Johanna Vahuri

I did the Lahemaa National Park tour on the 27th April 2012. It was a most enjoyable experience. Tallinn is beautiful but I wanted to see the Estonian countryside and this tour was ideal. First of all the guy in Tallinn Travellers was very helpful in getting me on the tour. In the course of the tour we saw an abandoned hydroelectric station, a beaver dam, two different manor houses, saw huge boulders on the seashore, moved there by glaciers in the last the Ice Age and visited an interesting Maritime Museum at Kasmu. In the museum our guide was a local guy with a great sense of humour. There also we had lunch where the smoked salmon was the most delicous that I have ever tasted. An interesting feature for me here also was the still standing watchtower form the Soviet era. Then we visited a former top secret Soviet submarine facility. Then it was on to a beautiful bog which we walked through on timber planks to get to a viewing platform from where the beautiful bog landscape was spread out under our feet. Some of the trees growing there are very low - I thought that they had recently been planted but our guide Johanna explained that everything there is natural and the slow growth of the trees on the softer parts of the bog was due to lack of nutrients in the soil. Then it was on to the magnificent Jagala Waterfall. As it was spring there was a powerful flow of water due to meltwater. It was most impressive. I have put up some photos from the day on Picasa. As my camera battery was running low I didn't take so many photos early in the day in case the battery failed. Here is a link to my photos https://picasaweb.google.com/105173201478538584188/LahemaaNationalParkEstoniaEesti Finally a word about our guide for the day Johanna. She was excellent. She conducted the tour at a pace that suited us - we never felt rushed at any site. In the course of the day I learned a lot about Estonia and Estonians from her. Her love and pride in her native Estonia was was evident throughout the day and I found her insights on recent Estonian history to be very interesting. In the course of a long day's guiding and driving her spirits never flagged. And what a careful driver she is - stopping and zig zagging on a forest road to avoid frogs - I even learnt the Estonian word for frog from her! She is one of the best guides that I have ever come across. To sum up I had a wonderful day on this tour and you won't be disappointed if you choose to go on it.

We had a very exciting and entertaining trip through the national park and a delicious salmon-lunch at Kasmu Maritime Museum. Your guide Johanna told us a lot of interesting stories about the Estonians, their history and the nature. In the evening she even dropped us at the harbour, so we could reach our ferry to Helsinki - super kind and very flexible!

What is the "Tallinn Pubcrawl"? Well I'll tell you what that is! It is one of the best ways to visit the coolest pubs in town and experience some crazy nightlife, and especialy when you have tourguides like Joohana it realy makes it even funnier! Thank you for an awsome night!

We made a trip to Lahemaa National Park with Johanna and Kaur as guides. Both were very good in their friendliness and politeness. My wife and I were in the mini-bus with Johanna who was very informative and helpful. The walk across the bogs on snow covered boards was a unique experience. The salmon lunch was very tasty and certainly welcome by 2pm.. The museum was both fascinating and amusing. We had a most enjoyable day. Thank you.