Great Rail Journeys
Capital Cities of Finland, Estonia & Latvia
Escorted Baltic capitals tour with one train journey between countries
8 daysfrom $2,269
13% rail
PTG Tours · Escorted tour
Railways of the Baltic States – Part 2 – Estonia
The second of three tours exploring the Baltic states' railway systems, travelling every passenger line in Estonia, with a visit to the national railway museum and a private visit to workshops and depots.
Day by day
- Day 1overnight: Tallinn
Fly to Tallinn
Direct flight options from Stansted (Ryanair, 17:15) and Luton (Wizzair, 15:40); indirect via Riga from London Gatwick; also possible to fly from Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh via Stockholm.
- Day 2railovernight: Tallinn
Old Tallinn walking tour
Relaxing morning for own exploration, then a welcome lunch at 1pm followed by a walking tour of old Tallinn. Late afternoon visit to the main railway works and depot (to be confirmed).
- Day 3railovernight: Tallinn
Tallinn tramway and western branch lines
Charter tramcar to explore the whole Tallinn tramway system. Early afternoon rail trip west to the branch lines to Kloogaranna and Paldiski (13:45 Tallinn–Paldiski, 15:00 Paldiski–Keila, 15:59 Keila–Kloogaranna, 16:27 return to Tallinn arriving 17:14).
- Day 4railovernight: Tallinn
Haapsalu and Lavassaare
09:05 train to Turba, then coach to the historic Haapsalu railway station (built for Russian imperial family visits) and its railway museum, with lunch in Haapsalu. Continue to Lavassaare, Estonia's only narrow-gauge railway museum, for a short train ride (approx. 25 minutes). Coach back to Turba to catch a train back to Tallinn.
- Day 5railovernight: Tallinn
Narva
Express train to the town of Narva (dep 11:33, arr 14:12), returning at 16:02 (arr Tallinn 19:00).
- Day 6railovernight: Tartu
On to Tartu
10:15 train south to Tartu, with a break and early lunch at Tapa, Estonia's oldest station (dating from 1870), continuing at 12:45 to Tartu. Dinner at a brewery with a tasting of three beers.
- Day 7railovernight: Tartu
Koidula branch
10:49 train south to Koidula, the terminus of the line (arr 12:07), with time to explore and have lunch before the 15:01 return, arriving back in Tartu at 16:20.
- Day 8railovernight: Riga
On to Riga
International train at 12:42 from Tartu, arriving at the Estonian border town of Valga at 13:45, changing to a Latvian Railways train at 14:15 through to Riga, arriving 16:37.
- Day 9
Riga; fly home
Free morning to explore Riga before meeting at the hotel at 13:00 for the bus transfer to the airport. Flight departures at 15:40 (Gatwick) and 17:45 (Stansted); also possible to fly at 15:45 to Birmingham, Manchester or Edinburgh via Copenhagen.
