Questions on Tallinn...

[Live the good life]

(1) Has anyone taken Celebrity's "Tallinn Highlights" tour, which includes a ride to the Song Festival ground, Pirita, Kadriorg Palace, etc...and Old Town. Which monuments did you have an inside visit of on this tour and about how many people on the bus? We are debating whether to take a private tour or a ship tour. The cost of the private tour with a licensed tour guide and driver in this case would be much higher, but less waiting around...

 

(2) Also gathering infos for other passengers-Has anyone gone to a guided sightseeing tour (walking or combo of bus/walking) covered by the Tallinn card? How was it, and about how many people were on board?

 

(3) Were there lots of mini-concerts or local medieval performers on the streets of Old Town in Tallinn?

 

Thanks, Kim

[Live the good life]

Addendum question:

 

For those of you who have visited Kadriorg Park/Palace and Song Festival Grounds, Pirita, etc...in Tallinn, was the ride worth it or should one just stay in Old Town? Approximately how long was the ride? (This private tour company also conducts walking tours of Upper and Lower town...)

 

Thanks, Kim

[CAPinBoynton]

Kim,

 

I can't answer your specific questions because we were on Princess when we were in Tallinn. However, I can give you a couple of pointers that should apply to any tour there.

 

We did the Baltic cruise in 2001, and I'm sure that things have changed some; but we fell in love with Tallinn. We did a ship tour, but Old Town Tallinn is easily navigable on your own. The only real reason to book the walking tour is that the bus will take you up to the Upper Old Town; whereas, on your own, the shuttle delivers you to the Lower Old Town. This is important because of a very, very steep hill that has to be climbed if you start from the shuttle stop and walk to the Upper Town. Honestly, the walk is so steep that even starting at the top and walking downhill is difficult in many places. You are not only dealing with true cobblestones, but also the incline. In a couple of places they even have railings on the walls of the buildings. I would not advise the walking tour for anyone with any degree of walking difficulty. Even people who do not normally require a cane, had trouble. There is a picture that shows the steepness on our website at www.thepreismans.com under Baltic.

 

The other major thing that you need to be aware of is that you need to be sure that you wear suitable shoes, like lace-up athletic shoes or boots. Old Town has true cobble stones, and in a lot of places you have to walk a distance on them. Heels or slide type shoes would be dangerous.

 

Once you get to Upper Old Town, you will see that the trip was absolutely worth the effort. The views are awesome. By the way, on our website at the end of the review is a link to our online photo album which has more pictures and commentary. The whole trip was fantastic.

 

Enjoy,

[Live the good life]

Carol, thanks for your reply. It is good to know that it is better to have a ride to the Upper Town; would be very helpful especially for my mom's tour of Tallinn also this Summer.

I also enjoy your website a lot; the candid comments about each culture were very helpful...I actually have seen it before (when you were on our Millie's roll call last year), but it is even more helpful now since we are planning for the Baltics!

 

I still hope somebody has been to Kadriorg Palace/Park and could tell me whether it would be worth the ride there and back...Thanks.

 

Kim

[CAPinBoynton]

Glad we could be of help, Kim.