Cycling in Estonia With Guidance From Komoot and a TV Series
Text Timo Raussi Photo Visit Estonia / Karl Markus Antson
With its mostly flat terrain and short distances, Estonia is an excellent destination for cycling tourism. Many visitors arriving from countries such as Finland and Sweden bring their own bicycles on the ferry, and those concerned about the major roads leading out of Tallinn may find reassurance in the fact that Elron trains and LuxExpress long-distance buses allow convenient transport of bicycles, making it easy to get away from busy urban traffic. Traffic heading east from Tallinn has also decreased significantly due to the lack of transit to Russia, as the Narva border bridge is now completely closed to cars.
In addition to its general information package, Visit Estonia has created its own profile on the Komoot app and website, popular among cyclists. It features as many as 154 route suggestions developed in collaboration with Estonian cycling enthusiasts. These include both local day trips and longer cross-country cycling routes, even covering Estonia’s large islands and connecting cities. The routes are organised into 23 regional and thematic collections to make browsing, searching, and planning easier.
Each route map is accompanied by illustrated information describing what can be expected along the way. In addition to distance, terrain difficulty, elevation changes and estimated travel time, Komoot offers paid features such as offline maps and voice navigation, which minimises the need to check your phone while cycling.
One of the routes recently added to Visit Estonia’s Komoot profile follows a seven-day journey by Scottish journalist and cycling guide Huw Oliver, who rode from Tallinn to Tartu via Rakvere and the Lake Peipus region. The Times, one of the UK’s most influential and long-standing daily newspapers, published a detailed travel account of his experience last week.
Some keywords from the story include: Kuld café–restaurant, Mustvee, Lake Peipus, Palmse Manor, Alatskivi Castle, Tartu, the Tallinn TV Tower, Jõekääru holiday village, Lahemaa and Alutaguse National Parks, the Majakivi-Pikanõmme nature trail, Käsmu, Rakvere museums, the Natourest nature tour company, Hirveaia wine cellar, the Estonian Wine Route, the Kolkja fish and onion restaurant, Varnja, Kasepää, Lore Bistro, and the Telliskivi Creative City in Tallinn.
Finnish Eveo TV is also currently broadcasting the series Polkemalla Virossa (Cycling in Estonia). Filmed in 2024, the episodes follow Eetu Dammert and Salla Mesimäki cycling with their rescue dogs, July and Viki, from Tallinn through Viljandi, Otepää, and Tartu all the way to eastern Estonia and Narva. The series provides a good insight into what cycling with a dog trailer is like, while also offering practical tips for those considering a trip to Estonia. Their earlier cycling adventure in Estonia from 2022 is also available on YouTube.
To learn more about this and similar topicscycle touring Cycling Komoot Lake Peipus Rakvere Tallinn Viljandi Visit Estonia
