How to Get Around Estonia

Estonia is small enough to cross by train in a morning, and Elron, the national rail operator, runs from Tallinn's main station, Balti Jaam, to Tartu, Narva, Viljandi, Valga and the rest; tickets are sold from ticket machines by card, from on-board staff as singles, 24-hour and 30-day tickets, and from the Tallinn and Tartu station offices, the Tallinn one open every day from 8.00 to 21.30. Advance sales for standard class end five minutes before departure, so a ticket bought on the platform or on board is normal. Tallinn made its buses, trams and trolleybuses fare-free within the city limits in January 2013 -- a right that, as Elron's page notes, belongs to Tallinn residents; visitors pay, and the city's ticket page refused a scripted request, so the fare is not repeated here.

The islands are reached by TS Laevad's ferries from Virtsu to Kuivastu on Muhu, joined to Saaremaa by a causeway, and to Hiiumaa: an adult passenger pays €4.30 on the Saaremaa line and €4.85 on the Hiiumaa line, a passenger car €12 and €14.30, a bicycle €1.20 and €1.70, and the vehicle ticket does not include the driver. Vehicle prices rise 20 per cent for departures from the mainland on Fridays after 13:00 and from the islands on Sundays after 13:00, which is the Estonian weekend in one rule. Ferries from Helsinki, Stockholm and Mariehamn land at Tallinn's port, one of the busiest passenger harbours in Northern Europe.

Trains

Elron sells single, 24-hour and 30-day tickets and farecards from on-board staff, ticket machines by payment card or smartwatch, and the ticket offices at Tallinn's Balti Jaam (daily 8.00 to 21.30) and Tartu station (daily 7.00 to 19.45). Advance ticket sales for standard class, online and at offices, end five minutes before departure from the passenger's starting station; for first class, 30 minutes before departure from the train's origin. Discounted tickets are half the full fare, rounded to the nearest 10 cents, with a €1 minimum. A family ticket seats one or two adults and up to four children in a reserved five-seat area on the diesel routes to Viljandi, Rapla, Türi, Narva, Rakvere, Tartu, Valga and Koidula. Fares themselves change with the timetable and are not repeated here.

Ferries to the islands

TS Laevad, on the Saaremaa (Virtsu–Kuivastu) and Hiiumaa lines: adult passenger €4.30 / €4.85; passenger car €12 / €14.30; motorcycle €4.85 / €6; bicycle €1.20 / €1.70; a bus of up to 23 seats, caravan or motorhome €12 / €14.30; children who have not turned seven by 1 October of the school year travel free. A passenger ticket must be bought for every passenger, the vehicle ticket does not include one, and vehicles pay 20 per cent more from the mainland on Fridays after 13:00 and from the islands on Sundays after 13:00. Information line +372 618 1310, 8.00 to 20.00. Prices are set by a regulation of the Minister of Economic Affairs and include VAT.

Tallinn and the sea

Tallinn's city buses, trams and trolleybuses have been fare-free within the city since January 2013 for those with the right to it -- Tallinn residents, in Elron's phrase; the city's ticket page for visitors did not answer. Viking Line, Tallink and Eckerö Line connect Tallinn to Helsinki, Mariehamn and Stockholm; the passenger service to Helsinki dates from 1968.