Estonia can boast with numerous islands, with Hiiumaa being the second largest of them. It’s located just west of the mainland.

Since the time to travel there is a bit longer than to Saaremaa (the largest of those over one thousand islands), Hiiumaa is not that crowded by tourists and still offers every possible convenience and facility you can think of (it has SPAs, various hotells, houses for rent, hiking trails, extreme vacation etc).

Now, in order to get there, you need to use a ferry. They travel from a place called Rohuküla, which is just outside of Haapsalu, a town in Lääne County (from Tallinn getting there is a very easy task – just straight through the town with the direction to Pärnu and then Haapsalu, travel straight through Haapsalu and at the end of the road you’ll find the Rohuküla harbour).

The operator is a company called Väinamere Liinid. More information about schedules as well as online-ticket sales can be reached at http://www.tuulelaevad.ee/webroot/.

The harbours on both sides are well organized and equipped with signs both in Estonian and English. Also the buildings and infastructure are modernized.

One passing lasts about an hour and half. Mind you that though they travel also in winter, the travel time may become longer due to ice on the sea. You should be prepared to stay on the ferry for a long time (the record is about 11 hours or so). But don’t worry, these things happen only on extreme cases of weather.

The ferrys are pretty well equipped and offer decently comfy seating.

And there you go, after an hour and a half, you are on your way of exploring the island called Hiiumaa. Bon voyage!

While some towns (like Tallinn, Tartu, Haapsalu etc) can boast with their own public transport, Estonia in general is also covered with public transport routes. I would even say that the coverage is rather good and reliable. Since Estonia is about 300 km wide from north to south and a bit more from east to west, the routes are not that long and connections are pretty convenient.

The two major carriers are SEBE and GO Bus (they have routes almost to every part of the country). There are some routes operated by Taisto and other smaller and more local providers (mostly for connections to smaller villages for an example). Rest assured, illegal transport is something that does not come across very often.

Almost all the schedules can be found from http://bussireisid.ee/index.html?MENU=&KEEL=en. You can very easily search for your starting point and final destination since the website shows you all the connections that you also may need to take.

Mind you that while for some routes tickets can be bought online, in general tickets are either sold in a bus station or on the bus (or both). While the bus stations usually accept credit and debit cards, the bus drivers do not so you have to have cash with you.

It’s usually not allowed to stand on the bus while it’s moving. This is the reason why some buses may drive through stops or may not let you enter – there’s not enough seating places. Smoking, drinking and annoying others is obviously prohibited. However, use of mobile phones, laptops etc is allowed. Pets are allowed only with either dog muzzle or special compartment.

What more can I say, just enjoy your stay in Estonia!

In case you are coming to Estonia with the intention to do some shopping in terms of clothes, shoes or something similar, you in reality have two towns to go to – Tallinn and Tartu. To be frank, even Tartu doesn’t boast with something not to be found in Tallinn, so in fact, you should stay in Tallinn.

The reason is simple – Estonia is more of a big store-chains country rather than boutique loving. As an only ‘city’ in Estonia, Tallinn has even some very exclusive little shops like Versace, Armani, La Perla etc. From global and big chains Marks&Spencer, H&M, Seppälä, ZARA, United Colors etc are represented.

Probably the best place to find shoes and clothes, is Rocca al Mare center (more information http://www.roccaalmare.ee/?setlang=eng). In the center you should look for Viru Keskus (more information http://www.virukeskus.com/en.html) and just in between Kristiine Keskus (more information http://www.kristiinekeskus.ee/). All those three are big centers which have public transport access.

If you have a car rented, you may look for Ülemiste Keskus (just close to the airport in fact) (more information http://www.ulemiste.ee/lang/?articleID=74).

Now about those prices. The usual discount period is in July-August and January. Just look for those webpages since in Estonia big centers make unique discount periods as well. Prices in general in Estonia are above average. You can get genuine leather shoes from about 65 EUR the lowest while jeans can be found as an average in the same price range. If you look for cheaper stores than Cartini has jeans not looking so great but costing around 30 EUR as a minimum.

If you look for something comfy and yet cheap, go to Seppälä or something similar. Looking for something a bit more expensive or exquisite, go to ZARA, Kaubamaja and Marks&Spencer.

An average Estonian does not spend too much money on clothes. They tend to wear their clothes until there’s a whole in it or it’s irrecoverably dirty. Comparing minimum salary, which is 290 EUR to shoes and jeans prices – it does not leave much for eating; so you understand why it is so.

Anyway, if you have decided to come to Estonia for only shopping purposes – who gave you the advice?