Advice re: Tallinn HOHO Bus Tour

I am hoping that someone can give me some input about the two HOHO bus tours that operate in Tallinn. One is called the City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour and the other one is the Red Bus Hop-On Hop-Off. Questions are:

Is one newer that the other?

Does one have better commentary and ear phones etc?

Is one route better than the other?

Is one more dependable than the other in terms of adhering to schedules like the tour duration and also the frequency of buses?

I am thinking of using the HOHO bus to get an overview of the city, plus to get our group up to the elevated part of the city since climbing stairs or walking any distance uphill is out of the question for two in our party.

Any input of advice would be appreciated.

I am hoping that someone can give me some input about the two HOHO bus tours that operate in Tallinn. One is called the City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour and the other one is the Red Bus Hop-On Hop-Off. Questions are:

Is one newer that the other?

Does one have better commentary and ear phones etc?

Is one route better than the other?

Is one more dependable than the other in terms of adhering to schedules like the tour duration and also the frequency of buses?

I am thinking of using the HOHO bus to get an overview of the city, plus to get our group up to the elevated part of the city since climbing stairs or walking any distance uphill is out of the question for two in our party.

Any input of advice would be appreciated.

Sorry, I cannot comment on any HoHo buses in Tallinn, but just be aware that the sort of incline to the top is not very strenuous. It takes several long blocks to raise you to the level of the top of the hill.

I do know that some people have take some sort of transportation to the top and then walked down at their own pace.

There is a wonderful walking tour somewhere on this board that so many people have downloaded and followed, I including myself. Some of the joy of Tallinn is to wander the narrow cobblestone streets and do a bit of exploring on your own.

The walk from where the ship docks is about 10 minutes or so and perfectly flat, if that is of any help to you.

I have a few pix where I can show you the slight incline, but Photobucket is down right now. I'll try again a bit later.

Cheers

Len

OK

Here are a few pixs from Tallinn.

the first being the sort of incline you are talking about when walking

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster537.jpg

At the top there are stairs that you can walk down. They do have hand rails to hold on to.

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/baltics/europemaster584.jpg

Cheers

Len

Thanks Len for responding and sharing the pictures. Knowing our particular limitations, I still think that we will be looking at the HOHO bus or a taxi to get to the top

However you do it, you will love Tallinn. A real jewel on a wonderful itinerary.

Cheers

Len

Only use a HOHO there if you are in pretty bad shape and can't walk a few miles. Talin is a pure DIY on foot city for most people.

Not sure of your limitations, and agree that Tallinn is maybe one of the easiest DIY ports in the Baltics. That said, it has some of the most rough and irregular cobblestones streets I've ever seen. I'm not even sure you could push a good jogging stroller thru those streets.

If anyone in your party is not a steady walker, or needs assistive devices to walk, the bus may be a better option. The streets within the old town are very narrow, and I'm going to assume the bus maybe skirts much of it and deposits you at key points along the edge or a bit inside the old town? You would still see quite a bit.

FWIW, Tallinn was one of our favorite ports.

The old town is pedestrian only - the HOHO bus will not enter but will stop at several points outside the walls. Route map:

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/documents/tours/1026.pdf

Parts may be pedestrian only, but we definitely had to move to the side for cars during some of our walking tour. Our guide even commented that cars do not last long because of the roughness of the cobbles. There were not many roads large enough for a bus though, so it doesn't surprise me they stay at the perimeter.

we visited Tallin just before my husbands hip replacement so he couldn't walk far at all

The walk from the ship to end of port area where the HOH0 buses is a good 10 minute walk-its a large port and you pass through a craft market on the way

It is completely flat and 10 minutes may not sound long but it is a long way when you cant walk without discomfort/pain which is what the OP is saying is the case with 2 of their party

We caught the HOHO bus which gave an overview of the lower town but never got to see the town within the walls

One of the stops was for access to inner city walls area but it involved an upward slope/steps which combined with the prospect of the cobblestones was too much for my husband

Tallin is a delight for able bodied but an issue for mobility challenged

A private tour in a car isn't an option in this port because as stated vehicle acess limited and anyway private tours in Baltics are hard to find and very expensive

When we went to Tallin we took a taxi to the top of Trompea Hill and walked down. For anybody with mobility issues it is quite steep.

I took a manual wheelchair and the pavements were very narrow with no dropped kerbs. Fortunately, I can walk short distances and spent lots of time getting in and out of the wheelchair .

You can get details about free walking tours at the tourist office, Tripadvisor , or just Google. These days they are widely available in many European cities.

I had wanted to go to Tallin for some time, but it turned out to be the least favourite of the ports on our Baltic cruise.

That's too bad. It really was one of our favorites, but I think that was in large part to our tour guide who gave us a very in-depth and personal look at Estonia's distant and recent history. It was fascinating and made me really appreciate the Estonian people. They are resilient and humble. Besides the fact they'd been occupied for most of 800 years, when they finally gained their freedom (by singing!) in 1987 they went from zero economy to a stable and prosperous country with an almost 100% literacy rate? It's obviously more nuanced than that, but bottom line is there is so much more to Tallinn than just the old town.

To the OP, I wonder if you contacted some of the private tours if they could modify a tour for you?

ljandgb

I think the reason we were not so impressed is that a couple of years ago Tallin got a lot of good publicity as a place to go for a short break. However, we found it very crowded and very touristy. It's not that we didn't like it, but I suppose that with all the hype we just expected more.

Let's just say that of all the places on the cruise it is probably the one we would prefer not to revisit.