By bus

The bus ride from Tallinn takes 4 to 4.5 hours. Though there is one direct bus each morning, the more convenient (and faster) routes from the capital involve an easy transfer in Tartu. Check www.bussireisid.ee or www.peatus.ee for the schedule details and for booking the tickets. You can buy a single ticket for the entire trip on one of the six daily routes, or assemble your own trip by hopping one of the three dozen daily buses to Tartu and catching the next bus to Otepää from there. The whole ride will cost you about 175kr. If you're already in Tartu, you'll find about 10 daily buses to Otepää. These take 45 minutes to an hour and cost 35 - 50kr. From Riga, you should take the daily Eurolines bus to Tartu and continue from there.