all4hockey54r Posted July 11, 2017 #1 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Would it be beneficial to take a tour in Tallinn or should we just go it alone? What are the pros and cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted July 11, 2017 #2 Share Posted July 11, 2017 The obvious pros and cons of a tour are Pro: you have someone who knows where they are going and you might see something that you might not on a DIY Con: expense We did Tallinn on our own and were very happy with our experience. We planned by reading a guidebook before we left and copying some of the relevant pages. Worked out well, even in the rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ergates The Ant Posted July 11, 2017 #3 Share Posted July 11, 2017 We found Tallin ( the old town) absolutely charming and very walkable. We are reasonably fit mid 60 year olds. As so much of the town is pedestrianised, I am not sure what benefit a tour would be, unless it is a walking tour with a guide. There is a fairly long cobbled slope to the upper town, but not too arduous . I believe it may be possible to take a taxi or shuttle bus to the top, then walk down if that's easier. As already suggested, a good guidebook or on line visitor information website should tell you what there is to see, and you can then enjoy wandering around the town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremenkat Posted July 11, 2017 #4 Share Posted July 11, 2017 We walked around by ourselves. We took the little train from outside the ship which took us on a quick tour of the town before dropping us in the main square. From there we explored using a map we had printed off in advance. It was an easy walk down hill back to the ship. If you do a tour check what they involve, buses are not allowed in the old town so for example the hop on hop off bus can not take you to the centre of it all. Whereas the little train did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all4hockey54r Posted July 11, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Thanks for the information everyone! I'm looking into food tours there as well. That might be a nice alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thejuggler Posted July 11, 2017 #6 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Will be there in the next couple of weeks and will DIY as there looks to be plenty to do. Its already looking like somewhere we will go back to for a longer visit as I dont think a day will be enough to appreciate everything on offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted July 11, 2017 #7 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I recommend this as a DIY visit, but do have some form of guide to help you understand what you are seeing. We went with folks we met on the ship and shared reading from R Steves. Plenty of time to tour, have a drink and then a wee bit of shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted July 12, 2017 #8 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Here is a link to some pictures from our DIY. https://msknortherneurope.shutterfly.com/pictures/382 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradUT Posted July 12, 2017 #9 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Rick Steves has a good walking tour of Tallinn in his guidebook, "Northern Europe Cruise Ports". There are several items/sites that he includes which the tour that our tablemates took entirely skipped. When we told them something in particular that we saw, they said, "Wow, I wish we'd known about that!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbits Posted July 12, 2017 #10 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Would it be beneficial to take a tour in Tallinn or should we just go it alone? What are the pros and cons? We will be visiting Tallin in September and I found that there is a free 2 hour walking tour offered every day (http://www.traveller.ee/tour/tallinn-free-tour) which is open to whomever shows up. The same group offers a private 3 hour tour for a fee. Using my roll call I was able to put together a group of 16 and it will cost us about 9 euro per person. For this nominal amount I feel its worth it to have someone familiar with the area, who can add so much more than a guide book can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggerbearmom Posted July 12, 2017 #11 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Our biggest mistake on our Baltic cruise was paying for a tour in Tallinn. Total waste of time! It is a beautiful city and I should have taken the advice that I had read in Rick Steves guidebook. We actually ended up leaving our tour half way through and finishing out on our own. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykra Posted July 12, 2017 #12 Share Posted July 12, 2017 I thought I read somewhere on these threads that you can get an audio tour for Tallin to do on your own. Maybe at a TI. Does anyone know about this & where to pick up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted July 12, 2017 #13 Share Posted July 12, 2017 I thought I read somewhere on these threads that you can get an audio tour for Tallin to do on your own. Maybe at a TI. Does anyone know about this & where to pick up? Several options: http://tallinnaudioguide.com/ http://www.audioguide2go.com/guide.php?guide=821 Tallinn Tourist Information Centre: https://www.inyourpocket.com/tallinn/audioguide-old-town-tour_7416v This is from my DIY - the old town is very walkable. Njk5G8tUV1E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malaprops Posted July 17, 2017 #14 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We will be visiting Tallin in September and I found that there is a free 2 hour walking tour offered every day (http://www.traveller.ee/tour/tallinn-free-tour) which is open to whomever shows up. The same group offers a private 3 hour tour for a fee. Using my roll call I was able to put together a group of 16 and it will cost us about 9 euro per person. For this nominal amount I feel its worth it to have someone familiar with the area, who can add so much more than a guide book can. We did this Tallinn Free Tour last month and it was great--one of the best walking tours we've ever done anywhere, hands down. We ended up giving a 15 euro tip for two of us and honestly would have given more if we had any extra cash because the tour guide was super informative and just really funny. The free tour lasts about 2-2.5 hours and starts at 10, so we had several hours after to get some lunch and explore more on our own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel R Posted July 18, 2017 #15 Share Posted July 18, 2017 It is a small town, and very doable to DIY. After two days of DIY Copenhagen, and a day of DIY Rostock, I decided to leave the tour to an expert - and went with the Free Tallinn Tour (you can google it). It was about 2 hours and the guide we had was fantastic (If I were to have done it myself, I would have focused on the pre-WWII history - the tour covered that, plus a lot of the more recent history of Tallinn as well as its culture. It is highly recommended, and well worth the tip at the end - which is still a lot less than either the boat's tour or a private tour. Tallinn, for us, was the port that was the unexpected surprise - it was very nice, and charming. If you do not like their tour, you can always break off, and easily do the town yourself. As mentioned above, Rick Steve's have a very good tour of the town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nisky411 Posted July 20, 2017 #16 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Would it be beneficial to take a tour in Tallinn or should we just go it alone? What are the pros and cons? Just google free walking tour. We took a wonderful tour with a very informative guide all around cobblestoned streets with plenty of time for shopping and lunch ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingAPor Posted July 23, 2017 #17 Share Posted July 23, 2017 We were in Tallinn and it rained on us. It was disappointing due to the rain, however, once the sun came out, it was a lovely quaint little town to DIY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspaul Posted July 23, 2017 #18 Share Posted July 23, 2017 We loved Tallinn, had a beautiful day there and started with a walking tour from http://sakutravel.ee We were met at the port, outside the gates, had a few hours with a guide then plenty of time on our own. There was one other couple from our ship that we didn't know who also signed for this tour so the 4 of us plus the guide took off and we thoroughly enjoyed learning about Tallinn' getting facts and seeing things we may have missed had we done it ourselves. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCruiser Posted July 24, 2017 #19 Share Posted July 24, 2017 We always like to DIY in ports so we have the freedom to do whatever, whenever. Especially in ports like Tallin, so easy to do it on your own. Just walking distance from the port to old town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcruisers04 Posted July 24, 2017 #20 Share Posted July 24, 2017 do you know if most cruise ships have a shuttle taking passengers into the Tourist Info center? thanks We always like to DIY in ports so we have the freedom to do whatever, whenever. Especially in ports like Tallin, so easy to do it on your own. Just walking distance from the port to old town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted July 25, 2017 #21 Share Posted July 25, 2017 do you know if most cruise ships have a shuttle taking passengers into the Tourist Info center?thanks HAL did have a shuttle. We did not use it and did not have to wait on line for it. Walking into town worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpl100 Posted July 26, 2017 #22 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Just google free walking tour. We took a wonderful tour with a very informative guide all around cobblestoned streets with plenty of time for shopping and lunch ! How long was the tour and how arduous? Did you walk up the big hill to overlook the town? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted July 26, 2017 #23 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Tallin was a wonderful DIY port. Can't imagine sharing the charm with a tour group. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattravels Posted July 28, 2017 #24 Share Posted July 28, 2017 We walked from the ship to Old Town and followed Rick Steves' walking tour. The town did become very crowded with walking tours from a few ships docked there that day. We then took a taxi to the Maritime Museum and then taxied back to our ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quasar1011 Posted November 3, 2017 #25 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I read elsewhere that the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is only open on weekends. Is that true? We are scheduled to be in Tallinn on a Thursday next August. Although I understand that photos are prohibited inside, I'd like to visit the inside of the cathedral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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