The Great Estonian Bear Hunt – Where To Spot Bears In Estonia

The Great Estonian Bear Hunt – Where To Spot Wild Bears In Estonia

I suppose you could say this is a bit of a click bait title. This Information “Where To Spot Wild Bears In Estonia?” I kind of felt was a fitting title but just to let you know this is a travel blog about me and my friends city break in Tallinn we did not spot any Wild Bears, or even attempt to.

I mean I did kind of – as I did go on a hike for half a day but anyway I will answer this based on the Information I know and that is get a tour to take you into the dense forest and just hope for the best – I will share some more Information about Bear Spotting later in this blog post but for now – I will get back to what else happened during this stay over In Estonia for me and my 2 friends.

Hitting The Town in Tallinn On Our First Night and Meeting The Locals

The first place we went to was a Student bar. We never took note of the name which was a shame as we all wanted to come here again but had no idea where it was as this was where the Taxi Driver took us after we said to take us to a bar.

We got talking to 3 locals here in this bar. One of them bought us all a beer each within minutes of meeting him. This was nice and after meeting him he introduced us to his 2 friends and we spent a good while talking about what we would do during our stay.

We was told about a number of places to visit that might be good to check out but the main place that was mentioned was the town of Tartu.

We got back pretty late after this and we was not up exactly early but when we did all get up out of bed it was decided. We would all book a coach and make our way to Tartu. I think we only actually just made the coach. We was really cutting it fine but once we was on it was all good. We started the trip at the front of the bus on the top deck this was pretty cool until we had to move for the passengers who booked these seats.

It was not a problem really and one good thing was when I was sat in my new seat I started reading about the bears, and all the different wildlife found here in the Estonian forest. I actually did the same going through Poland and that was a surprise to me as well but it does definitely seem that there is a bit more here in Estonia.

The Morning Before The Zoo

On the morning before I came here – I was having a bit of a dilemma. I needed to wash my clothes (I shall not elaborate on this any further) but I needed to do something. My first Idea was to use the washing machine back at the apartment. THIS was not happening I had no idea to use it and all the Instructions were in Finnish.

It took me a while to decide what to do but my eureka moment was to google where the nearest Laundromat is in Tallinn. The closest one was Tallinn, Läänemere tee 28–30, Shopping Centre. It was Ideal really – my clothes were washed and dried very quickly and right next door was a bar that I was able to sit down and have a drink at whilst I waited.

It cost me about 12 euros which I was quite happy to pay and another thing it was only 20 minutes away from Tallinn Zoo, and that was walking – although I did still order a Bolt Taxi to get here.

Visiting Tallinn Zoo – What Was It Like?

It was about half past 1 when I was actually ready to leave for the Zoo. On other occasions when I’ve been to other cities I’ve felt that this is too late in the day for the zoo but the good thing about here is that it doesn’t close it’s doors until 8PM.

So I was happy with how this all went. The distance from the laundromat wasn’t really too far away to get to this zoo and I got here without any hassle which was good as well.

It was a lovely day. I remembered thinking when I got here how nice it was. It had been raining in the morning. Actually hammering it down it was at one point but now the sun was out and it was really nice. The air was so fresh as well it felt like absolute bliss.

The best weather I’ve experienced in ages. Considering how it’s been in The UK where this had been a kind of heatwave but not in a nice way. Really hot but really muggy horrible weather. Probably because there was no rain or no big body of water nearby. It for me just felt great – even without seeing the animals.

It reminded me of Vienna Zoo where they have a kind of Alpine trail to walk through. This was cold but it was the same kind of fresh mountain air that really made it feel good for me. I know some people hate the winter but in some places the air quality is like the best you will ever experience.

The highlight I getting here was seeing the Polar Bears. I’ve been to too many Zoo trips now where they’ve had Polar Bears but I’ve not seen them so this was good for me.

This now I think about it meant I did see a Bear in Estonia – so much for thinking I didn’t but anyway one downside was the animals here I did not actually see all of them.

It was quite funny when I come in because there was some reindeer and one of them did a really long, loud burp. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t know they even could make noises like this.

Really, I would have loved to have videoed it. On YouTube there is a few Reindeer Burping videos but this animal my god I’ve never heard anything like it.

So, other than the Polar Bears and the Deer there was the Japanese Macaques, The Chimpanzee which I only just caught a glimpse of, the elephants, the snow leopards and Blue Macaws.

It is a shame I didn’t spend a bit more time here. I can’t remember if I was on the beer or not. My friend back in England who I was messaging said “I should try not to ruin my trip by drinking” but I think I may have ended up having a beer or two before leaving.

Maybe, this is why I never got round the whole zoo but anyhow before I left I messaged one of my friends I came with and he was over at the harbour waiting for our other friends to arrive from Helsinki, Finland.

We actually just missed them, as they didn’t know we was here but STILL I remember thinking about how nice it was here at the harbour. The colour of the water I think is what sold it for me but I think also because AGAIN it was a nice day (like it was when I got to the Zoo), and it was a good place to just walk around.

Visiting Tallinn Harbour and Pirita Beach

In all honesty, visiting Tallinn Harbour was NOT somewhere I thought about going to when I come to Estonia. If I had gone to Helsinki, Finland then I’m sure I definitely would have but because I had flown here and was not leaving the country I didn’t think I would be going anywhere near the boats. Although, it was kind of nice to come here.

My friends I met here had just stopped eating. I ordered a beer and sat down with them and after this we decided we would check another town out. A few different ones we considered – we wasn’t planning to go to far away but there a few options that we looked at.

I think the ones we looked at were Paarnu, and Haapsalu but the one we decided on was Pirita.

About Pirita Beach

Pirita Beach is not too far away from the Harbour. In fact, if you look to the left from here you can actually see the harbour in the distance. It was fairly busy on the day we came here with restaurants open and water sports. It seems maybe it depends on the weather with this place because it can get quite cold and snowy in Estonia – but I’m guessing when the weather is good this is when they make their money.

One unusual thing about Pirita Beach (I thought) was the ducks that were in the water. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a beach where they have ducks so this was a bit unusual I was thinking.

Our Bolt driver was saying that it wasn’t really worth coming here to Pirita at this time of the day because of the traffic I think he was saying. I’m sure he meant that we should have got here earlier. We did say to him to take us to Tallinn Old Town instead. All 3 of us I think thought he was actually taking us there Instead but he still took us to Pirita.

I was a bit disappointed with the food I got here for 22 euros. My tuna steak was alright but with it was just the bed of rocket salad and chunks of water melon. That was a bit much for me and besides the Tuna I wasn’t overly thrilled with what I got.

It wasn’t that bad but definitely was my least favourite meal I had whilst out away in Estonia. I should have got the Salmon instead like Herbie and John did but I guess lesson learned. Mine was more expensive as well I think 22 euros I paid and I think there’s was something like 19 euros and they didn’t get plate full of rabbit food lol

Meeting Our Other English Friends In Tallinn and Getting Very Drunk

Our other friends from England we all met up with after this. They started their trip in Helsinki and only got to Tallinn on this day. They did not get to see as much of Estonia as we did but they did their own thing in Finland which we missed out on ourselves.

Although, really I am actually glad I personally got to spend the amount of time in Estonia that I did. Helsinki would have been great to go to but doing both in 3 1/2 days I really don’t think would have done this trip any justice.

Really I think you probably need a bit more time than a few days to really experience both countries. Like a lot of places I suppose but I do say if I am visiting a new country for the first time then this is basically like my scouting mission to get my bearings etc.

Estonia I would 100% go back to. Not sure when this would be but anyway it was a good 3 days, and when we all got together it was a great couple of nights.

So, we all got pretty drunk on the first night we all met up. We ended up in a few different bars and ended up in a night club after that. Not all of us – one of us was NOT allowed in with their crocs lol but all the rest of us they let in.

I actually had a bit of lucky escape as I walked into the ladies by mistake but after a tense couple of minutes I was allowed to carry on to the bar.

I don’t really remember a whole lot of how the night went down after this but It was a good night even though it meant it very nearly ruined my plans for the next day.

Taking A Hike Through The Estonian Forest and Seeing The Waterfall

Coming back from Tartu 2 days before I said earlier in this post that I booked this tour. You really are quite spoilt for choice with different tours if you are Interested in the nature and wildlife that Estonia has to offer. A lot I found were out of my price range or they weren’t available for the dates I was here but this one seemed good enough.

There are 5 national parks in Estonia and really for anyone Interested in nature this is a great country to visit with a lot of different areas you can go to.

The full day tours I think are probably the best ones. I would have liked to have gone on one of these so I could have seen a bit more (and possibly Increased my chance of spotting a Bear) but the half day tour I was happy with. £69 was maybe a lot to pay but I thought maybe I might see some things that make it all worth the money.

I actually didn’t see anything (wildlife wise) except a couple squirrels but it was still a nice walk around. For what it was I was happy with the money spent but saying that it almost never ended up happening.

The morning of the tour I was still very drunk and hungover from the night before. I’m sure my eyes were probably a bit red and I could have really done with a bit more sleep. I met the driver outside my apartment at 7:30AM. I wasn’t sure really what to expect but he could tell that I had been drinking and he wasn’t happy about it.

His suggestion was that I get my money back because he had bad experiences with drunk people on his tours in the past. Which was fair enough but I really wasn’t happy to let him just cancel this trip so I was kind of relieved to talk him around.

He let me come in the end – after I promised to behave myself. I think I did mostly but I did end up stacking it probably about 3 times slipping over in the mud.

It was quite funny really because my friend said he would come but he thought it was going to rain – he was totally correct.

The tour was only me and a girl from Taiwan. We had to carry umbrellas around for most the day, but thankfully towards the end the rain did stop.

The guide said he would have taken us somewhere else if the weather had been better. I’m not sure where this would have been – maybe somewhere with more animals but it was a nice place to walk round still I thought.

The lakes here I thought were quite beautiful to look at. This was probably the highlight for me. Until at the end when we was taken to see the Waterfall which itself was pretty amazing.

The only thing as I said was I kept slipping over in the mud (several times). Neither the girl on the tour with me or the guide went over in the mud once but for me it was like every time I stopped paying attention for a second that was it.

But I thought it was definitely worth it. Seeing the waterfall was the deal maker for me. I see they took you here on the other tours but I didn’t think they did on this one so this was pretty special – and if you are in Tallinn you should definitely try and see this.

After The Tour and My Last Night in Tallinn

After the tour finished me and the girl were dropped off in Tallinn Old Town. My first stop was the Dubliner pub. Here I stopped for an English Breakfast and I rented a power bank for my phone which needed charging.

This was pretty handy because I was able to take this with me till I got my phone charged up a bit more. I am not sure how much this cost actually I think I probably paid a bit too much but my thinking was that the others would probably be about soon and I would not be able to get hold of them.

So, yes this was helpful for this reason. The 2 friends I came with were not out yet but the other group was at the sports bar watching the Tottenham and Man City game. This was a surprise as a reluctant to admit Tottenham supporter as for once after watching them lose so much the previous season they actually won 3-1.

I was feeling pretty tired after this. Not surprising really – even without the hike I was up late drinking and I must not have got much sleep really having to wake up at 7AM. So this group went because they was tired as well and I met up with the other two and I almost went back to go to sleep after this but I changed my mind.

I carried on drinking and it was just me and old John that kept on going. The poor man – if the stairs wasn’t bad enough on the night we got here I was now having him walk round in circles as I followed Google maps round like a moron trying to find the Dubliner pub to drop off the power bank from earlier.

We did find it EVENTUALLY and after this we met up with everyone else again and carried on our tour of the various different bars and restaurants.

At one I had an Octopus dish. That was pretty tasty and at another I had burger and chips but wow the menu at this place. They Elk, Boar and Bear as options. None of them were cheap and especially the Bear Stew. This costs around 50 euros.

It was quite expensive. I maybe would have been open to trying maybe the Elk or Wild Boar but no way the Bear Stew. Even if it was cheaper THIS I really just don’t feel right about, and not just because I carry a Teddy Bear around with me.

Each to our own but for me I could never condone someone hunting an animal like this. They are such Intelligent creatures and only reason (I think) anyone should kill one is in self defence or if it is suffering with a terminal illness.

The guide on my tour mentioned a new law in Estonia meaning they can’t hunt Bears during August. I suppose this is something but I don’t think any Bears should be killed during any month. Although, they do say it is to keep their numbers under control – which I guess does make some sense.

And if they are going to kill the animal anyway I suppose making it in to a Bear Stew is really up to them. They have killed the animal anyway so better than leaving it to rot.

But if these people are out in the woods trying to shoot a Bear to make into their Bear Stew and the Bear mauls them to death WELL I guess without sounding like a total psycho I am on the Bears side. It’s OK when the humans trying to protect itself so why should it be any different for the animal.

I am going on a bit here but I guess this is just because I LOVE Bears!

Flying Back Home

Getting back home to England was pretty straight forward really. Apart from a short delay with our flight it all went without a hitch for the most part. Although, I think there was a part of me that would have liked to have missed this flight.

Herbie was not getting up in the morning when I was thinking we all needed to be getting ready. I think this is just me being an anxious person but it did seem like he was really leaving it till the last minute.

I was actually tempted to just let him sleep longer. Maybe we would have all missed our flights and as it was his fault he would have to pay for new ones lol. I would have loved to have stayed longer and it seemed our apartment didn’t even check we had left till a couple of days after so maybe this would have been the ideal situation.

It was such a beautiful country to visit but I guess the good thing was nothing really went wrong. Both John and Herbie said I did a good job with booking this holiday and it felt good after Malta and the Gremlins to be with people that actually wanted me in their company. I think this was a reason why I booked this and I’m glad that I did.