what was Tallinn like ?

[jon1959]

It's also possible to take a ferry to Helsinki from Tallinn. At 120/150 minutes each way you could even do it on a day trip.

We did it the other way around about 20 years ago. Were in Helsinki for 5 days and did the ferry day trip to Tallinn. Loved the place once you get clear of the port - red caviar and local Champaign in the main medieval square for the price of fish and chips with a pint in the UK.

My main memory is the hundreds of Finns who got on the ferry at 7 am with empty wheely suitcases, headed straight to the Carrefour supermarket above the port when we arrived, and then got the first ferry back to Helsinki with cases rattling with cheap bottles of spirits. The ultimate booze cruise.

I doubt any of them made it into the town!

[Taunton Blue Genie]

We did it the other way around about 20 years ago. Were in Helsinki for 5 days and did the ferry day trip to Tallinn. Loved the place once you get clear of the port - red caviar and local Champaign in the main medieval square for the price of fish and chips with a pint in the UK.

My main memory is the hundreds of Finns who got on the ferry at 7 am with empty wheely suitcases, headed straight to the Carrefour supermarket above the port when we arrived, and then got the first ferry back to Helsinki with cases rattling with cheap bottles of spirits. The ultimate booze cruise.

I doubt any of them made it into the town!

Boats departing Helsinki/Tallinn also offer a workaround if you want to see St Petersburg without a conventional visa, I understand. A conventional visa* is a pain in the rear end to obtain (or was when I did it) as you had to be in London for the morning (which meant staying overnight), having completed an application form that is almost a carbon copy of that required for the US and being processed by surly staff who take your electronic fingerprints and leave you at least £100 poorer.

*A cheaper version is available for this route and for a short stay.

[light up the darkness]

Boats departing Helsinki/Tallinn also offer a workaround if you want to see St Petersburg without a conventional visa, I understand. A conventional visa* is a pain in the rear end to obtain (or was when I did it) as you had to be in London for the morning (which meant staying overnight), having completed an application form that is almost a carbon copy of that required for the US and being processed by surly staff who take your electronic fingerprints and leave you at least £100 poorer.

*A cheaper version is available for this route and for a short stay.

If you want a visa for Russia it’s quicker , a lot cheaper and more fun to catch the Eurotrain to Brussels. Well actually in the end the cost is the same but you’ve had a nice couple of days away

[Des Parrot]

Planning to drive it next year (from Poland) Kaliningrad (if we can get visa) Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki (& back) something different!

[Taunton Blue Genie]

If you want a visa for Russia it’s quicker , a lot cheaper and more fun to catch the Eurotrain to Brussels. Well actually in the end the cost is the same but you’ve had a nice couple of days away

How does catching the train to Brussels provide a Russian visa?