Estonia is the most northerly of the Baltic States, bordering Russia to the east, Latvia to the north and separated from Finland by a relatively narrow strip of land. A very small country (population less than 1.5 million), its official language is Estonian and some Russian, German and Finnish is spoken by many. The official currency is the euro. The climate is temperate, with cool to warm summers and cold winters, snow covering the ground for several months in parts. Food is fairly simple here, with fish being common.

For many years under the control of the former USSR, Estonia gained independence in 1991 and has flourished in the intervening years. It had previously been subjected to Polish, Swedish and Danish rule amongst others, so the influences here are many.

Many visitors to Estonia head straight for Tallinn and this is not surprising given its quaint and well preserved medieval centre, but there are also National Parks, forests, wooded swamplands, numerous lakes and many unspoilt islands in this small country. There is also some skiing. Architecture in Estonia is very Baltic, but there are definite influences from past occupations.

Nowadays, Tallinn is well connected in terms of travel, with low cost airlines flying into Tallinn, good rail connections and ferry services to northern Europe. The number of hotels in Estonia has increased significantly over recent years, but self catering apartments are available, particularly in the towns and there are many agritourism type establishments offering apartments and rooms to rent in the countryside.