Four easy-to-reach destinations when you are in Tallinn
If you are getting bored of Tallinn, there is a bunch of places you can travel to without extra hustle. Any of these can make a good weekend trip so no need to wait for the holidays. I will give you a few tips on how to get there and how much it will cost you.
Helsinki
The first one is Helsinki, the capital and most populous city of Finland, which is only 2,5 hours away by ferry. The main ferry companies are Eckere Line, Viking Line and Tallinnk. It really depends on the time of the year and special offers, but most of the time Viking is the one to choose if you want to spend as little as possible. One way tickets are from 5 to 20 euros, depending on the discounts they have at the time of purchase. I highly recommend joining the Viking Line Club which is free and easy — the discounts are for members only.
Once a year there is also Eckere Line big sale: tickets are usually 1 euro for a one-way and on the set date you only get a few hours to make a purchase.
You can travel with your car for an extra charge but I do not recommend doing this unless absolutely necessary as parking in Helsinki is pretty expensive and there is really no need for a car to get around.
Riga
There are two main bus lines in the Baltic countries, which are Lux Express and Ecolines and both will get you to Riga, the capital of Latvia. They cost about the same but Lux Express is much better in terms of comfort. A one-way ticket is around 20 euros with a discounted one being 5–15 euros. The journey takes around 4–5 hours depending on the number of stops and you arrive to the very city centre.
Vilnius
The bus companies I mentioned earlier work for Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, as well. There is a stop/change in Riga so it is probably a good idea to go to both places at the same time.
Sometimes plane tickets are pretty reasonable too, so do your homework before buying the first thing you come across.
Tip: for tracking plane tickets I mostly use Skyscanner which is an aggregator that collects information on every existing airline. There is also a nice “Everywhere” feature that gets you a list of all the cheapest destinations for the chosen period of time from your desired place of departure. Example attached.
Saint Petersburg
Once again, both Lux Express and Ecolines can get you to Russia’s second-largest city after Moscow for 20–30 euros for a one-way. Baltic Shuttle is another option to consider but be aware that their buses are much more basic — too basic for me as this is a 7h journey. Also, there is always Russian Railways (not a fan) and Aeroflot and AirBaltic (both pretty inconvinient).
Make sure to check for visa requirements as Russia is non-EU, and in case necessary consider applying for a recently launched e-visa option. As a Russian national, I have never gotten one but the feedback I hear on the process is mostly positive.
