Travel to Estonia with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Estonia with single trip travel insurance from Essential Travel

Estonia, the northernmost and smallest Baltic state, is about the size of Switzerland. It borders Russia to the east and Latvia to the south; Helsinki is an hour’s ferry ride (80kms) away and St Petersburg is 320kms to the east. Islands make up about 10 per cent of Estonia’s landmass, the biggest being Saaremaa and Hiiumaa off the west coast. Estonia has a small population, and its landscape is relatively unspoilt. Forests cover half the country, lakes take up one-twentieth, while peat bogs cover a fifth of the country.

Estonias rich flora includes 1,470 varieties of indigenous plants, some of which are extinct or very rare in the rest of Europe. Its fauna features thriving populations of large European mammals, among them roe deer, elk, wild boar, brown bear, lynx and wolf. There are also over 333 recorded bird species, including: golden eagles, white-tailed and spotted eagles, and the rare black stork.

Possibly more than any town in Europe, the capital of Tallinn has retained the air of the 14th and 15th centuries in its old town district. This area is a jumble of old walls and turrets, winding cobbled streets and medieval German merchants’ houses. Toompea Castle, the Lutheran cathedral of Toomkirik (founded in 1233) and the Kiek-in-de-Kök tower (built in 1475) are some of the historic places of interest.

Tartu, the intellectual capital of the country, is home to most of Estonia’s universities, which may explain the city’s café culture, unequalled in the rest of Estonia. There are plenty of museums and galleries to visit, and the cobbled streets of the old town and the paths and bridges of Toome Hill are worth seeing.

Pärnu is known as the summer capital of Estonia. Built on a late 19th century tradition of mud baths, the town continues to thrive as a health resort, and also has beaches, a newly opened water park, and a variety of pubs and restaurants.

Saaremaa, Estonia’s largest island, is a sparsely populated place of unspoilt natural beauty. Kuressaare, the island’s capital, is built around a picturesque 13th century castle. Viidumäe, a botanical reserve 25kms west of Kuressaare, is home to some rare plant species. Just north of Saaremaa is the smaller island of Hiiumaa, which has some beautiful stretches of coast. The main town Kärdla is a sleepy place full of gardens and trees. To the south of the island is Käina Bay, a major bird reserve

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