Saaremaa Island

[Travelingman52]

Hi

 

Few questions about this our first port of call on our Baltic cruise in August.

Is it far from the terminal to the town?

Are there Taxis available or buses?

Is there a lot to see if you do your own thing or are the ship based tours better?

Any help much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Travelingman52

[jokskot]

Your boat will almost certainly dock at Saaremaa harbour on the north coast which is 45km north of the only town Kuressaare (on the south coast). 10 of us who visited Saaremaa recently on a cruise and met through posts on this web site hired a 20 seater minibus for about half a day at €210. There are unlikely to be buses other than those organised by the cruise company at the harbour and a 100km taxi ride is going to be expensive.

I've posted quite a bit about the planning and a report on our visit on this website. Search for everything posted by me or alternatively you can PM me at the address given in my personal details. I can also offer advice on other ports of call in the Baltic

Regards J

[LucyH]

Yes, the cruise harbour in the north is remote, as Jokskot says, but I've heard that two of the cruise ships calling at Saaremaa this season will anchor off the "capital", Kuressaare, in the south. It's shallow so the passengers will have to come ashore by tender, but they'll still save a lot of time. Kuressaare is a cute little town.

 

- Lucy

[whatnot]

I am sailing on Sea Dream Yacht Club and we will visit Kuressaare in early July. Sea Dream only carries 112 passengers and 95 crew and I suspect we are one of the ships that will anchor and tender in. Do you think we should explore the town on our own or take a ship's tour that explores the whole island. Suggestions would be helpful since guidebook info is hard to find.

[LucyH]

It really is a very quiet town. The highlight is Kuressaare's magnificent castle, one of the finest in the Baltic, that you can explore for a couple of hours, and a little market that is worth 15 minutes. I recommend the windmill for lunch.

 

That's about it, really, so you might think about the island tour, so long as it gives you plenty of time at the castle. They'll probably take you to see the windmills at Angla and the craters at Kaali.

 

-Lucy

[LucyH]

That's about it, really...

 

Just an afterthought. Fifteen minutes walk from the castle is a fine new golf course, Saare Golf, which didn't seem too busy when I was there a fortnight ago. You can even book tee times on line...

 

- Lucy

[whatnot]

Thanks so much for your info. We are only there from noon til 6 pm. I read the island tour and it did not do the castle. The tour is only 2 1/2 hours long so maybe we would have time to do the castle on our own.