Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A-Terminal, B-Terminal, and C-Terminal are clustered together; the cruise terminal is just
to the north; D-Terminal is a 10-minute walk to the east (and the farthest from Old Town);
the Linnahall terminal is a 10-minute walk to the west (just over the large stairway). Each
terminal offers baggage storage. Be sure to confirm which terminal your return boat will
use. The main cruise pier can accommodate two large ships; when more are in town, they
may use one of the other terminals.
If you have no luggage, you can
walk
15 minutes to reach the center of town—just fol-
low signs to the city center and set your sights on the tallest spire in the distance (or fol-
low my self-guided walk, later). If you have bags, it's best to grab a
taxi
—otherwise your
rolling suitcase will take a pounding on the Old Town's cobbled streets and gutter-ridden
sidewalks. While the legitimate taxi fare to anywhere in or near the Old Town should be
less than €5, unscrupulous cabbies may try to charge double or triple.
To get into town by bus, you have several options: Public
bus#2
goes from A-Terminal
and D-Terminal directly to the “A. Laikmaa” stop—behind Hotel Viru and the Viru Keskus
mall, just south of the Old Town—then continues to the airport (2/hour, buy transit pass
or €1 ticket from kiosks in terminals). The privately run bus
#90K
also carries travelers
between A-Terminal, D-Terminal, and downtown, but costs a bit more and takes a different
route: It loops around the northern end of the Old Town, stopping at the train station, then
curls to the south (stopping at major hotels en route) before heading to the bus station and
airport (€2, 3/hour, get off at the Viru stop,
www.hansabuss.ee
)
. From the Linnahall termin-
al, Linda Line provides a
shuttle bus
(€2) to major downtown points for its passengers.
Cruise lines sometimes also offer a shuttle bus into town (to the Russian Cultural Center,
near Hotel Viru), but—since it's so easy to just stroll from the port into town—this isn't
worth paying for.
By Plane:
The convenient Tallinn airport (Tallinna Lennujaam), just three miles south-
east of downtown, has a small info desk (airport code: TLL,
www.tallinn-airport.ee
,
tel.
605-8888). A
taxi
to the Old Town should cost €8-10. Public
bus #2
runs every 20-30
minutes from the lower entrance (floor 0) into town; the seventh stop, “A. Laikmaa,” is
behind the Viru Keskus mall, a short walk from the Old Town (departs from curb in front
of airport arrivals area, buy transit pass or €1 ticket from kiosk in terminal). Alternatively,
the privately run
bus#90K
does a loop from the airport, with stops near the Old Town, the
port's D- and A-terminals, and the train station.
By Train and Bus:
While Tallinn has a sleepy and cute little train station (called Balti
Jaam), few tourists will need to use it. The station, a five-minute walk across a busy road
from the Old Town, is adjacent to the big, cheap Hotel Shnelli and the colorful Balti Jaam
Market. Tallinn's long-distance bus station
(autobussijaam)
is midway between downtown
and the airport, and served by bus #2 and trams #2 and #4, as well as by bus #90K.
Helpful Hints
Money:
Estonia uses the euro. You'll find ATMs (sometimes marked
Otto
) at locations
around Tallinn.
Telephones:
In case of a medical emergency, dial 112. For police, dial 110. Most Estonian
phone numbers are seven to eight digits with no area codes. Tallinn numbers begin with
6, and mobile phones (more expensive to call) begin with 5. (From outside Estonia,
you'll first dial the country code: 372.)
