Visiting Estonia? Here’s what the locals love

Despite being the smallest of the Baltic states, Estonia’s dizzying shift from Soviet state to high-tech hub catapulted the nation onto the world stage. But digital innovation is not this compact country’s only draw. To help maximize your trip, we consulted local experts, ranging from film directors to tour guides and musicians, for their best tips.

Purify yourself in a traditional smoke sauna

“Estonians are ‘sauna people’; it’s in our genes. Smoke sauna is our sacred place, a ritual for healing and transformation,” says Anna Hints, director of the award-winning Smoke Sauna Sisterhood documentary. Find this UNESCO-recognized experience at the Mooska farm near Suur Munamägi, the highest hill in the Baltics. Visitors will learn about the construction, heating, and family traditions of smoke sauna. A typical smoke sauna has no chimney; a fire is lit, and the room fills with smoke.

Canoe at sunset during “fifth season” in Soomaa

“Estonians are modern Vikings, but [also] remain the last pagans of Europe,” says Aivar Ruukel, nature guide in Soomaa National Park. It’s why so many locals (and now travelers) flock to the park during “the fifth season,” a yearly weather period, usually between March and April when Soomaa transforms into a floodplain big enough to sink Lower Manhattan. It’s the best (and sometimes only) time to take a sunrise canoe trip through the temporary water channels. Then, when it all freezes, the “sixth season” begins, perfect for ice skating in the wild across the frozen landscape.

Hear the distinctive sounds from a Native community

Spend a day with the Setos, an Indigenous ethnic minority of just a few thousand people whose land spans the Estonian-Russian border. “Seto cuisine and culture are unique. [They] remained untouched because of [Setomaa village’s] isolated location on the southeast corner of Estonia, [just] on the edge of the Eastern and Western worlds,” says Anzelika Gomozova, head of the Seto community. 

One of the best times to visit this pocket of Estonia is in August during Seto Kingdom Day, a yearly cultural celebration in Setomaa. Sample traditional staples such as sõir, a quark cheese made from pressed fresh curd and produced by local masters like Inara Luigas at her café Inara Vanavalgõ Kohvitarõ in Põlva County. Then watch the community join in a leelo performance, a polyphonic style of folk singing that was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Culture in 2009.

Explore some of Estonia’s 2,000 islands by ferry

In western Estonia, ferries take passengers to Hiiumaa Island, where they can climb iconic Kõpu lighthouse. Nearly 500 years in operation, Kõpu is one of the oldest continually working lighthouses in the world. Nearby, on Ristna Cape, surfers can catch some of the biggest swells of the Baltic Sea before taking the ferry to the larger Saaremaa Island, home of the Angla windmills. Learn more about these historical agricultural machines and the local folk culture at the onsite museum. The island is also where visitors can find the crater field from the Kaali meteorite, a rare natural wonder dating from 7,500-7,600 years ago.

Photograph bird life with professionals

Estonia has a wide variety of landscapes in a compact area, so there’s lots of wildlife. “But you have to be patient before its treasures show up,” says Sven Zacek, Estonian nature photographer. You can book a photography tour led by experts like Remo Savisaar to snag the best shots of large wild game, such as wild boar, lynxes, wolves, and 156 species of birds in Karula Nature Park, Estonia’s smallest national park. 

Discover why Estonia is a dream for digital nomads 

Home to more start-ups per person than U.S.’s Silicon Valley, Estonia is a tech-lover’s dream. While you shouldn’t be working on vacation, digital nomads can switch from business to adventure and relaxation at places like the Entrepreneurs Forest or the Haani Creative Hut, which promotes efficient productivity and intentional rest in the middle of secluded nature. “After the COVID-19 pandemic, people have found new ways of integrating traveling, work, and leisure. Many follow a new success formula of workation: work + vacation,” says Lisanna Elm, project manager of the remote working network Kupland. 

Sing along with the Baltic’s largest choir

Get to know Estonian culture through the Estonian Song Festival, one of the largest choral events in the world. Every five years, tens of thousands of choir singers meet at Tallinn Song Festival Grounds to perform popular songs and a few classics such as the “Laul Põhjamaast” and “Mu isamaa on minu arm.” “People need memorable moments,” says singer and songwriter Anu Taul.  “A personal musical journey in pure nature or on song festival grounds stays with you forever.” First held in 1869, the event, which runs simultaneously with the Estonian Dance Festival, has become an essential part of Estonian identity. The next celebration will be in July 2025.

Visit a European Capital of Culture 

“Tartu is the gate to south Estonia—to the rich cultural region with sparkling life of local communities, indigenous languages, and traditions,” says Kuldar Leis, head of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024. Experience the traditional wonders of the nation at one of the dozens of South Estonia’s Community Program events. Choose from cozy fests like “Aigu Om!” in Viitina village, organized by world music artist Mari Kalkun or celebrate Midsummer and Night of Ancient Lights around bonfires with the locals.

(For more tips on what to do in Estonia, see our Explorer’s Guide.)