Citizens of the EU/Schengen and most other European countries, as well as citizens of USA, Japan, Australia, and some other countries do not need a visa to enter Estonia. Visas are however required e.g. from citizens of Canada, Russia, Ukraine. Exact information on the regulations in force at any given time is available from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Should you need a visa to attend AFP'04, please contact the organizers well before the school for an official invitation letter.
For most of the participants, the most reasonable way to travel to Tartu is through Tallinn. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is situated in North Estonia, on the coast of Finnish Gulf.
There are direct flights to Tallinn from London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Moscow, Kiev, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Vilnius, Riga. For precise information, see the web homepages of Tallinn Airport and Estonian Air. Tallinn Airport, unlike most international airports in big cities, is situated on the area of the town, remaining only about 2 kms from the centre. One can reach the centre by bus no 2 or by taxi.
A bus ticket in Tallinn costs 15 EEK if bought from the driver and 10 EEK if bought from a stand. The recommendable taxi companies in Tallinn are: Tulika Takso (phone 1200 or 612 0000), E-takso/Takso 1700 (phone 1700 or 605 9700), and Peretakso (phone 16111 or 646 0006). The charge is typically 7 EEK per km plus 12 EEK, but no less than 35 EEK.
For ferry connections from/to Stockholm and Helsinki, see the web pages of Tallink, Silja Line, Eckerö Line, Nordic Jet Line. The international port terminals are also situated near to the centre. One also may wish to travel to Tallinn from Helsinki by helicopter.
The most natural way to travel from Tallinn to Tartu is by coach. The coach station in Tallinn is situated 1.5 kms from the airport, on the way to the centre. One can easily reach there from the airport by bus no 2 or by taxi. Coaches leave for Tartu every 15–30 minutes at daytime, but much more seldomly in the evening. The official travel time of fast coaches is 2 hours 25 minutes but in summer usually the real travel time is within 2 hours 15 minutes.
The coaches from Tartu to Tallinn stop by Tallinn airport if you ask the driver to do so. However, they don't stop there when going from Tallinn to Tartu.
It is also possible to travel between Tallinn and Tartu by train. Use train if convenience during the travel is your first priority; however, trains go seldomly (4 times a day in both directions) and they are not faster than coaches. The timetable is at the homepage of the company Edelaraudtee.
People from the nearest countries, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the nearest part of Russia, may decide to travel to Tartu without going through Tallinn. There are direct coach lines to Tartu from Riga, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kiev.
Estonia (just as Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Greece) uses Eastern European Time, EET, which is one hour ahead of Central-European Time, CET. In summer we have DST.
The currency in Estonia is Estonian kroon (EEK). EEK is pegged to EUR at the rate of 1 EUR = 15.64664 EEK. The cash notes and coins in use are described on the page of Estonian Bank.
Major bank cards are widely accepted. You may be requested to present your passport or driver's licence in proof of identity when paying with a card. Bank offices and currency exchange points are numerous and have very reasonable opening hours. Cash advance is also possible from ATMs.
The electricity supply is 220 volts AC, 50 Hz. European-style 2-pin plugs are in use.
Postage on letters (up to 20 g) [postcards] within Estonia is 4.40 [3.60] EEK, to the Baltic and Nordic countries 6.00 [5.00] EEK by air mail and 5.50 [4.50] EEK by surface mail, to the rest of Europe and the former USSR 6.50 [6.00] (only air mail is possible), to the rest of the world 8.00 [7.50] EEK (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.
As of 1 Feb. 2004, area codes are not used in Estonia, but they used to be there, and there was the initial 0 in the area codes that had to be dropped when calling to Estonia from abroad. A number in the old formatting such as (07) 654 321 has now become 765 4321.
International calls to Estonia: dial the prefix for intl. calls (00 in most countries), then the country code 372, then the subscriber's number.
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 universal emergency number is 112. For police only, dial 110.
There are 3 GSM operators in the country: EMT, Radiolinja Eesti (RLE) and Tele2.
Payphones take Elion phonecards only (there are no coin-operated payphones). The three different cards cost 30, 50 and 100 EEK and can be bought from newsstands and supermarkets.
A clickable map with all public WiFi areas in Estonia is available at www.wifi.ee.
The public town transportation system of Tartu is quite efficient. 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 drivers and from newsstands, they are validated by punching. The tickets sold in stands are valid on the lines operated by Connex only (lines no 1–22, usually big bus). One ticket costs 10 EEK if bought from the driver and 8 EEK if bought from a stand. You may wish to buy a day ticket (30 EEK) or 10 day ticket (100 EEK). Lines operated by Automen (lines no 31–34, small bus) have their own ticket system and pricetable.
Any kind of information about Estonia you need you can probably find using the Web gate to Estonia. Information about Tartu can be found on Tartu homepage For an in-depth background info on Estonia, we recommend the Estonian Institute's www.estonica.org.