Snow and Saunas in Estonia

Marta Marinelli, raised in Italy’s serene Prosecco Hills, dreamed of global adventures, inspired by her father's travel stories. Her passion evolved into a career, backed by a decade of studies including degrees in international tourism and destination management. She’s worked in the adventure travel sector since 2012, living in Italy, the UK, and now sunny Portugal.

Over twenty years, Marta has explored over 55 countries, visiting remote areas like Ghana, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Haiti and Nepal’s Upper Mustang region. As a Senior Adventure Expansion Manager at Much Better Adventures, she focuses on creating life-changing experiences, ranging from multi-activity adventures, challenging treks to ultimate adventures in iconic places. She loves the challenge of finding the best local adventure hosts around the world, collaborating on adventures that offer genuine immersion, pushing beyond the beaten path and working on exclusive itineraries that challenge your comfort zone.

What makes her tick? Enabling people to live adventure-rich lives while positively impacting and empowering local communities around the world, generating sustainable opportunities for both the host, guides, community, and the environment.

The sauna tradition is an important part of the country's identity – in many ways, life in Estonia revolves around the sauna. Although sauna may seem like a winter activity, Estonians actually go all year round – family gatherings and birthdays are often celebrated with sauna.

The steam generated by pouring water onto hot rocks in a sauna is believed to have many benefits: it cleanses the skin and increases heart rate, and the heat does its magic by expanding your bronchi and relaxing the joints. The ritual also includes light 'whisking' with birch branches, which acts like a massage.

After you heat up, it's time to cool down. Saunas are often built next to the sea, a river, a lake, or a pond so that during winter, brave sauna-goers will cut a hole in the ice before taking a dip or even rolling around in the snow. The rapid temperature change stimulates blood flow and strengthens the immune system. If that sounds too bracing, you can stand in the cold air outside the sauna while enjoying a cool drink.

Two private group sauna sessions are reserved on Days 2 and 4 of the trip. The first will take place in the igloo saunas of Sportland Kõrvemaa, which are 100% handcrafted and covered with spruce chips on the outside and aspen chips on the inside. The heat is equally distributed, making the sauna nicely humid. The sauna comes with a steam room, a spacious anteroom, and a toilet and shower room so you can alternate time in the heat with socializing in the common room and even an ice dip outside.

On Day 4 you'll get the chance to try an authentic smoke sauna. Like a traditional sauna, the Estonian smoke sauna usually consists of a small house heated with wood in a brick oven. However, the smoke sauna has no chimney through which the smoke can escape. Instead, it circulates inside the room while the sauna is heating. In 2014, UNESCO included the smoke sauna phenomenon in its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The smoke sauna ritual consists of many stages which must be followed carefully. You'll enter the sacred hot room, where you are met by the heady aroma of burning wood. You'll then rub yourself with ground plants and salt, followed by the 'whisking', gently beating your body with birch branches to exfoliate skin and stimulate circulation. Then, you'll plunge into the icy waters nearby to cool down, rinse off and feel new again!

Other sauna sessions can be reserved for free at the luxurious sauna center of the Vihula Manor Hotel & Spa.

Fat bikes have extra fat, knobby tires that are designed for riding on soft surfaces like sand and snow, and they have little or no suspension. The super-fat tires distribute the rider’s mass across a larger area, so you don’t sink in and do gain more traction than you would with a standard tire size. The bikes used on this trip are all Bottecchia Senales 26” Fat Bikes.

The tap water in Estonia is safe to drink. Please bring your own reusable water bottle to fill up at the hotels to avoid buying single-use plastic bottles.

Yes, you can leave your luggage in Tallinn or with your host on Day 1, as you'll be returning there for the last night of your trip.

Overall, the choice of the route, distance, and activity duration is always decided by your local guide, taking into consideration the group's fitness and weather conditions, so small alterations may take place with your safety in mind. In case the snow conditions on a certain day are not ideal for the scheduled activity (i.e., terrain is too icy for fat biking, snow too soft for kicksledding, etc.), your host will offer alternative suitable activities locally, whenever possible, or may suggest carrying these out in alternative areas nearby. One of the alternatives may be cross-country skiing, so you are advised to ensure your travel insurance covers this activity.

At Much Better Adventures, we work hard to accommodate dietary requirements and allergies so your trip is safe, inclusive, and enjoyable. That said, options can vary by country, location, and lodging, and in some places, options may be limited or unavailable. The information below has been provided by your host so you’re fully informed about what will be possible on your trip depending on your individual requirements. This information should be read carefully before your trip to ensure that you are adequately prepared for the situation ‘on the ground’.

Once you have booked your trip, please fill out your passenger information form as soon as possible with any dietary requirements. Once you complete your passenger information, your dietary needs and any allergies are automatically shared with your host and, in turn, your guide. Please submit this as early as possible so they can plan accordingly and deliver the best experience. Please also remind your guide about your dietary requirements upon arrival, as mentioning these in person allows your guide to comprehend individual preferences and limitations as soon as you arrive.

BACKGROUND

Estonian cuisine has been shaped by a cool northern climate, Baltic trade links, and a long tradition of farming, foraging, and preserving, so meals tend to be seasonal, hearty, and built around rye bread, potatoes, dairy, pork, and fish, with plenty of berries, mushrooms, and pickled flavors. In winter, warming stews, roasts, and soups are always on the menu. There is no food quite as quintessentially Estonian as rye bread: rye has been cultivated in Estonia for more than a thousand years and is a central part of the nation's traditional agriculture. The other national dish, verivorst, is typically a winter meal and comprises barley, onions, allspice, marjoram, and blood sausage, often alongside roasted pork and potatoes and served with sour cream, sauerkraut, or seasonal berries. We are talking serious comfort food! Mulled wine, vodka, and craft beer are especially popular in winter, to help bear the cold.

SPECIAL DIETS

Vegetarian Vegetarian diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance. In Estonia, there are plenty of delicious vegetarian-friendly options including vegetable soups (often with potatoes or legumes), and classic meals lean on rye, potatoes, berries, and mushrooms with simple salads, and sides like sauerkraut and pickled vegetables.

Vegan Vegan diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance, but you should expect fewer options and variety than you may be used to, especially outside Tallinn in more rural areas where meals are traditionally built around meat and dairy. Vegan-friendly choices are becoming more commonplace, however, and the restaurants on this trip do provide vegan menu choices which may include vegetable or bean soups, potato dishes, salads, and sauerkraut, often paired with lingonberry or cranberry flavors.

Kosher Fully certified kosher options are limited in Estonia and are mainly found in larger cities such as Tallinn. On this trip in more rural areas, kosher-supervised kitchens and ingredients may not be available, so vegetarian or vegan meals can be the most reliable alternative if this is acceptable to you. Please read the related sections above, and plan ahead with your guide.

Halal Estonia is not a predominantly Muslim country so fully certified halal options are limited and are mainly found in larger cities such as Tallinn. In more rural areas, halal-certified kitchens, meat, and supply chains may not be available so vegetarian or vegan meals can be the most reliable alternative if this is acceptable to you. Please read the related sections above, and plan ahead with your guide.

INTOLERANCES

Gluten Free (for Celiac, please see Allergies section below) Gluten-Free diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance. However, options may be more limited compared to those without dietary requirements. While your local hosts will do their best, it’s worth knowing that gluten-free provision may vary in rural areas where it is harder to source specialist products. Therefore, meals will be based on naturally gluten-free dishes more often than specialist substitutes. That said, many standard meals already include several options without gluten, even without special preparation, including meats, potato dishes, rice, eggs, and salads. Please do consider bringing your favorite snacks or food supplements from home to ensure that you always have enough fuel for your adventure.

Lactose Free Lactose-Free diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance. Many traditional dishes are naturally lactose-free or can easily be prepared without dairy, such as vegetable dishes, cabbage/sauerkraut, rice and potato dishes, legumes, and salads.

ALLERGIES

Our host has confirmed that they are able to accommodate mild allergies to the 14 allergens identified by the UK Food Standards Agency, where these are disclosed in advance. However, if you have a severe or life-threatening food allergy (including Celiac disease), please get in touch with our CX team prior to booking to discuss whether your requirements can be accommodated safely on this trip. This will allow us to carefully consider the sensitivity and severity of your allergy, the available provision on the trip, and the accessibility of medical care should a reaction occur. Your safety is always our top priority.

*Please note that when traveling overseas, local ingredients, food preparation methods, and labeling standards may vary, particularly in remote areas. It is also worth noting that any allergies may result in more limited options and repetitive provision in some areas. While your guide will help communicate dietary requirements where possible, customers remain responsible for managing their own allergies during the trip.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).

If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.

For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates daily, so prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

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All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

• 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
• 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
• 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Winter in Estonia lasts from late November until late March, with temperatures ranging from mild (above freezing) to as low as -22°F, although temperatures just below 32°F are far more common. Snow usually falls as early as late November but it is most common in the months of December to March, when this trip runs.

Mother Nature is unpredictable so snow can never be 100% guaranteed on every departure. However, recent reports show a very high chance of snow between the months of December and March. Winter hiking and fat biking without snow will be equally spectacular and enjoyable, and your hosts will do their best to suggest the best alternative activities according to the local weather conditions in this situation.