When is Estonia quietest? Tourist nights by month

TL;DR

July is Estonia's busiest month, with 13.9% of 2025's tourist nights, and January the quietest, with 5.5%. July and August together carried 26.1% of the year, making Estonia the 25th most seasonal of 35 European countries we measured. September was quieter than June, at 7.8% against 10.5%.

The old town of Tallinn, Estonia
The old town of Tallinn, Estonia. Photo by Vish Pix on Pexels.

Estonia, month by month

Share of Estonia's 2025 tourist nights, by month Hotels, holiday and short-stay accommodation and campsites. All guests. Source: Eurostat.1
0%5%10%15%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Two busiest months
  • Other months

When is Estonia busiest, and when is it quietest?

July was the busiest month in 2025, with 13.9% of the year's tourist nights. January was the quietest, with 5.5%. That makes July 2.5 times as busy as January.1

Nine months each carried less than an average month's share of 8.3%: January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November and December.

Who stays in Estonia: residents or guests from abroad?

In 2025, guests living abroad spent 56.5% of Estonia's tourist nights. Residents of Estonia spent the rest.1

Share of each month's nights spent by guests living abroad, Estonia, 2025 Hotels, holiday and short-stay accommodation and campsites. Source: Eurostat.1
0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Highest share from abroad
  • Other months

The share from abroad was highest in May, at 59.8% of that month's nights, and lowest in January, at 50.7%.1

Guests from abroad spent more than half of the nights in every month of the year.

Eurostat counts guests by the country they live in, not by nationality.2

How seasonal is Estonia compared with the rest of Europe?

July and August together carried 26.1% of Estonia's nights. Ranked by that share, Estonia is the 25th most seasonal of the 35 European countries we measured, where 1 is the country most concentrated into its two busiest months.1

For comparison, the most seasonal country on this measure was Croatia at 54.5%, and the least seasonal was Malta at 21.8%. See all 35 countries ranked.

How full are Estonia's hotels each month?

Hotel rooms were fullest in July, when 68.0% were in use, and emptiest in January, at 38.0%.3

Share of hotel rooms in use each month, Estonia, 2025 Hotels and similar accommodation. Source: Eurostat.3
0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Fullest month
  • Other months

This is Eurostat's net occupancy rate of bedrooms: bedrooms in use divided by bedrooms available. It covers hotels and similar places only, not campsites or holiday lets, so it can peak in a different month from the nights figures above.2

Did accommodation in Estonia get more expensive in 2025?

On Eurostat's harmonised index of consumer prices, prices of accommodation services in Estonia were 8.7% higher on average in 2025 than in 2024. Across the EU the rise was 4.1%.4

This measures how prices changed, not what a stay costs, so check the current price when you book. Accommodation services cover hotels, motels and inns; holiday centres, campsites and youth hostels; and other places to stay.

What are Estonia's public holidays in 2026 and 2027?

In Estonia, public holidays fall on 12 days in both 2026 and 2027.5 In 2026, 3 of those days are a Saturday or Sunday.5

Public holidays in Estonia, 2026 and 2027
Holiday20262027
New Year's Day
Uusaasta
Thu 1 JanuaryFri 1 January
Independence Day
Vabariigi aastapäev
Tue 24 FebruaryWed 24 February
Good Friday
Suur reede
Fri 3 AprilFri 26 March
Easter Sunday
1. ülestõusmispüha
Sun 5 AprilSun 28 March
Spring Day
Kevadpüha
Fri 1 MaySat 1 May
Whit Sunday
Nelipühade 1. püha
Sun 24 MaySun 16 May
Victory Day
Võidupüha
Tue 23 JuneWed 23 June
Midsummer Day (St John's Day)
Jaanipäev
Wed 24 JuneThu 24 June
Day of Restoration of Independence
Taasiseseisvumispäev
Thu 20 AugustFri 20 August
Christmas Eve
Jõululaupäev
Thu 24 DecemberFri 24 December
Christmas Day
Esimene jõulupüha
Fri 25 DecemberSat 25 December
Second day of Christmas
Teine jõulupüha
Sat 26 DecemberSun 26 December

We took these from the law or the government's own list, not from a holiday website, and worked out the dates that move each year, such as Easter, from the rules in the law. The dates match the European Commission's list of public holidays for 2026.6 Regional and local holidays are not included.

What is the weather like in Tallinn each month?

Averaged over 1991–2020, the Tallinn-Harku weather station, which we use for Tallinn, is warmest in July, with an average high of 22.2 °C, and coldest in February, with an average low of −6.2 °C. Its wettest month is August (85 mm of rain on average) and its driest April (35 mm).7

In January, Estonia's quietest month, the station's average high is −0.7 °C and its average low −5.5 °C, with 56 mm of rain. In July, the busiest, the average high is 22.2 °C.7

In January the station averages 12.7 days with at least 1 mm of rain and 30 hours of sunshine.7 On 15 January the sun is up for about 6 h 55 min there, against 17 h 55 min on 15 July.8

Tallinn, average monthly weather, 1991 to 2020
MonthAverage highAverage lowRainRainy daysSunshineDaylight on the 15th
January−0.7 °C−5.5 °C56 mm12.7 days30 h6 h 55 min
February−1.0 °C−6.2 °C40 mm10.6 days59 h9 h 15 min
March2.8 °C−3.7 °C37 mm9.0 days148 h11 h 45 min
April9.5 °C0.7 °C35 mm7.5 days217 h14 h 30 min
May15.4 °C5.2 °C37 mm7.3 days306 h17 h
June19.2 °C9.8 °C68 mm9.5 days294 h18 h 35 min
July22.2 °C13.1 °C82 mm9.1 days312 h17 h 55 min
August21.0 °C12.3 °C85 mm10.3 days256 h15 h 35 min
September16.1 °C8.4 °C58 mm10.1 days162 h12 h 55 min
October9.5 °C3.7 °C78 mm12.9 days88 h10 h 15 min
November4.1 °C−0.2 °C66 mm12.3 days29 h7 h 40 min
December1.2 °C−3.1 °C59 mm13.1 days21 h6 h 5 min

Thirty-year averages from one weather station, Tallinn-Harku, which we use for Tallinn. They describe a typical year at that station, not a forecast, and weather varies across Estonia. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain. Daylight is not measured: it is our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset.

June or September? May or October?

September was quieter than June, at 7.8% against 10.5%.

May and October were almost identical, at 8.2% and 8.0%.

These compare months at similar distances from the summer peak. For typical weather in Tallinn, see the weather section.

What these figures cannot tell you

These figures are good at one thing: showing when a country's registered tourist accommodation fills up. Four things they cannot do.

They miss some small places. The counts cover hotels, holiday and short-stay accommodation and campsites, but countries may exclude establishments with fewer than ten bed places, so small guesthouses can be missing.2

Nights are not queues. A national monthly total cannot see how busy one old town, beach or museum is on a given day.

Tourist nights say nothing about weather or prices. The weather section uses 30-year averages from one station, not a forecast. The price section shows how accommodation prices changed, not what a stay costs.

They are one year. These are 2025 figures. Patterns shift from year to year, and Eurostat revises its data as countries update their returns.

The full year

Estonia, tourist nights by month, 2025
MonthShare of yearNightsFrom abroad
January5.5%368,28050.7%
February6.1%406,87251.2%
March5.9%395,47354.2%
April6.9%465,61758.0%
May8.2%551,67859.8%
June10.5%705,07557.6%
July (one of the two busiest months)13.9%931,99056.9%
August (one of the two busiest months)12.2%820,73955.8%
September7.8%525,63759.6%
October8.0%537,19256.7%
November6.9%460,39055.2%
December8.1%547,33858.9%

Total for 2025: 6,716,281 nights, 56.5% of them by guests living abroad. The two busiest months are marked. "From abroad" is the share of that month's nights spent by guests living outside Estonia.

Key takeaways

  • January was Estonia's quietest month in 2025, with 5.5% of the year's tourist nights.
  • July and August were the busiest, carrying 26.1% of the year between them.
  • Estonia ranks 25 of 35 European countries for seasonal concentration, where 1 is the most concentrated.
  • Guests living abroad spent 56.5% of Estonia's 2025 tourist nights; residents spent the rest.
  • Hotel rooms were fullest in July (68.0% in use) and emptiest in January (38.0%).
  • Public holidays in Estonia fall on 12 days in both 2026 and 2027.
  • September was quieter than June, at 7.8% against 10.5%.
  • What we would skip: assuming every shoulder month is equally quiet. In Estonia, June carried 10.5% of the year's nights against September's 7.8%.

Sources

The tourism and hotel figures on this page come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, which receives them from each country's national statistical authority. The weather averages come from the World Meteorological Organization's 1991–2020 climate normals, published by the US National Centers for Environmental Information. We downloaded the data directly and calculated the shares, rankings and comparisons ourselves. See how we research.

  1. Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
  2. Eurostat, Tourist accommodation reference metadata, on collection by national authorities under Regulation (EU) 692/2011, the definition of a night spent, country of residence, and the ten-bed-place threshold. Read it. Checked 17 September 2026.
  3. Source: Eurostat, Net occupancy rate of bed-places and bedrooms in hotels and similar accommodation – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_MNOR, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: bedrooms, percentage, January–December 2025.
  4. Source: Eurostat, HICP – annual data (average index and rate of change), doi:10.2908/PRC_HICP_AIND, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: accommodation services (COICOP CP112), annual average rate of change, 2025.
  5. Public holidays: Government Office of Estonia (Riigikantselei), Rahvus- ja riigipühad. Read it. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  6. European Commission, Public holidays 2026, Official Journal of the European Union C/2025/6771, ELI. Used only as a cross-check. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  7. Weather: WMO Member Nations (2023). WMO Climatological Standard Normals for 1991-2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), station Tallinn-Harku (station ID 00026038), mean daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of days with at least 1 mm of precipitation, and total hours of sunshine, normals computed from at least 24 years. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi:10.25921/800j-vn07. Accessed 22 September 2026. Released by NOAA under CC0.
  8. Daylight: our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month of 2026 at the weather station's location, by the method of the NOAA Solar Calculator (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, “Solar Calculation Details”, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, allowing 0.833° for refraction and the size of the sun). Read it. Checked 22 September 2026. NOAA notes that calculated times can differ from what is observed.

Modified data. The monthly shares, residence shares, rankings and comparisons are our own calculations from Eurostat's counts. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place, so they may not add exactly. Eurostat bears no responsibility for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here. Rainfall is rounded to the nearest millimetre; temperatures are shown as published.