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Days 1 to 3: Tallinn
Use arrival, the historic centre and one wider-city day. Keep Kadriorg and Kalamaja as alternatives when the schedule or weather makes both unrealistic.
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Day 4: Tallinn to Tartu
Choose the current rail or coach connection and leave time for the station transfer. Use the Tartu arrival for the square, river and university quarter.
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Day 5: Tartu
Choose the Estonian National Museum or AHHAA as the main indoor anchor, then add one neighbourhood before departure.
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Four nights, two bases
A typical structure uses Tallinn nights 1 to 3 and Tartu night 1. If departure is from Tallinn, adjust the final night rather than hiding a late transfer outside the itinerary.
Choose the night split that matches the departure
Three Tallinn nights and one Tartu night work when the trip begins in Tallinn and continues elsewhere from Tartu. Two nights in each city are calmer when Tartu is a main reason for travelling, but that split assumes the first Tallinn day is genuinely usable.
If the flight or ferry home leaves from Tallinn, move the final night back to the capital unless the departure is late enough to absorb the connection. Do not hide that return journey outside the five-day count.
What to leave out
Five days are not a useful Tallinn, Tartu and island trip. The ferry, check-in and onward driving would turn the island into an overnight detour. Save the coast or islands for a longer route and use the extra city time for one neighbourhood, museum or unhurried evening.
Sources / Official and primary sources
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Published . Updated .