About Estonia and Tartu
Hansadays
Tartu is a beautiful town in South-eastern Estonia, with slightly under 100 000 inhabitants. Ever since 1632, when Tartu University was built, most of the local life has been revolving around the university and its people. There are plenty of annual events organized by the students or for the students, which liven up the people here - anything from self-made floating device races to our own singing fests with about 6000 participants. In the beginning of each school year, about 5000 new university students move to Tartu and bring along fresh ideas and energy.
From high ground, most of Tartu looks like a fresh green forest with a few houses hidden inside. However, when you walk around, you'll easily find our extraordinary Town Hall Square with river Emajogi on one side and Toome hill to the other side. It is best to see Tartu simply by walking around since most of the sights are close enough and many roads have limited use for cars in the centre. Dorpat Hotel is about 600 m walk along a nice sidewalk by the river to the city center. Town Hall Square can be regarded as the central point. Nearby you'll find many statues, old renovated buildings, restaurants and pubs.
Hansadays
Estonian climate is diverse. We have all four seasons - green and warm Summer, vividly colorful Fall, icy Winter and fresh Spring. The time of the conference is arguably the best time of the year. Ice has melted and early flowers have started to bloom. Grass is greener than ever since the ground is humid right after Winter. Trees have small light green new leaves marking a new beginning in Nature. May is usually sunny and excellent for walking around. Lets hope for such weather also in May 2009.
Winter
If you are interested in doing some shopping or you are looking for a general store nearby, you don't have to worry. In close proximity to Dorpat Hotel, you will find the Tartu mall (ask for Tartu Kaubamaja) for general things and the new building called Pocket (ask for Tasku) for shopping and dining. There are also many stores and souvenir/jewellery shops near the city centre. Whenever you get lost in Tartu, don't hesitiate to ask for directions.
Fair in Town Hall Square
In case you arrive in Estonia a bit earlier or leave later, it might be a very good idea to spend some time in the medieval Old Town of Tallinn, belonging to the UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1997. http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/ International airport and main port are both in Tallinn, so you will most probably pass through Tallinn when you arrive to Estonia and when travelling back home. Ever since the independance was restored in 1991, the Old Town has been renovated to a state where even the locals can walk around with astonishment of its beauty.
Devil's Bridge
Travel Information
How to get to Tartu? For most participants it will be easiest to arrive by plane to Tallinn Airport, take a taxi from the airport to Tallinn Bus Station (2km) and then take a bus from Tallinn to Tartu (2.5h). You can arrive in Tallinn also by boat and then take a bus to Tartu.
PS! See the marked map on Google Maps!
Travel to Tallinn
By Plane
Tallinn airport is conviniently small and close to town. Planes arrive to Tallinn Airport from all over the world.
By Boat
Neighbouring countries like Finland and Sweden have ferry connections with Estonia. See Tallinn Port website ( or www.tallinksilja.com ) for more information.
Tallinn map - Train Station, Port, Bus Station and Airport (Click for larger)
Travel from Tallinn to Tartu
By Bus
The easiest way to get from Tallinn to Tartu is by bus. The bus trip takes 2 hours and 25 minutes. Buses between Tallinn and Tartu run frequently: 1-2 busses every hour. Some buses make a detour in Põltsamaa, so make sure to buy a ticket to express bus to Tartu without stopovers. Check the timetable from: www.bussireisid.ee. AS Sebe has slightly higher ticket prices but the buses are also better. They use their best buses at full hours and some buses have Wireless Internet connection.
By Train
There is also train connection between Tallinn and Tartu. Train departs from Tallinn at 6:40 (regular), 7:46 (express), 14:42 (regular) and 16:50 (express). Regular train trip takes approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes, express train trip takes 2 hours and 25 minutes. (Train Travel).
Railway station (also called "Balti jaam") is located at Toompuiestee 35. Train tickets can be bought at the train station or on the train. Foreign currency or plastic money is not accepted on the train. The first class ticket costs 155 EEK. First class includes Internet, 220V electricity socket, bar, coffee or tea, and the assigned seat is more comfortable with a lot of leg space. Second class ticket costs 125 EEK, comes with non-assigned seating, and none of the aforementioned benefits.
By Car
You can rent a car from Tallinn and drive to Tartu. There are no freeways between Tallinn and Tartu, but there is the Tallinn-Tartu highway which is one of the main highways in Estonia.
From Tallinn to Tartu along the Tallinn-Tartu highway
Getting to Hotel Dorpat
Dorpat hotel is next to the Tartu Bus Station (Bussijaam). When arriving by bus no extra travelling is needed. You can also see it on this graphic map on Dorpat website. Train station is approximately 2 km from Dorpat hotel. If you have a lot of luggage it will be easiest to take a taxi. However, most of the route is downhill.
Tartu map - Bus Station is next to Dorpat hotel but Train Staion is a little further (Click for larger)
Alternative route: Take a bus straight from your home country to Tartu bus station. Eurolines bus company has bus lines that stop in Estonia. Some of the buses even stop at Tartu Bus Station. If you decide to come by bus, look at their website for possible bus routes.
Travel Tips
Estonia has it's own currency which is tied to Euro. One Euro is worth 15.6 EEK. We use Estonian kroons and cents. One kroon is worth 100 cents.
Estonia is generally a technologically advanced country. Most Estonian stores accept bank cards and banking is usually done over the Internet. ATMs for money withdrawal are easy to find. However, checks are rarely used and cashing a check might prove more difficult than it's worth. If possible, avoid relying on checks in Estonia.
Wireless Internet is widely available within city limits. Most cafeterias offer Wireless Internet for free.
