April Fool’s in Estonia
Text Timo Raussi Photos Saka Manor / AI
Lazy holidays, a dome beach, and dissolving plates: this is how April Fool’s Day was celebrated in Estonia. At The Baltic Guide editorial office, we put together a selection of some of the April Fool’s jokes that Estonian tourism businesses shared on social media on 1 April. Would you have believed these stories at first glance?
Saka Manor Hotel, located on a high coastal cliff above the Gulf of Finland near Valaste Waterfall in Eastern Estonia, announced that due to increasing visitor numbers it plans to build cave-like additional accommodation inside the limestone cliff. This would guarantee sea views from the new rooms. The hotel’s management attributes its popularity to the historical authenticity of manor houses and the emotional experience they offer—something standard hotels cannot provide.
Tallinn’s Christmas Market will open next winter only on snowy days to ensure an authentic experience. On snowless days, visitors will be provided with VR headsets on site to help them immerse themselves in the atmosphere.
In Pärnu, a “Rannahall” dome guaranteeing a tropical temperature of 28 C year-round was opened, complete with a sandy beach, palm trees, cocktail bars, and waterslides. The first hundred visitors were promised a free sunset. According to news from Narva-Jõesuu, a similar dome-shaped weather shelter is also being developed there, although the project is still in the pilot testing phase.
In Kuressaare, an Estonian exhibition point of Madame Tussauds will open this summer. Alongside figures of Leonardo DiCaprio, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Taylor Swift, a separate Saaremaa hall will feature exhibits including the folk legend Suur Tõll, and Vikings who travelled on the Salme Viking ship burial.
In southeastern Estonia, the Värska spa launched a “lazy holiday” package. The offer includes accommodation, three meals a day served to the room, in-room muscle massage, bathroom scales to monitor weight stability, wheelchair transport from the room door to mud and mineral baths, and entertainment and Setomaa cultural content delivered via the room’s TV.
Our own story about food plates that dissolve in your hands within half an hour at public events in Estonia from autumn onwards was also a prank. It did, however, contain a grain of truth, as the conditions for the Green Key certificate are becoming stricter—this time for accommodation providers, who Estonia’s tourism sector will indeed begin training. Bringing your own thermos cup when travelling is actually a sensible eco-friendly choice, as some cafés and, for example, the Circle K service station chain genuinely offer coffee at a lower price when served in the customer’s own cup.
To learn more about this and similar topicsApril Fools’ Day Kuressaare Pärnu beach Saaremaa Saka Manor Tallinn Christmas Market Värska Spa
