Advice on doing Visby, Tallinn, and Kristiansand on one's own?

[Dr. Peds]

We will be taking shore excursions in most ports but have not booked anything for Visby, Tallinn, or Kristiansand.  Any advice on doing these ports on our own?  Are there any "don't miss" things we should focus on seeing?

[kitkat343]

Tallinn was one of our favorite stops, and we really loved exploring its spectacularly preserved medieval center.  It is quite easy for most travelers to visit Tallinn independently.   Please note that this lovely city may be challenging for travelers with disabilities or families that use prams, since cars are not allowed in parts of the medieval center, and the cobblestones will make a stroller or wheelchair use difficult. Because my son has limited mobility without a stroller, our plan had been to take a pedicab around the city. There were some pedicabs at the port when we returned to the ship in the afternoon; however, the pedicabs were not yet available at 9 am when we left the ship. Instead, we took a cab to the top of Toompea Hill (this is where the lovely Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located) and then walked down. Our son was able to climb the city walls (although the passage is very narrow and steep), and there were gorgeous views. In the main square, we found a pedicab, and we were able to take a very enjoyable 15 minute pedicab tour through the charming city. Since our son loves trains, we also rode on a tourist train that departs from Kullassepa street whenever it is full and makes a 20 minute loop around the city. We were fortunate to sit in the very back, since we had a great spot to take photographs from the back of the train. We ate a delicious lunch at Gloria ( http://www.gloria.ee) , a charming historic restaurant with excellent duck and fish.

We also greatly enjoyed our visit to the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn.

( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). Kids also love the simulated weapons and radio controlled boats at the museum. There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children.

 

We liked the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum, but it might be more of a family activity or something to do if it rains.  For the most part, people seem to really enjoy just wandering around the beautiful historic parts of Tallinn, and using a pedicab if you have limited mobility.

 

There is also the KGB museum to consider (which I haven't visited but seems quite well recommended or the Museum of the Occupation if you are more interested in history.  

 

[ontheweb]

I can only comment on Tallinn. We had Rick Steves' Scandanavia book and just followed his walking tour. It is very specific with instructions like take 10 steps and then turn left.

[ljandgb]

We did a walking food tour with a local company.  It was excellent.  The food was interesting, but the stories our guide told us of life in Estonia were fascinating.  Lots of general history, but quite a bit about the Russian invasion, the revolution and Estonia's rebuilding, and even how her family still had an exit plan in case Russia invades again.  

[edinburgher]

7 hours ago, Dr. Peds said:

Visby, Tallinn, or Kristiansand.  Any advice on doing these ports on our own?

Both Visby and Kristiansand are easily walkable from the dock.  We found Kristiansand a little underwhelming and only walked around, with the area closest to the sea our preferred pathway.  Otherwise we found little to interest us so you may need to do some thorough research to find more to your liking, perhaps even venturing out of town.

 

OTOH, we really liked Visby.  It is also a popular vacation destination for Scandinavians due to its appeal.  Such a pretty town to explore on foot.  There should be many images and much info found online if you look.  It was a lovely weather day for us so that helped, but it was also a welcome and relaxing  break from several days of fairly intense Scandinavian city sightseeing and I think you will enjoy your time there.

[Hezu]

8 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

We also greatly enjoyed our visit to the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn.

( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). Kids also love the simulated weapons and radio controlled boats at the museum. There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children.

That museum is actually part of Estonian Maritime Museum and the reference to the seaplanes comes from the fact that the museum building was originally built as a hangar for seaplanes and the adjacent waters formed a seaplane harbour.

[Dr. Peds]

Thanks so much for all this great information.  It is incredibly helpful for our upcoming cruise!

[Desdichado62]

There are lots of information on Visby on these boards. Just do a title search for Visby and you should find several threads about Visby.

Here is a link to official tourist info.

 

https://gotland.com/besoka-uppleva/?https://gotland.com/&gclid=CjwKCAjw44mlBhAQEiwAqP3eVunDlX8EzJEUyfDP5keT93GpFhP60xMhN3NYc1wsVzTz8tZ8eSzINhoCiyIQAvD_BwE

[cmph]

We just returned from our Baltic cruise. We also used Rick Steves' Tallinn walking tour, and I annoyed my teens by reading aloud to them about the sites. I personally wouldn't have done it any other way. We weren't entirely sure what we'd do at the end of the tour, but we took a lovely walk through a park back toward the cruise terminal. So interesting to see playground equipment and day camp groups alongside the historic sites there! Only lowlight was stopping in a convenience store near the cruise terminal and finding white pride paraphernalia on display. The kids and I were looking at drinks in a refrigerator when my husband saw the back wall with all of that (signs, guns, shirts, you name it), fronted by 2 aggressive looking guys, and quietly muttered "holy hell, we need to get out of here right now." It was unexpected and awful after our nice day. 

 

3/4 of my family LOVED Visby! So pretty with the ruins and gardens. (Our 14yo son thought the ruins were ugly and prefers cities, so he thought it was terrible compared to Stockholm - can't win 'em all! His sister, on the other hand, wants to move there LOL.) I used this for preliminary guidance: https://backroadplanet.com/how-to-explore-visby-on-your-own/. I plotted out our route on googlemaps and saved them to my email to pull up that day. IMO it would be a complete waste to book a tour in Visby, b/c it was so nice to just wander at your own pace. The sites have informative signage in English, so you won't need reference material or a guide to explain anything. It doesn't feel like it has any tourist-traps the way that Tallinn and Gdansk do, just a pleasant place to visit. 

 

Can't help with Kristiansand, as that wasn't on our itinerary.

[lynncarol]

No need for a ship excursion.  Our first stop in Tallinn was their Visitor center.  At the time they had a bus tour that took you out to the folk-music stadium as well as a city tour with a guide. It seems they also have free walking tours from the center now. 

As for Kristiansand, right off the boat was the Odderaya Peninsula, a former military area that has been converted into a recreational park.  There are still armaments and fortifications in place and great viewpoints.  In August, blackberry bushes along the trails were laden with fruit which augmented our picnic lunch.