Tallinn to Narva

[Hoofhearted]

Hi again. My son and I have decided not to visit the former Yugoslav states this summer (see earlier threads). Instead, we're favouring the Baltic states.

We note that the line from Tallinn to Narva takes you to the border with Russia. Stupid as it sounds is it possible to walk across the border, have a beer or two on Russian territory, then cross back into Estonia and return to Tallinn. We've sent emails to the Estonian Tourist website, but no reply appears to be forthcoming.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine presumably that was possible, but I guess it's no longer possible. Just putting the question out there. Thanks.

 

[farci]

HELSINKI, April 4 (Reuters) - Finland will indefinitely extend the closure of land border crossings with Russia and add several ports to a list where travel from its eastern neighbour is prohibited, the government said on Thursday.
Finland shut its land borders with Russia late last year amid a growing number of arrivals from countries including Syria and Somalia. It has accused Moscow of weaponising migration against the Nordic nation, an assertion the Kremlin denies.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/finland-extends-russia-border-closing-indefinitely-2024-04-04/#:~:text=Finland shut its land borders,as a long-term situation. Similar situation Estonia-Russia?

 

[Wandering Pom]

I'm not entirely sure, but as far as I know any tourist visit to Russia required a pre-arranged (expensive!) visa, even before the start of the war in Ukraine - I don't think brief casual visits were an option. At the moment it looks as if the Estonia-Russia border is still open, but visas are still required, and the Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia.

Russia travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Russia. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

www.gov.uk

 

[The exile]

Do a Google street view of the Estonian side (where route E20 joins Tuleviku) and it’s pretty clear that walking across the frontier is not an option!

 

[JonasB]

In theory, yes. As far as I know the border is still open to pedestrians, but that might change. And you need to get a Russian visa which is not the easiest process and a bit on pricy side. Apart from that, visiting Russia is really not recommended at the moment.

 

[superalbs]

Hi again. My son and I have decided not to visit the former Yugoslav states this summer (see earlier threads). Instead, we're favouring the Baltic states. We note that the line from Tallinn to Narva takes you to the border with Russia. Stupid as it sounds is it possible to walk across the border, have a beer or two on Russian territory, then cross back into Estonia and return to Tallinn. We've sent emails to the Estonian Tourist website, but no reply appears to be forthcoming. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine presumably that was possible, but I guess it's no longer possible. Just putting the question out there. Thanks.

You'd each be spending £120 to get your visa, likely making this the most expensive drink of your life. Just go and stand on the viewing point, and then have a couple of cheap Estonian beers.

 

[rf_ioliver]

You can walk along the river bank at Narva - which by itself is a nice walk, but without a visa you will not be allowed entry and attempt to do so might cause you some serious problems. That particular border wasn't the easiest even when it was open - it was never a case of just showing your passport and walking over for a beer.

Just a note, there are only 4 trains per day from Narva to Tallinn, so plan your visit. Narva doesn't have the range of restaurants that you would expect - it is very "Russian" in appearance and culture - there are museums and tourist attractions.

There are agencies that arrange Russian visas, but these require proof of insurance, a letter of invite, proof of where you are staying etc, and at the moment a casual afternoon will not be possible. The FCO makes it very clear NOT to enter Russia: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia

Looking at Google Earth, there seems to be a "Gastropub" in Ivangorod called the "Old School Pub" however, but even in good times small Russian towns never had much in the way of tourist infrastructure

 

[stadler]

It is perfectly possible if you have a visa. It is just a bridge over the river and you can certainly cross on foot if you have a visa. I have crossed that border a few times before. Ivangorod is certainly an interesting place to look around. As others have said it will be expensive (unless you are a Russian citizen or have multiple citizenships and are also a citizen of one of the countries that gets visa free entry to Russia). Three types of tourist visas are available (single entry or double entry or multiple entry) and the cheapest one will be around £150.00 total with all of the costs (and take at least a week of processing time). In my opinion if you are going to go to the effort of getting all the necessary documents and applying and paying for a visa you might as well spend a least a week or more and visit Moscow and St Petersburg too (or many others interesting parts of Russia). But if you are willing to spend the money and go to the embassy and apply for a visa then yes you can indeed do a day trip from Narva to Ivangorod so it is possible.

 

[nwales58]

I would say bt all means experience Narva to get a feel for the difficult questions raised by russian majority population concentrations outside russia.

BUT, assuming you are british, do you really want to risk becoming a pawn in a wider nasty game? I wouldn’t even start applying for a visa myself at present, and I used to work in somewhat dodgy countries.

See FCDO advice. Anything goes wrong and you’re on your own.

A swiss or belgian is not such an inviting target.

Edits: spilling bwdly on train

 

[dutchflyer]

All 3 Baltic states still have sizeable Russky populations and hence also some quarters that still look quite Russky to westerners. If its your main aim to get a bit of feeling of that. Latvia probably-relatively-the most. Most in the areas beside the border with Russia.
Suggestion: but check if that is still the case. Before this nasty war rageing in/above UKrayna there was a scheme for 1-nite visits to either Grodno or Brest in Byelarus, with ´´visa/entry permit´ included/organised by the hotel you had to book for that. That way I got into that country-for me the very last in all of EUR I had not yet been into. BY has the very same Russky impression as the main mother state.

 

[nwales58]

OP is taking his son. That’s a massive pressure point for the intelligence nasties to exploit.

 

[artemic]

There isn't much else in Ivangorod that you can't see from the banks in Narva - but appreciate it's perhaps more about the principle.
A Russian visa was cumbersome to obtain at the best of times, and now you would simply attract unwanted attention. (British passports = easy money for the police/pawn in the political game at worst)
It would be good to be able to visit but best save it for when the lot has blown over.

You will still meet Russians in Narva: the Ida-Viru County remains vastly majority Russian (the only such county in Estonia) so have a look around, although I can't say it's a hotspot for tourist activities.
eg. If you haven't already planned to go there, the ex-closed town of Sillamäe might provide the Russian feel you're searching for instead. The local museum can organise excursions of the town in English, or you can stake your own path of course

 

[StephenHunter]

You could walk right up to the border, but I believe there's a fence now.

 

[gazthomas]

Have you considered North Korea?

 

[MarcVD]

I'm not entirely sure, but as far as I know any tourist visit to Russia required a pre-arranged (expensive!) visa, even before the start of the war in Ukraine - I don't think brief casual visits were an option.

Only exception to that is (was ?) a 24 hours allowance for tourists coming on board cruise ships that dock in St Petersburg. Otherwise yes, only possible to enter with tourist visa and letter of invitation, or transit visa with very strict rules. Done that twice myself.

 

[gingerheid]

If you're visiting Estonia and want to have been only just above Russian soil while travelling on land just for the sake of it then the Saatse boot might be your best option. There's a road from Värska to Saatse that crosses through Russian territory (entirely unremarkable forest) for a few hundred metres. You have to stay in a motorised vehicle and you're not allowed to stop (or travel below a certain speed), but it's surely the safest and most reasonable way of "visiting" Russia. Streeview link

Even then, you shouldn't consider it risk free. I've been to Estonia 29 times and have seen most parts of it, but actually ATM I'd think it's overcautious but not unreasonably so to stay away from the border completely. The Russians ocassionally kidnapped people [who were high value pawns] across the border from Estonia even before more recent events, and imprisoned them as spies.

If you did want to do it, bus 94A leaves Polva at 0855, Polva railway station at 0904, Värska at 1020 and arrives at Saatse Museum at 1055. On the way back bus 94B leaves Saatse at 1200. (The practical effect of this is that it's not possible to get from Tallinn to Saatse via the Saatse boot by public transport in one day.)

Even in before times Russia wasn't actually too keen on people crossing that bit of the border as tourists; I tried to get Intourist to organise me a trip to Pechory and Pskov in the mid 2000s and they just told me to visit Moscow and St Petersburg!

 

[route101]

I have crossed that border in a coach heading to St Petersburg. I already had a visa, don't remember any issues. The town on the other side looked rough compared to Narva. I noticed people walking across the bridge, perhaps locals could cross visa free.

 

[stadler]

I have crossed that border in a coach heading to St Petersburg. I already had a visa, don't remember any issues. The town on the other side looked rough compared to Narva. I noticed people walking across the bridge, perhaps locals could cross visa free.

Estonians have always required visas to go to Russia and likewise Russians have always required visas to go to Estonia so it has never been visa free for either. However lots of people who dual citizenship. A very large number of people hold both Estonian citizenship and Russian citizenship. Especially in the Narva area of Estonia which is majority ethic Russians living there. So for these people with dual citizenship they can cross back and forth very easily.