Tallinn, Estonia

[tysmomm]

Hi All, 

 

My family will be visiting Tallin for one day in June.  We have a full day in port, from 8-5.  We have decided to tour Tallinn on our own.  I have researched a few walking tours and feel good about covering all the sites in Old Town that we want to see. 

 

Can anyone tell me how easy is it to get ourselves from Old Town to the Viking Village and is the trip really worth it?  I will be traveling with my two sons, aged 17 and 19 years old.  My husband and I like everything and enjoy the history, the reenactments, etc. and while my sons enjoy the history as well, the two of them will definitely need some stimulus to keep them entertained. They definitely enjoy traditional food, pastry and drink sampling.  They would enjoy shooting arrows, etc.  I can see from the website that the village would be great for young children, but not sure about two young men aged 17 and 19?  I am looking for any thoughts you might have.  

 

We are going to explore the Kiek in de Kok Tower & Bastion Tunnels in Old Town.  I think they will definitely enjoy that so just trying to figure out if making the trip to the village is worth it or not.  There may be enough cool stuff in Old Town to keep them busy.  I was thinking about booking a 2-3 hour food tour as well.

 

  🙂  Thanks for your thoughts. 

[trosebery]

The Viking Village would be about a 1/2 hour drive (by taxi or tour) or 1 hour by transit. I'd probably look for things closer to the Old Town. Last time I was there (with my teenage son and twenty-something daughter), we did a walking+bike tour that took us through the Old Town and also some of the outlying districts (notably Kalamaja):

https://www.traveller.ee/tour/best-of-tallinn-bike-and-walking-tour

And then we joined others on our Roll Call at a chocolate-truffle making workshop in the Rotermann District:

https://kalev.eu/en/shop/chocolate-shop-and-workshop-in-rotermann-quarter/

 

The time before that, when we were travelling with younger kids, we visited the Seaplane Harbour Museum after taking a walking tour of the Old Town:

http://meremuuseum.ee/lennusadam/en/the-museum/

I especially liked the Lembit submarine.

 

I would say that there's a lot to entertain you in Tallinn itself without having to go further afield.

[trosebery]

What have you got planned in other ports? I may have a few recommendations about entertaining that age group. (I also teach teenagers.)

[Belfast Taxman]

One thing that needs to be remembered is that “a full day in port from 8 to 5” really means from 8.30 (if you are lucky) to about 4.00, as all cruise ships require you to get back to the boat well in advance of sail away.

it is so easy to attempt too much in a day, even more so on a port intensive cruise like the Baltic day after day. Not sure of your precise itinerary but Tallinn often comes immediately before or after a day or more in St.Petersburg, which is likely to be tiring.

We are doing exactly that (albeit three days in St.P) so for Tallinn, we have kept things simple and comparatively relaxing with a bus trip to the top of the Old Town and a four hour stroll downwards back to the ship with a bit of light lunch somewhere (suggestions  welcome). Pretty much the same plan for Riga the next day.

i do like the idea of a foodie experience in Tallinn itself. That sounds a much better idea than more extensive travel on the day.

enjoy your cruise 

[Jilliebean28]

On 2/19/2020 at 4:14 AM, Belfast Taxman said:

One thing that needs to be remembered is that “a full day in port from 8 to 5” really means from 8.30 (if you are lucky) to about 4.00, as all cruise ships require you to get back to the boat well in advance of sail away.

it is so easy to attempt too much in a day, even more so on a port intensive cruise like the Baltic day after day. Not sure of your precise itinerary but Tallinn often comes immediately before or after a day or more in St.Petersburg, which is likely to be tiring.

We are doing exactly that (albeit three days in St.P) so for Tallinn, we have kept things simple and comparatively relaxing with a bus trip to the top of the Old Town and a four hour stroll downwards back to the ship with a bit of light lunch somewhere (suggestions  welcome). Pretty much the same plan for Riga the next day.

i do like the idea of a foodie experience in Tallinn itself. That sounds a much better idea than more extensive travel on the day.

enjoy your cruise 

@BelfastTaxman could you please tell me more about the bus trip to the top of Old Town?  Thanks so much!

[Belfast Taxman]

Hi Jilliebean

i do not refer to a public bus trip but simply an excursion provided by the cruise which stops at the old Russian Orthodox Church at the top of the old town as it’s first stop and which we can then leave and do the downhill trip by ourselves. The excursion is included in the price of the cruise.

[meadowlander]

On 2/22/2020 at 3:22 PM, Jilliebean28 said:

@BelfastTaxman could you please tell me more about the bus trip to the top of Old Town?  Thanks so much!

There is public bus service from the cruise port area to the top of Old Town. From the cruise port walk ,in the direction of Fat Margaret, to the Linnahall transit stop (trams/buses). Board bus 21, 41 or 73 to the  3rd stop at Vabaduse Valjak (close to St John's church & Freedom Square). From there it is a short walk to the Cathedral. 

 

You can use a contactless credit card to pay for bus tickets by swiping it against the validation pole.

[dogs4fun]

I agree with trosebery - would recommend something closer. JMHO, but I feel that the Viking Village might possibly be a tad cheesy for older teens. The tour that introduces you to to Viking weapons & the history of the Vikings is interesting but it takes too much time to enjoy this tour (3.5 hours) in addition to the medieval walled city.

 

[Jilliebean28]

21 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

22 hours ago, meadowlander said:

There is public bus service from the cruise port area to the top of Old Town. From the cruise port walk ,in the direction of Fat Margaret, to the Linnahall transit stop (trams/buses). Board bus 21, 41 or 73 to the  3rd stop at Vabaduse Valjak (close to St John's church & Freedom Square). From there it is a short walk to the Cathedral. 

 

You can use a contactless credit card to pay for bus tickets by swiping it against the validation pole.

 

Thank you so much!

[CPT Trips]

History and music buffs will be well served by viewing the documentary “The Singing Revolution” before visiting Tallin. There is also a great film about the Song Festival, “To Breathe as One.”