A Baltic State country, the Republic of Estonia covers around 45,300 sq kms of land in northern Europe. Sharing land borders with Latvia to the south and Russia to the east, the western boundary of Estonia is separated from Sweden by the Baltic Sea and its northern shores are washed by the waters of the Gulf of Finland. The people of Estonia share a close, historic relationship to the Finns, the modern Estonian language maintaining many similarities to Finnish, even though they were ruled by the Swedish empire for many years until the Great Northern War of 1700. Since then the country has been controlled largely by Russia, although occupation by Nazi Germany during the second world war shifted the balance of power briefly from 1941-1944, and it wasn't until 1991 that Estonia declared itself formally independent, and 2004 that it finally became a member of the European Union.

Despite being a relatively small country, almost half of Estonia's land mass is covered in dense forest. Also boasting 1400 lakes (the largest of which, Peipus, measures a whopping 3555 sq kms), countless rivers, acres of bogland and 3794 kms of coastline punctuated by bays, inlets and islands, the natural heritage of Estonia is quite remarkable, many of these landscapes and environments now being protected within the confines of at least a dozen national parks and nature reserves countrywide. The fact that the bulk of Estonia has remained virtually undeveloped means that stocks of European Lynx, Wild Boar, Bears, Wolves and Elk have managed to survive, even though these are all species that were heavily persecuted by hunters during the years of Soviet occupation, their numbers still enjoying a steady increase under legal protection, along with many other species of flora and fauna. The resident bird population of Estonia is vast and includes anything from Golden Eagles to an incredible variety of water fowl, their numbers being inflated by many passage birds each year, stopping-over for a rest among the wetlands that exist in locations on both the mainland and some of the islands.

With damp autumns and cold winters where snow can last from December until March, the steadily growing numbers of tourists seeking holiday villas in Estonia tend to do so during the spring and summer when temperatures are at their highest, although the climate of Estonia is heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream and the Baltic Sea, meaning that significant differences can be experienced between coastal and inland locations at any time of the year. Destinations along the coast - the capital city of Tallinn in particular and the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa - are proving to be a popular choice for visitors from all over the world, and considering that most of them have chosen a holiday rental in Estonia not for a deep Mediterranean tan but because they want purely to investigate the country's unique and fascinating wealth of history and natural beauty, the issue of weather for most people seems to be relegated to somewhere near the bottom of the list of requirements for complete vacation satisfaction!

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