Eurocrypt 2011 (May 15th-19th, 2011, Tallinn, Estonia)

Travel

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Updated Feb. 8, 2011

Getting to Tallinn

There exist direct flights to Tallinn from Amsterdam Schiphol, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf Weeze, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Frankfurt Main, Göteborg Landvetter, Helsinki Vantaa, Kiev, London Gatwick, Luton and Stansted, Milan Bergamo and Malpensa, Moscow, Munich, Oslo Gardermoen and Rygge, Prague, Riga, Stockholm Arlanda and Skavsta, St. Petersburg Pulkovo, Warsaw, and Vilnius. For information on the connections, see the web homepages of Tallinn Airport.

Tallinn is mostly served by traditional airlines whose flights are sold by any reasonable travel agent (Estonian Air, Lufthansa, SAS, Finnair, CSA, LOT, Air Baltic). This said, the flights of Estonian Air are often considerably cheaper, if bought online from the airline.

Tickets to the flights of easyJet from London Stansted, norwegian.com from Oslo Gardermoen and Ryanair from Dublin, Düsseldorf Weeze, East Midlands, Edinburgh, London Luton, Milan Bergamo, Oslo Rygge and Stockholm Skavsta are only sold online by the airlines.

The city is 4 kms from the airport and you reach it either by taxi or bus no. 2 (timetables). You are travelling from "Lennujaam" (Airport) in the direction of "Reisisadam" (Passenger Port). The most centrally located stop in the city center is "A. Laikmaa" just across the road from the Sokos Hotel Viru, the travel time there is 13 min. (More about public transport and taxis in Tallinn below.)

For ferry connections from/to Stockholm and Helsinki, see the web pages of Tallink, Viking Line and Eckerö Line. Fast boats do not run in the winter season.

From Vilnius, Riga, St Petersburg the coach services of Lux Express are the most practical travel option.

There is a daily train connection from Tallinn to Moscow operated by GoRail. The railway station is not far from the Old Town and harbour. From the railway station to the city take tram no. 1 or 2 or just walk 10 minutes through the Old Town.

Interactive Maps of Tallinn

Map of Tallinn (1)

Map of Tallinn (2)

Map of Estonia, incl. Tallinn

Time

Estonia (just as Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania, ...) uses East-European Time, EET, which is one hour ahead of Central European Time, CET, in other words GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer.

Electricity

The electricity supply is 220 volts AC, 50 Hz. European-style 2-pin plugs are in use.

Money and banks

On January 1, 2011, Estonia changed over to the Euro (EUR), the single European currency (Euroweb). Some websites still list prices in Estonian kroons (EEK). It is useful to know that 1 EUR = 15.64664 EEK (pegged).

ATMs abound in the city although they are not always well visible. Beware that an Estonian ATM first gives you your money and only then returns the card. Worse, you have to ask the machine to give your card back. Luckily for you, these machines speak English. Almost all businesses (but not newsstands, bus drivers, taxi drivers) accept bank cards (even for the smallest payments) and the local people carry very little cash.

Postal services

Postage on letters and postcards (up to 50 g) within Estonia is 0.35 EUR, to the Baltic and Nordic countries 0.58 EUR by air mail 0.51 EUR by surface mail, to the rest of Europe and the former USSR 0.58 EUR (only air mail is possible), to the rest of the world 0.58 EUR (only air mail is possible). Air mail post has to be marked with blue "Prioritaire / Par avion" stickers.

Post offices are open during the normal shopping hours. Stamps are also sold in newsstands. More information from Eesti Post.

Phones

Area codes are not in use in Estonia and there is no initial zero.

For international calls to Estonia: dial the prefix for intl. calls (00 in most countries), then the country code 372, and then the subscriber's number.

For international calls from Estonia: dial the prefix 00 for intl. calls, then your country code, etc. Calls within Estonia: just dial the full 7- or 8-digit subscriber's number.

The emergency number (fire brigade, ambulance) is 112. For police only, dial 110.

The fixed network is owned by Elion and used by several operators. The GSM networks are owned and operated by EMT, Elisa (RLE) and Tele2.

From 1 Dec. 2010, the are no public payphones in the country.

Internet

Tallinn is packed with public WiFi hotspots (some 375 in all Tallinn, whereof some 200 are in the center). In particular, you can connect yourself in any decent cafeteria or pub. More than a half of these hotspots are free (look out, e.g., for Reval Cafes), in others (those run by Elisa) you have to get a ticket by SMSing "wifi pilet" to 19131. The ticket (consisting in the username and password you receive in an instant reply) costs 10 EEK (charged to your mobile calls bill) and is valid for 24 hrs throughout the entire Elisa network. Check out this index of public WiFi hotspots in the country.
Tallinn city also offers free wifi - the list of hotspot addresses is unfortunately in Estonian, remark suvine means summer May 15 - Sep 30. To connect you need either to use your ID-card or order a username and password via mobile by SMSing "linnawifi" to 5 252 202. The password is valid for 24 hours and you will be charged only for the message. Problems to Elion HelpDesk 165.

Internet access through WiFI or some other form is also offered by all hotels. In reasonable hotels, this service is complimentary.

Getting around in Tallinn

The public city transportation system of Tallinn, consisting of bus, tram and trolleybus traffic, is quite efficient. The services are many and they run frequently. Most stops have timetables (affixed to the stop signpost) and many also have a map of the transport system on display (in the waiting booth). Tickets are available from the drivers and from newsstands of certain chains (e.g., R-Kiosk). A ticket is validated with a ticket punch located in the vehicle. Buses, trams and trolleybuses all operate under one ticket system. A ticket for a single journey costs 1,6 EUR when bought from the driver and 0,96 EUR when bought from a stand; a pre-purchased set of 10 tickets costs 6,39 EUR. A special express bus ticket or a completion ticket in addition to an ordinary ticket is required in an express bus. Sometimes it is the best to from trade outlets 1-hour (1,02 EUR) or 2-hour (1,34 EUR) tickets ( see also Fares and tickets in Tallinn 01.01.2011)

A interactive public transportation map is available here. The timetables are here.

The taxi situation in Tallinn is bad. It is always preferable to order a taxi by phone. In the city you should never ever take a taxi from the street. You could consider a phone order even at the airport. Some of the recommendable taxi companies are Reval Takso (phone 621 2111), Marabu (phone 650 0006). The reasonable rates are 2,24 EUR initial fare + 0,35 ... 0,45 EUR per km charge, but many companies / private adventurers charge much more. Check the tariffs on the window of the taxi vehicle (there must be a yellow A4 size tariffs sticker).

Always request a printed receipt. All taxi cars are required to have printers.

Tourist information

For tourist information on Estonia in the Web, check the web pages of the Estonian Tourist Board. For tourist information specifically on Tallinn, check the web pages of the Tallinn Tourist Board. InYourPocket.Com's unofficial Estonia and Tallinn pages make an even more useful reading.

For in-depth background info on Estonia, we recommend the Estonian Institute's www.estonica.org.

The Tallinn Tourist Information Center has two offices. One is located at Niguliste 2/Kullasepa 4 in the middle of the Old Town. March opening hours: Mon-Fri 9-17, Sat, Sun 10-15, Sun closed. The other is in Viru Center, open 9-21 daily.