a week in estonia

I plan on visiting Estonia for a week in late August. I do not want to drive and wonder about great places to visit aside from Tallinn? I like anything to do with history or nature.

thanks a lot, J

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Consider one of the day trips from Tallinn to Laahemaa National Park which includes visits to some old manor houses.

Within Tallinn area be sure to visit the Folk Museum and Kadriorg.

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If you don%26#39;t mind bus ride, then I recommend Viljandi, Tartu and Southern Estonia overall. You can take a walk around Viljandi and then rest in a small cafe. It%26#39;s lovely! Then head to Tartu (bus ride takes less than 2h, from Tallinn to Viljandi it%26#39;s about 3h). There%26#39;s also a lot historical to see.

From nature, my favorite places are Soomaa and Taevaskoja. Soomaa is more in Western part of the country around Pärnu, whereas Taevaskoja is around Tartu. If you want, you can take a canoe trip on river flowing through Soomaa or a bog trip, which is fantastic in my humble opinion. Taevaskoja is great for hiking and you can really relax there.

You can also find many beautiful places in South of Estonia like Piusa sand caves and Suur-Munamägi (a hill), where you can enjoy a great view.

Well, all of this demands some buses and cycles, if you don%26#39;t want to drive a car yourself.

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If you like nature you must see Lahemaa national park, it%26#39;s truly amazing.

But I%26#39;d second the tours suggestion for doing so. I%26#39;m not normally into them and usually like to do my own thing, but public transport outside Tallinn isn%26#39;t so wonderful, the places you want to see are spread apart, and for me driving has the added disadvantage that it%26#39;s on the wrong side of the road...

I took two full day tours from estadventures, who are I think the only people that do day tours away from Tallinn and Lahemaa; they were really good and I%26#39;d highly recommend them to anyone.

There%26#39;s lots of other people that do tours to Lahemaa, but they are all more expensive and use big tour buses rather than a more personal mini bus.

If you want nature without going so far afield, you shouldn%26#39;t miss the outdoor museum at Rocco al Mare, and you also might like the walk up the river valley at Pirita. I%26#39;ve posted a review and pictures of Pirita today but they haven%26#39;t been accepted yet!

Parnu and Tartu are both lovely and you shouldn%26#39;t miss them, but for both there%26#39;s no need to get a tour as you can easily go by train or bus and moving around isn%26#39;t a problem once you get there.

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Lahemaa would be a good choice if You like to enjoy nature. There are some really nice hiking trails and camping places. If You%26#39;re interested in history suggest to visit Sagadi Manor www.sagadi.ee on the border of Lahemaa.