Estonia once again ranks among Europe’s top 10 friendliest countries
Readers of Condé Nast Traveller, one of the world’s best-known travel publications, have ranked Estonia seventh among Europe’s friendliest countries in 2026. Estonia has made the prestigious top ten for the second year in a row – last year, readers of the magazine voted Estonia the friendliest country in Europe.
Condé Nast Traveller highlights Estonia’s historic cities, wild nature and islands, while praising Estonians for their politeness and respectful attitude towards visitors. The publication notes that Estonia first appeared in its ranking of Europe’s friendliest countries in 2025, immediately taking the top spot.
“People may come to Estonia for the nature, Tallinn, the islands or the food, but they often return because of how they felt while they were here,” said Agnia Nast, Head of Tourism at the Enterprise Estonia (EIS). “Estonian hospitality may not be the loudest or most exuberant, but it is genuine. Once an Estonian starts talking to you, it may not take long before you find yourself hearing real stories, getting great recommendations or even being invited to their grandmother’s house for pancakes. We may not always smile the most, but our interest in other people is sincere. And Estonians seem to have a natural desire to show visitors Estonia as we know it ourselves – not just the sights, but also the people, stories and everyday life around them. Perhaps that is exactly why our people leave such a lasting impression on visitors.”
This year marked the 29th edition of Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards, making it one of the longest-running reader-voted awards in travel journalism. Nearly 300,000 readers took part in the survey.
The results in the top ten were very close, with only small differences in scores separating the countries. Ireland was named Europe’s friendliest country this year, followed by Portugal and Italy. Greece, Spain and Türkiye also ranked ahead of Estonia, while Estonia was followed by Slovenia, Croatia and Austria. Travellers voted Costa Rica the friendliest country in the world, while Porto was named the friendliest city in Europe.
The Condé Nast Traveller brand operates in eight markets, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Its digital channels reach nearly 10 million unique users worldwide each month, and it has more than 17 million followers across social media.
See the full overview of the Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 winners across all categories.