Sea Kayaking and Wild Camping in Estonia

Explore beautiful Estonian islands steeped in history, culture and wildlife - a unique Nordic sea experience

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Trip Ref #9182

Sea Kayaking and Wild Camping in Estonia

Explore beautiful Estonian islands steeped in history, culture and wildlife - a unique Nordic sea experience

DURATION

2 nights

LOCATION

Estonia

ANNUAL LEAVE

1 day off work

SEASON

May-Sep

GROUP SIZE

Up to 8 people

MEETING POINT

Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport

ACCOMMODATION

Wild camping · Hostel

OVERALL RATING

4.9

Based on 13 reviews
DIFFICULTY

Moderate

No prior experience needed but you should be generally fit and happy to be in the water for a while.

Surround yourself with pristine nature and feel like you’ve been transported back in time

Explore the narrow streets of Tallinn - the best-preserved medieval city in Northern Europe

Circumnavigate the twin islands of Pakri, feast with the locals and enjoy a tepee sauna by the sea

Day 1

Kayak to Suur-Pakri

Kayaking

2hrs · 4km

Hiking

1hr · 4km

Begin the adventure with lunch as Padise Manor; an 18th century mansion now housing a boutique hotel and restaurant in the Estonian countryside. Head to Kurkse Port where you’ll get your kit and kayak before hitting the water. Paddle over to Suur-Pakri Island, set up camp for the night and then start exploring. Hike to a local village and enjoy a traditional dinner with the local people who have inhabited the island for centuries. Take a tractor ride back to camp and enjoy some drinks around the campfire and a tepee sauna to round-off an unforgettable day.

Day 2

Explore the shipwreck

Kayaking

2-3hrs · 6km

Hiking

1hr · 3km

Take to the water once again as you paddle to a shipwreck that lies between the twin islands; originally sunk as a target for military aircraft and now home to a wealth of marine wildlife. Rock hop over granite boulders, fossil hunt beneath towering limestone cliffs and take a refreshing dip in the sea, before stopping for a picnic lunch at the local chapel. Get back into your kayak and paddle over to the mainland before heading back to Talinn. Spend the rest of the day discovering the old town at your leisure and exploring the best preserved medieval city in Northern Europe, complete with Gothic spires, winding cobblestone streets and enchanting architecture.

Day 3

Time to return home

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast and then head back to the airport in time for your flight home – after a last wander around this beautiful city of course.

Included

Guides

Professional, local, English-speaking guides

Accommodation

1 night wild camping on a remote island and 1 night's hostel accommodation in Tallinn's old town

Meals

Munch on tasty food throughout

Transfers

To and from the airport and everything in-between

Equipment

All your kayaking and camping equipment

Not Included

Flights to and from the meeting point

Travel insurance

Personal expenses

Day 1

Wild camping · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2

Hostel · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 3

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

You'll enjoy seasonal food that's often harvested locally. Dinner on day 1 will be with the local, Swedish residents (yes, really!)on the island where you’ll enjoy roast beef from their highland cattle, or a vegetarian alternative. If you have any special dietary requests, let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

What is the accommodation like?

Suur-Pakri Island

You’ll wild camp beneath the stars and by the water in a single or 2-person tent, the choice is yours.

Tallinn

You’ll stay at Fat Margaret's hostel in a shared dorm. Rooms are clean, comfortable and modern and the hostel has a sauna for their guests to use.

Upgrades

For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room in the hostel can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability)

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Tallinn Airport

12:00 noon on Day 1

Ends

Tallinn Airport

10:00 on Day 3

Transfers

Your adventure begins at Tallin Airport (TLL) where you will meet your guide and fellow adventurers in the arrivals area at 12:00. Please ensure your flight lands at least 30 minutes before the start point to get your transfer.

Your adventure ends when your host drops you at Tallin Airport (TLL) on Sunday morning. You are free to book any flight which departs after 11:30. Alternatively if you wish to stay for longer, you are welcome to make your own arrangements.

If you would rather be collected from Tallin town centre or dropped off there at the end, just let your host know.

Travel options

There are regular flights to Tallinn from airports across the UK and Europe.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • All kayaking gear (kayak, paddle, neoprene-kevlar spraydeck, dry bags, drysuit (if needed))
  • Self-inflatable mattress

What do I need to bring?

  • 3 Season sleeping bag (can be hired for 20 Euros)
  • Sports clothes for paddling (quick trying clothes)
  • Long sleeve clothes for evening in the camp
  • Lightweight and packable waterproof jacket (just in case)
  • A travel-towel for sauna (and swimwear if needed, but the locals might be naked!)
  • Water bottle
  • Sun screen
  • Head-torch for camp
  • Camera
  • Insect repellent
  • Mobile phone
  • Personal medicine if required (please inform your guide in case of emergency)

Optional Private Room Upgrade - night 2

Payable Before Departure

Optional Private Room Upgrade - night 2

Per Person

Sleeping Bag Rental

Payable Before Departure

Sleeping Bag Rental

Per Person

Additional Night - Hostel

Payable Before Departure

Additional Night - Hostel

Per Person, Per Night

- Kate(July 2019)

Amazing weather, beautiful scenery, splendid isolation on the islands and fun company. It had all the ingredients of a great weekend!

- Teresa(July 2019)

I had a great experience with the host. Kessu, Sasha, and Rene were all next-level guides; among the best guides I've ever worked with.

- Barry(July 2019)

Friendly and helpful people, great weather, relaxed and flexible itinerary. Good instructions, and opportunity to begin to learn an eskimo role.

- Laura(September 2018)

Our guide Kessu immediately made us feel like we were going to have a fun trip. The whole experience was simply amazing from start to finish. Sitting on the beach looking at the stars, the tipi sauna and running into the cold Baltic Sea at 1 am we’re magical. It felt like a challenge but also always at your own pace. Just brilliant.

- Collette(August 2018)

The trip was fantastic. We had a change of itinerary because of the weather but Mariell and Rene were great hosts and we ended up doing both river kayaking and sea kayaking, visiting a floating sauna and seeing lots of Estonia. Great hosts and a fantastic trip

- Beth(July 2018)

The staff on the trip were really very good, knowledgeable, friendly and dealt with some difficult people exceptionally well.

- Oliver(July 2018)

The organisation was great and preparation to make the most of the experience despite challenging weather conditions. Was well paced and saw a lot of great things.

- Alex(July 2018)

Great guides and great people in my group.

- Victoria(June 2018)

A fantastic trip, beautiful scenery and guides - enjoyed every part of it and highly recommend.

- Jo(June 2018)

The hosts, the location, the food were great.

We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 36kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

You don't need any previous kayaking experience but should be fit enough to be active for a few hours at a time. You do need to be able to swim and be happy to do some short hikes.

Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

In general, the summers are warm with dominating high pressure systems. Temperatures average around 17-20˚C, with July and August being warmer than June.

Any extra luggage can be safely left with your local host when you start kayaking on Day 1. You'll be reunited with it at the end of Day 2.

All of our group adventures are especially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded.

"I cannot recommend this highly enough! The people on the trip were amazing. Easily the best trip I've ever been on!" Charlotte, 2019, Trustpilot.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.

Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

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

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.

Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.

Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.

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