Bogshoeing

Welcome to Estonia to discover Soomaa National Park and try special activity – bogshoeing!

Snowshoes or bog shoes have been used to walk on wetlands throughout the times. Shoes make moving around easier in snow in wintertime and on the soft bog surface all year round. Snowshoes allow access to the places where it is hard or even impossible to reach by foot.

The package includes accommodation at the Victoria Hotel in the centre of Pärnu town and guided snowshoeing trip in Soomaa National Park.

Day 1 – Accommodation at the Victoria Hotel. Dinner in the restaurant Café Grand.
Day 2 – Breakfast at the hotel. Walking guided tour in Pärnu. Dinner in the restaurant Café Grand.
Day 3 – Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Soomaa National Park. Guided snowshoeing trip and tea with pie. Dinner at the restaurant Café Grand.
Day 4 – Breakfast at the hotel.

Prices include VAT.
The price of a package changes if there are more or less people in a group.
The package does not include transportation to and from Estonia and Pärnu.

Size of group: min 6 persons
Price: 260 EUR per person
310 EUR per person in a single room

The offer is valid until 31 May 2008

Info and reservation by phone + 372 44 43412 or e-mail: info@victoriahotel.ee

Living Lakes Conference in Estonia

The final conference of the "Living Lakes Eastern Europe Network" will take place on February 19 - 22, 2008 in Estonia.

The conference is meant to create an international platform for an intensive exchange of knowledge and experiences. The first two days (February 19 + 20, 2008) will be dedicated to field trips to Lake Peipsi and Lake Võrtsjärv.

At the conference in Tartu, participants will have the possibility to benefit by the wide knowledge of several experts giving a lecture on the issues sustainable tourism development, visitor management of protected areas, sustainable fisheries and land use planning.

The Living Lakes Eastern Europe Network comprises seven organisations from five different countries: Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Germany.

The conference is hosted by the Global Nature Fund, the Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (CTC), the Lake Võrtsjärv Foundation (LVF), the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Limnology and the South-Estonian Tourism Foundation and sponsored by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU), the European Union and the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre.

Read more www.globalnature.org/eastern-europe-conference

Ecoclub.com about Ecotourism in Estonia

ECOCLUB, International Ecotourism Magazine, Issue 95 has a special focus on Estonia.

Antonis Petropoulus writes about Estonia as a country of "Pristine forests, bogs, meadows and coastline hosting rare fauna and flora and vibrant traditions await the eco enthusiast." Read article The Secret Beauty of Estonian Nature at ECOCLUB.

Read also interview with Aivar Ruukel of Soomaa.com

Read also interview with Mart Reimann of Retked.ee

Ecotourism Estonia Newsletter - Winter 2008

Low impact winter activities

Seminars

Birdwatching

Local Food

Open Space

Bogshoeing trips

Bogshoes have been used to walk on wetlands throughout the times. These footwear are also widely known as snowshoes - for walking over snow. Whether with or without snow, shoes make walking on the peat-bogs easier. Bogshoes allow access to the places where it is hard or even impossible to reach by foot.
Bogshoeing trips are organized by 360.ee , retked.ee , soomaa.com

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Up From the Ruins - Travel Story by Priit Vesilind

In the November/December 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler, Estonian-born Priit Vesilind returns to explore the countryside with his son Bill, who is now living in Estonia and renovating his grandfather's house. The house was built on top of medieval ruins, the symbolism of which Vesilind uses to good effect. Their trip, ranging from the fast-paced nightlife of Tallinn to the relaxing waters of the Pärnu beach resort, culminates in an eerie visit to an art installation of hundreds of suitcases in a field, all painted white, representing Estonian residents who fled the country ahead of the Soviets and never returned.

See also Estonia Photo Gallery at National Geographic Traveler.
Photographs by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson/Keenpress

Schengen - Connecting Borders

As of 21 December 2007, Estonia is a part of the Schengen visa area.

Read more at website of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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