) and Baltic cities (Riga and Vilnius), there are direct flights from many major European hubs like London, Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport, Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol, and Warsaw. Eastward connections are from Kyiv (temporarily suspended). AirBaltic provides the majority of the service, with the rest being provided by Finnair, SAS, Lufthansa, LOT and others. Easyjet, Ryanair, and Wizzair provide low-cost options to Tallinn, albeit from far fewer places than most international airports in neighbouring countries.

Close proximity and excellent ferry services with Helsinki allow for combination of open-jaw air travel. Riga is a 2- to 3-hr bus ride from southern Estonia and may be another good option.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged