Northeastern Estonia may not attract as many visitors as the island-scattered west coast, but it offers just as much variety. Much of the countryside is typically Estonian – birch and pine forests alternating with arable land and patches of bog, and the boulder-strewn beaches of the northeast coast.

Long stretches of the coastal strip fall within the boundaries of the Lahemaa National Park, a vast area of primeval woodland, reed-shrouded coast and beautifully preserved fishing villages. Just 60km east of Tallinn, it’s one of the most accessible areas of natural wilderness in the country.

The landscape east of Lahemaa is brutally different, characterized by the dour mining towns and cone-shaped slag heaps of Estonia’s oil-shale industry, and there’s little of interest until you arrive at Narva, a historical fortress town on the border with Russia. Though somewhat blighted by post-war architecture, it’s nevertheless an atmospheric base from which to explore the sweeping, sandy beaches at Narva-Jõesuu and the time-warp Stalinist-era architecture of Sillamäe.