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6 arriVing arriVing BasiCs<br />
As European capitals go, Tallinn is a remarkably easyaccess<br />
city. The passenger port and train station are both<br />
within shouting distance of the Old Town/centre, while the<br />
airport and bus station are a quick, cheap 10 - 15 minute<br />
taxi ride away.<br />
By plane<br />
Tallinn’s airport may be a super-modern affair, but it’s so<br />
small you’re never in danger of getting lost. Once past<br />
the luggage receiving area, you’ll find ATMs and currency<br />
exchange in the centre of the hall; toilets and car rental offices<br />
are downstairs.<br />
Getting to town<br />
A taxi ride from the centre roughly costs €10 and takes between<br />
10 and 20 minutes. You can also take bus N°2 (marked Lennujaam<br />
- Mőigu) from the ‘A. Laikmaa’ stop, just outside the<br />
airport to the down town Viru Centre. Alternatively, the 90K<br />
Hansabuss-operated airport bus (see the listing on right).<br />
There’s also a separate shuttle that will take you and other<br />
passengers anywhere within Tallinn’s city limits for the low<br />
price of €5.<br />
By helicopter<br />
Copterline, the 18-minute helicopter service from Helsinki,<br />
lands at the Linnahall harbour. See the ‘By ship’ section for<br />
details of how to get into town.<br />
By ship<br />
Most ferries and catamarans arrive at the Passenger Port<br />
(reisisadam), terminals A, B and D. Left Luggage and a helpful<br />
information booth can be found in the main hall of terminal<br />
A. Exchange offices are plentiful but not always economical.<br />
ATMs are just as easy to find. Terminal D, located just across<br />
the small neck of water, has similar services. Lindaline’s<br />
boats arrive at the neighbouring Linnahall Speedboat Harbour,<br />
where a currency exchange booth is open whenever<br />
boats are arriving. Rates here are decent.<br />
Getting to town<br />
You can just head for the spires of Old Town on foot, but a<br />
taxi from the Passenger Port or the Linnahall should cover<br />
the short ride to town for €3.80 - 4.50.<br />
By car<br />
Crossing the border from Latvia is completely hassle-free<br />
now that the Baltics belong to Schengen. Getting over<br />
the border from Russia will take quite a bit longer. <strong>In</strong> both<br />
cases, be sure to bring your car’s registration papers<br />
and a valid insurance policy, such as the international<br />
green card. You can also buy insurance right at the border<br />
station. Please note that the speed limit on highways is<br />
90km/h, in the cities 50 km/h, unless otherwise noted,<br />
and the headlights have to be always turned on. For fares<br />
and regulations on bringing a car by ship from Finland<br />
or Sweden, contact the ferry companies in the ‘Getting<br />
around’ section of the guide.<br />
Transportion in style<br />
Bus 90K tel. (+372) 627 90<br />
80, www.hansabuss.ee. Operated<br />
by Hansabuss on behalf<br />
of the airport, the 90K costs<br />
only €2 per ride. You can hop on<br />
or off anywhere along the route<br />
Airport - Central Bus Station - Hotel Olümpia - Freedom<br />
Square - Mere pst - Balti jaam - Hotel Tallinn - Freedom<br />
Square - Estonian Academy of Arts - Central Bus Station<br />
- Airport. The comfortable and roomy bus runs every 20<br />
minutes from 7:20 - 18:40 daily and also offers free WIFI.<br />
By bus<br />
Buses arrive at the bus station (autobussijaam), (H-4), just off<br />
the main highway from Tartu, but Eurolines passengers coming<br />
in from Riga or Vilnius should strongly consider hopping off at<br />
the much more central Viru väljak stop (ask other passengers<br />
where), rather than continuing on to the bus station itself. Once<br />
at the station, you’ll find left luggage in the basement. The<br />
cash-only currency exchange takes all major currencies,<br />
including Russian roubles, but gives appallingly bad rates. The<br />
ATM by the main entrance is probably a better bet.<br />
Getting to town<br />
The city centre is just 1km away, down Juhkentali tänav from<br />
behind the station. Buses N°17A, 23 and 23A leave directly<br />
from the coach area near platform 1, heading to Vabaduse<br />
väljak (4th stop) in the centre, while trams N°2 and 4 run<br />
from nearby Tartu maantee to Viru väljak (4th stop), also<br />
in the centre. A taxi to Old Town should cost about €5.75.<br />
By train<br />
Arriving by train at Tallinn’s Balti Jaam (B-1) puts you just a<br />
couple hundred metres from the walls of Old Town. Since<br />
renovations the station itself is no longer a Soviet-era relic<br />
and now includes a nice restaurant and even a day spa, in<br />
case you need to unwind after your journey. Left luggage<br />
is in the back of the main hall, just off the breeze-way that<br />
leads to the platforms. The exchange booth (across from left<br />
luggage) offers decent rates on all Scandinavian, Baltic and<br />
Russian currencies. ATMs are just next to the front doors.<br />
Getting to town<br />
Just cross the street at the underpass and walk up Nunne tänav<br />
into Old Town, or take trams N°1 or 2 from behind the station<br />
three stops to the Mere pst. stop. Avoid the taxis that wait here.<br />
Using taxis in Tallinn<br />
Tallinn's taxis are notorious for overcharging - even the<br />
mayor got ripped off! (Granted, he was, pretending to<br />
be an Italian tourist at the time.) Drivers either set high<br />
mileage rates or fix their meters to run at light speed.<br />
There's no sure-fire way to avoid the cheats. but there<br />
are precautions you can take. Get to know the average<br />
rates, and try to order a taxi by phone, rather than getting<br />
one off the street. Turn to the ‘Getting around' section<br />
for phone numbers and fare details. Barring that, you can<br />
ask the driver for an estimate of how much the ride will be<br />
beforehand. Also see ‘Arriving' for estimates of how much<br />
rides should cost from the bus station, airport, etc. To<br />
report a cheat, call the 24-hour hotline, tel. 1345.<br />
Basic data<br />
Tallinn<br />
Population: 417,150 (as of 01.09.2012)<br />
Density: 2,618.6 inhabitants/km2<br />
Ethnic composition: Estonians 52.5%, Russians<br />
38.5%, Ukrainians 3.7%, Others 5.4%<br />
Estonia<br />
Population: 1,294,236 (as of 31.05.2012)<br />
Density: 28.6 inhabitants/km2<br />
Ethnic composition: Estonians 68.7%, Russians<br />
24.8%, Others 6.4%.<br />
Territory: 45,227km2<br />
Elevation: The highest point in Estonia (and the Baltics)<br />
is Suur Munamägi (318m) in Võru County<br />
Islands: 1,521. The three largest are Saaremaa<br />
2,673km2, Hiiumaa 1,023km2, and Muhu 206km2<br />
Lakes: Lake Peipsi, on the Russian border, covers an<br />
area of 3,555km2, of which 1,529km2 is in Estonia. It<br />
also holds the title as the 4th largest lake in Europe.<br />
Rivers: Estonia’s longest rivers are the Võhandu 162km,<br />
Pärnu 144km, and Põltsamaa 135km.<br />
Other cities: Tartu 98,670, Narva 64,435, Pärnu<br />
42,625, Kohtla-Järve 40,330.<br />
Local time: Estonia is in the Eastern European Time Zone<br />
(GMT+2hrs). Summer time (GMT+3hrs) is in effect from the<br />
last Sunday of March until the last Sunday of October.<br />
Borders<br />
Estonia belongs to the Schengen visa area, which includes<br />
22 EU countries, Norway and Iceland. It means<br />
that if you are travelling to Estonia from within the Schengen<br />
border control-free area, you will not be required to<br />
show any documentation when you arrive in Estonia,<br />
whether it be by ship, plane or by car. <strong>In</strong> fact you will not<br />
have to go through customs at all, but each individual<br />
country still maintains the right to perform intermittent<br />
checks. Of course if you arrive in Estonia from outside<br />
the Schengen zone you will still be required to show<br />
your passport or EU identity card if applicable. For more<br />
information on Schengen and how it might apply to your<br />
trip to Estonia, logon to the Estonian Foreign Ministry’s<br />
website at www.vm.ee.<br />
Customs<br />
European alcoholics rejoice! When you leave Estonia<br />
headed to another EU country, you can take out as much<br />
booze as you can carry (or convince inspectors is for<br />
your personal use). Coming into Estonia from another EU<br />
country, each individual aged 18 and over may carry in<br />
duty-free 90 litres of wine and 110 litres of beer and 10<br />
litres of hard alcohol (over 21%alc/vol), 800 cigarettes,<br />
400 cigarillos, 200 cigars and 1kg of pure tobacco. When<br />
leaving, beware of stricter tobacco restrictions if you’re<br />
headed to the UK, Sweden or Finland. Relatively unlucky<br />
travellers from non-EU countries can carry in a measly 4<br />
litres of wine (not exceeding €175 in combined value), 2<br />
litres of beverages up to 21%alc/vol and 1 litre of hard<br />
alcohol; 40 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars or 50g<br />
pure tobacco. How much booze and smokes you can<br />
take home depends on your own country’s restrictions.<br />
For more information, contact the Customs Department,<br />
Narva mnt. 9j, tel. 880 08 14, tolliinfo@emta.ee, www.<br />
emta.ee.<br />
National holidays<br />
January 1 New Year’s Day<br />
February 24 <strong>In</strong>dependence Day (1918)<br />
March 29 (2013) Good Friday<br />
March 31 (2013) Easter Sunday<br />
May 1 May Day<br />
June 23 Victory Day (1919 Battle of Võnnu - Cēsis)<br />
June 24 St. John’s Day (Midsummer)<br />
August 20 Day of Restoration of <strong>In</strong>dependence (1991)<br />
December 24 Christmas Eve<br />
December 25 Christmas Day<br />
December 26 Boxing Day<br />
Electricity<br />
The electrical current is 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Sockets take<br />
the standard, round-pinned European plugs.<br />
Ethnic groups<br />
About 68% of Estonia’s population is made up of ethnic Estonians,<br />
descendents of Finno-Ugric tribes that settled this<br />
area about 5,000 years ago. The largest minority in today’s<br />
Estonia is by far the Russians, at roughly 26% of the national<br />
population. Along with Ukrainians and Byelorussians, thousands<br />
of Russians moved or were sent here during Soviet<br />
times, and chose to remain after independence. Though<br />
some integration is taking place among the younger generation,<br />
language and cultural barriers tend to keep Estonians<br />
and Russian-speakers apart.<br />
Getting cash<br />
You should have no problems filling your wallet in Tallinn - cash<br />
machines (ATMs) are never hard to find. Big banks are usually<br />
your best bet for exchanging currency. At night and on weekends,<br />
however, decent exchanges are more elusive. Tavid<br />
at Aia 5 has good rates and also runs an all-night exchange<br />
window that will do in a pinch. Their night rates aren’t as good<br />
as what they are during the daytime. Another place that offers<br />
very good rates is Eurex at Estonia pst. 7. Beware of bright<br />
blue and yellow Monex exchanges around town. These have<br />
convenient locations and working hours, but generally give<br />
unfavourable rates and even charge a €3.20 - 6.40 commission<br />
on each transaction - even when they state in big bold<br />
letters ‘No Commission’.<br />
Tallinn <strong>In</strong> <strong>Your</strong> <strong>Pocket</strong> tallinn.inyourpocket.com<br />
tallinn.inyourpocket.com<br />
October - November 2012<br />
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