Estonia is about the size of Lower Saxony, but has only 1.3 million inhabitants. Just under a third of them live in the capital Tallinn. Around 40 per cent of the population are Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians who came to the country during the Soviet era. Estonia has been a sovereign state again since 1991 and a member of the EU since 2004. Communication works well in English.
The country is as flat as a flounder, apart from the area around Otepää, where there are always short and steep ups and downs. Nevertheless, our tour takes us through a variety of landscapes: through the Laheema National Park on the Baltic Sea coast, to the shores of Lake Peipus, into the "Estonian Switzerland" around Otepää, through the lonely, almost deserted areas around Viljandi and Pärnu with their swamps and bogs, and finally to the islands of Muhu, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Apart from a few short sections, the route runs on tarmac roads. The surface is mostly in good condition and the roads are almost car-free for long stretches away from the towns and main traffic arteries. However, the network of tarmac roads is still very patchy. Sometimes the tarmac ends abruptly and turns into a dirt track, but it is often easy to roll on these roads even with racing bike tyres - we had 25mm tyres fitted. A lot of money has been invested in cycle paths near the towns and most of them are of good quality.
You can find the complete travel report with stage descriptions in the download area below:
- Day 1: Tallinn - Käsmu (142 kilometres 550 metres in altitude)
- Day 2: Käsmu - Saka (117 kilometres 400 metres in altitude)
- Day 3: Saka - Mustvee (113 kilometres 400 metres in altitude)
- Day 4: Mustvee - Tartu (101 kilometres 200 vertical metres)
- Day 5: Tartu - Otepää (84 kilometres 800 vertical metres)
- Day 6: Otepää - Viljandi (95 kilometres 350 metres in altitude)
- Day 7: Viljandi - Pärnu (112 kilometres 320 vertical metres)
- Day 8: Pärnu - Virtsu - Koguva (145 kilometres 250 metres in altitude)
- Day 9: Koguva - Kuressaare (81 kilometres 200 vertical metres)
- Day 10: Kuressaare - Triigi - Hiiumaa Island - Kassari (74 kilometres 170 metres in altitude)
- Day 11: Kassari - Haapsalu (140 kilometres 250 vertical metres)
- Day 12: Haapsalu - Tallinn (151 kilometres 350 vertical metres)
Downloads:
PDF: Baltic States: Estonia
GPS data: Estonia
