Tallinn Highlights Shore Excursion With Port Return Transfer
Description
The tour is NOT BORING! History is presented in a professional and at the same time interesting manner. Tour includes some places and stories different from other city tours
Tour Options
Itinerary
Baroque park founded by Peter the Great
See the neo Gothic palace from outside, and Soviet sculpture park
ruins of the medieval monastery
the best preserved old town in Northern Europe
Russian cathedral
Medieval cathedral
heart of the old town. finish of the tour
The center of local knighthood
panoramic view
oldest street in the city
The bithplace of the Danish flag
the oldest church and the main cathedral
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
The guide will be meeting you with the sign DISCOVER ESTONIA at the exit gate from the port customs area. there is only one exit to the city, so you cannot miss it. GPS link https://goo.gl/maps/4wZKBwB2ScM2 Please note - meeting point is NOT the pier, but the exit from the port area.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Reviews(88)
We had an incredible guide and a perfect experience in Tallinn. Be ready and able to do a LOT of walking. Highly recommended.
Dear Mark, Thank you very much for your booking and for leaving such a kind review of our tour, despite the fact that walking was not easy for you. The total walking distance on our tour is about 600 metres, or about a quarter of a mile, during the first stop in the park, and no more than one mile during the two-hour Old Town walking tour. There are also many places along the way where guests can sit down and rest. Of course, I fully understand that everyone experiences physical effort differently. Thank you for staying with the tour until the end. We wish you many wonderful travels in the future.
Wonderful day and Karina was passionate and knowledgeable. She looked after her our group very well with an older couple especially.
Outstanding tour in a beautiful city. The old town is marvelous. Our tour guide, Helena, was outstanding.
Serge was very knowledgeable,funny and very nice. We were 15 people in a minivan, the first 2 hours mostly by bus then we walked two hours. Met the tour at the end of the pier, signage could be a little better closer to the ship, but otherwise we found him.
Even though the tour stated pick up at and return to the cruise terminal, and the tour would only last 4 hours, in order to use the tour company’s shuttle back to the ship, we would have to stay another hour in Tallinn. In fact, our tour guide, Marina, warned us that the return shuttle would be a bus that would pick up another tour group as well as ours, so we had to remember the shuttle’s number as well as the driver’s name! Not exactly the small group tour experience we paid for! Marina took us to all the famous spots in Tallinn starting at the top of Toompea Hill and walking down to the lower Old Town area. She encouraged us to try the various offerings in the Old Town and pointed out Hansa, the medieval restaurant, and the old pharmacy plus interesting points to visit. However, walking the palace area where the consulates are located and walking down Toompea Hill to the lower old town shouldn’t have taken so long. The tour could have been shortened by an hour without missing any of “the must sees” like Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and Toompea Castle, the pink Parliament building. Strolling the areas on your own would have been just as enlightening as this guided tour. We ended up walking back to the ship because an extra hour in Vanalinn was not what we wanted. Also, Marina directed us to the flower market in order to catch a cab back to the ship rather than helping us with walking directions. We stopped natives for directions and used Google Maps to walk back to the ship!
Dear Tazuru, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. The guided part of the program lasted as scheduled. After the tour, guests are given approximately one hour of free time on Town Hall Square for a cup of coffee or souvenir shopping, and then the return transfer brings them back to the cruise terminal. The weather on the day of your visit was pleasant, and this free hour is designed as a reasonable compromise between different guests’ preferences. Some guests who have paid for the return transfer would prefer to go back to the ship immediately after the guided tour, while others are very happy to have a little time for souvenir shopping, visiting the historic pharmacy, or enjoying a cup of coffee on Town Hall Square before returning. For this reason, the return transfer is scheduled one hour after the guided tour ends. We cannot arrange different transfer times for every guest individually. Tallinn’s Old Town is compact, but the purpose of a guided tour is not only to show the city, but also to tell its stories, explain its history, and provide local context. This is the function of the guide and the value of the excursion. Of course, it is absolutely possible to walk through the Old Town independently and see the main streets and buildings on your own. As for calling Tallinn’s Old Town “tiny,” this is hardly a fair description. The historic Old Town covers about 113 hectares and is one of Europe’s substantial, exceptionally well-preserved medieval urban areas. Regarding your return to the ship, walking from the Old Town to the cruise terminal is actually very straightforward: from the edge of the Old Town, one can simply continue along the main street toward the port. As we understand from your review, you first went in the direction of the flower market to look for a taxi, then decided not to take one and walked from there instead. From that point, the route is indeed a little less obvious. In any case, using Google Maps to walk somewhere in an unfamiliar city seems entirely normal in our time. We are pleased that you appreciated Marina’s knowledge and her suggestions about places to visit in the Old Town. Thank you again for joining our tour and for sharing your perspective.
Walking/Coach ratio is out of balance. Walking is about 80% of the tour which led to some guests having to sit out sections.
Dear David, Thank you for booking and joining our tour. We are sorry to hear that the tour was difficult for you. However, the total walking distance covered by the group during the 4-hour program is no more than 2 miles. Around one third of the tour time is spent on the bus, and during the walking part there are many stops for explanations and rest. Best regards, Dmitry
This was a wonderful experience with a great guide. I highly recommend. The guides English was very pleasant and spoke good English. Tallin is a wonderful city.
Great guide and wonderful mix of walking and motorized tour. Would heartily recommend. Irina, our guide, was very knowledgeable
The beautiful landscapes their culture and the scriptures that are all over this beautiful city also the many different foods
Tour guide abandoned us after we were told where bathroom was located. We returned to find no group or guide. There were 3 possible routes and we never found the group.
Dear Cindy, We are very sorry to hear that you lost track of the group while visiting the restroom. The guide did wait for you, but unfortunately could not wait any longer. During a group tour, it is the guest’s responsibility to keep an eye on where the guide is going and to stay with the group. We trust that you still enjoyed your time in Tallinn and that this incident did not spoil your day.
