Why it pays to venture beyond Tallinn and explore more of Estonia

As meals at eateries such as Lore and Rado attest, Estonian gastronomy is clearly “having a moment”. Tallinn’s attractive, reimagined food market offers additional temptation. This we tour alongside Telliskivi Creative City – a riot of street art, bars and restaurants – with the affable Eva-Maria Egipt-Peenmaa, owner of Nordic Experience.

INTO THE WILDS

Tallinn boasts enviable city break credentials, but Estonia’s true spirit lies in its small towns, villages and rural areas. And with a population of just 1.3 million in an area bigger than the Netherlands, pristine wilderness areas are plentiful.

Our first taste comes courtesy of Lahemaa National Park, a hit with day trippers who make the hour-long drive west from Tallinn to enjoy its forests and wetlands. Here, guide Reimo from outdoors specialist Wanderlust.ee leads us out onto the bog.

Splosh-splosh, we plod, gently bouncing on the springy, sodden peat beneath our adapted snowshoes. “It’s like following Donald Duck!” exclaims Baltic Holidays’ Phil Teubler from behind, my oversized yellow footwear accentuating my pigeon-footed gait.

“I love the colours in the bog this time of day,” declares Reimo, stopping to serve some herbal tea laced with local honey, a healthy chaser to the foraged cranberries and blueberries I’ve been grazing on. This before a pop-up forest dining experience caps the group’s gourmet experience.

All that’s missing is some local Lahemaa plonk but Estonia’s Wine Route fixes that. Emerging squiffy from a tour of Valgejoe Veinivilla, known for its fruit and berry wines, I’m thankful we’re staying local. Better still, we lord it up at Vihula Manor. Set in delightful grounds, with a pool, spa and restaurant, it makes a splendid base.

From saunas to spas, wellness is an Estonian strength, and the excellent spa resorts make great tour inclusions or standalone breaks. In fact, four of the five hotels featured in my seven-night stay have serviceable spas, LaSpa Laulasmaa proving the standout, occupying a scenic spot on the Baltic coast, 40 minutes from Tallinn.

TRADE TRICKS

Agents can swot up on such gems via LuxEst. Part of Visit Estonia’s drive to grow UK bookings, its directory of premium commissionable experiences and accommodation sits alongside other agent-friendly resources such as a list of operators selling Estonia. Meanwhile, the crowning of second city Tartu as a 2024 European Capital of Culture, complete with packed events programme, offers a timely sales hook, as I discover over my two-night stay there.

Emerging from a smooth, two-and-a-half-hour train ride south from Tallinn, my first impressions of Tartu are positive; grand historic buildings and cobbled streets spilling from the cute old town square. Later, picturesque Toome Park and the lovely botanic gardens elevate my extended ramblings, while the strikingly designed National Museum surely tops Tartu’s must-visit attractions.

Keen to see more of the landscape, I strike out for Europe’s fourth-largest lake, Peipus, or Peipsi, spending a grand day exploring the Onion Route. Showcasing a string of photogenic lakeside villages stretching from Varnja to Kallaste, this is slow travel at its finest.

The area’s indelible traditions – onion growing included – owe much to its ethnic make-up. Key determiners include the local communities of Old Believers, settled from Russia, while the rich legacy of the area’s Baltic Germans informs the local “Manor House culture”, best exemplified by Alatskivi Castle, another fine base with its four guest rooms, lush interiors and cosy restaurant.

With lovely lakeside scenery and village life to explore, alongside quirky galleries, handicraft workshops and cosy traditional inns, you could easily spend a chilled week on the Onion Route. Or do as I do and coincide your clients’ visit with a Buffet Day (the next falling on 11 May and 7 September 2024) that sees the route lined with enticing pop-up restaurants and produce stalls, those cherished onions ever present.

In fact, onions make a nice metaphor for Estonia’s diverse tourism offering, as there are many more layers to this Baltic beauty than Tallinn’s photogenic old town.

Book it: Regent Holidays’ new six-day Tallinn and Tartu twin-centre costs from £865pp, including return flights from the UK to Tallinn; transfers; three nights’ B&B in Tallinn’s Nordic Hotel Forum; two nights in Tartu’s Hotel Lydia; and return train/bus tickets from Tallinn to Tartu; regent-holidays.co.uk

For more on Estonia, see visitestonia.com and for Tartu 2024, European Capital of Culture, see tartu2024.ee/en

Trade feedback

Phil Teubler, founder and travel advisor, Baltic Holidays:

“Traditionally, Tallinn’s old town is seen as the main attraction but I would also consider Telliskivi. This industrial zone near the harbour has been transformed into a vibrant arty area full of bars and restaurants appealing to a younger crowd. Also, take a bike tour of Tallinn outskirts – you see so much more.” 

Sharon Frame, Europe Specialist, The Ultimate Travel Company: 

“Estonia is so much more than its capital city of Tallinn. While this is an undeniable highlight, this visit gave me an insight to how you can have a wide range of experiences within a few hours’ drive. Allow for an extra night or two for your customers to experience some of the local adventures outside of Tallinn.”