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Arrival

Estonia is a small EU member state located in Northern Europe and is a part of the Schengen area. There are lots of different travel options - but most international students probably see their first glimpse of Estonia from a plane or ship. Whether one is travelling by air, sea or land, none of the ports of entry are far from the centre of town. Tallinn is accessible from everywhere in the world by plane and, currently, nearly 30 cities have direct connections with Tallinn.

BY PLANE

Tallinn Airport is located just 3 km from the city centre. You will find a perpetual stream of taxis outside the arrival hall and it is by far the most convenient way to get to your hotel. A quick, 7-10 minute taxi ride from the airport to the city centre would cost you approximately 5-8 EUR regardless of number of passengers or baggage. After the taxi ride ask also for the check - drivers are obliged to issue the check if asked.

Furthermore, Riga International Airport is directly connected to over 60 destinations in 30 countries. There are both flight and bus connections from Riga Airport to Tartu and Tallinn.

Budget airlines that fly to the Baltics are Easyjet, which operates a Tallinn–London Stansted route and Tallinn-Liverpool route (from April 2011) and Ryanair, which flies from Tallinn Airport to 10 destinations in Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Besides - Estonian Air, Finnair, Lufthansa and many other flight companies operate here.

BY SHIP

You can come to Estonia by ship from Helsinki and Stockholm and, additionally, from Rostock and St. Petersburg in the summer. Helsinki is a mere hour and a half away on an express ship in the summer and larger ships will take you in 4 hours throughout the year. The leading provider of high-quality mini-cruise and passenger transport services in the Baltic Sea region is Tallink.

Tallinn’s ever expanding, passenger harbour (or reisisadam) has four terminals, A through D. A, B and C are on the North side of the water inlet and D is on the other side. Buses 92 and 90 stop there and can take you further into the heart of the city centre. The old city is only three or four blocks away, so walking is also a good option.

Some speed boats arrive to another harbour behind the Linnahall building a few blocks away from the main passenger harbour. The old city is a skip and a hop away from it, too. Taxis are the easiest option to get to or from these harbours - but prices can get jacked up. There’s also a tram stop a short walk from both harbours on Rannamäe tee. Take any of them heading southeast to get to the city centre; just take a stop or two.

BY BUS AND TRAIN

Two coach companies, Eurolines and Ecolines, operate comfortable direct connections to all the biggest cities in Germany, Poland and the Baltic States, as well as Russia, Ukraine and even further afield. Furthermore, Hansabuss operates an (inexpensive) express business class route between Riga and Tallinn. The Intercity Bus Terminal (bussijaam) in Tallinn is also the starting point of coaches to every corner of Estonia. You can reach the city centre from the terminal with trams 2 or 4 heading up the Tartu maantee. The terminal is situated at 46 Lastekodu Street and is open every day from 06.30 until 21.30.

The train station (raudteejaam) is literally across the street from the Old Town. Unfortunately it is not possible to take a train to Europe, but for traveling in Estonia - rail transport is the most comfortable form of transport.

CUSTOMS

On arrival and departure, a traveller must declare goods that are liable for import duties and taxes or for import restrictions at customs. Usually international students do not enter or leave Estonia with anything prohibited or liable for import taxes, but in order to prevent any possible misunderstandings, it is reasonable to ask for additional information before leaving from the local customs office or from the customs information desk or get more information from the web site of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.