21 days - Vilnius-Riga-Tallinn - feedback on itinerary please
 

Hi, I will be traveling to the Baltic States either in April or September 2014. The weather seems to be warmer in September.

I’ll be staying in the old town of the capital cities as bases and doing day trips. I have about 21 days.

- Are 7 days in each city a good way to go? I’ll be starting off in Vilnius then Riga and Tallinn (flying home from my last destination). I’m interested in history, culture, concerts, architecture.

- Can you suggest any day trips? I won’t be driving and will be traveling alone.

- I’m considering my travel options b/w these cities. The flights are less than an hour and the bus ride takes more than 4 hours. I’ve found http://www.luxexpress.eu/en and http://www.hansabuss.ee/index.php?page=3& on older threads. Do any of you have experience with either company? Is the bus ride comfortable? Air Baltic for the flights?

- I've narrowed down my hotel options but would love to hear from anybody with very good or bad experiences

- Any other tips or advice are most welcome

Thank you

From Vilnius consider a day trip to Traku pilis, the castle of Trakai, and to Kaunas. It's a long haul to the Hill of Crosses outside of Šauliai but it's a very impressive sight and a reminder of Lithuania's sad history. The hill was repeatedly bulldozed by the Soviets and then rebuilt by the Lithuanians. Take a look at:

www.inyourpocket.com/lithuania/vilnius

for lots of great information. Enjoy planning and the trip.

We took the bus between each city. Very easy, but advisable to but the ticket a day before departure.

The bus we used is www.eurolines.com

For info on each city www.inyourpocket.com

Seven days in each city is more than enough time to do day trips, relax and not be rushed.

Perhaps cut back somewhere and spend a few day in Helsinki.

Thanks Marija! Nice recommendations for day trips.
Thanks iris1745! I was just today wondering if Helsinki would be an additional option. Would I be taking the ferry from Tallinn? And yes, you're right on, I don't like rushing from one destination to the next.

There are ferries and it takes a few hours.

www.inyourpocket.com/Estonia/Tallinn

Under links, look for Port of Tallinn

bookmarking. My husband was born in Latvia and Riga is on our list of cities to get to. Interested to read the responses to your question. We spent 3 days in Helsinki and really enjoyed it. A beautiful place. Ferries in that area are very nice and a good option when they go where you want to go to. Enjoy your travels.

Thanks iris1745! I'll have to take a look at that. Ferries are new to me. Thanks again for the Helsinki idea; I'm working on it.
Thanks Julie! I look forward to including Helsinki in my plans. I hope you get some helpful info as well :)

Jackie, have you made more progress on deciding where to go? I was in Copenhagen (4 nights), Helsinki (3), Tallinn (2) and Stockholm (5) nights in September/October. Loved everything, but Helsinki and Tallinn were my favorites. It's so easy to get from Tallinn to Helsinki via ferry, so make sure you at least investigate.

IMO, 7 days in Tallinn is too much, but it depends what you want to do.

I'm looking at Riga and Vilnius for 2014... still in the very early stages of planning though.

Let's keep this thread going with periodic updates on our respective plans. We're now thinking to add Riga into a trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen sometime this summer. I note a ferry between Riga and Stockholm but the time involved (17 hours if I recall correctly) makes me think a flight is a better idea.

Hi everyone! Ruby99, having done more research, I agree that 7 days is too much for either city. So my thought is to stay either 4 or 5 nights in each city including Helsinki; I've decided to add it on but don't have experience traveling by ferry with luggage. Any feedback on that?
If I make it 4 nights, I can add an additional city, perhaps in one of the Scandinavian countries? Stockholm? What do you think?

Julie, I think if we can be helpful to eachother and to other travelers we should definitely keep this thread active. Good idea :)

Thanks to all!

I don't recall how luggage was handled on our ferry between Helsinki and Stockholm but I do recall that there were no problems with it or anything else. May have just kept our luggage with us so we could change, etc. We enjoyed the ferry ride. Left at 5 p.m. and arrived at 9:30 a.m. with 1 hr. time difference. Lots of dining options. Some shopping. Fun things for kids to do. The boat held cars on 2 levels and people on 3 levels, approx 2800 passengers with one floor of restaurants and entertainment and another of a giant duty free supermakte. Top floor had hot tubs and walk around observation decks. Food was good quality and extra except for breakfast which was included in the 223 euros we paid for our cabin for 2.

If you add Stockholm into your trip I think you'll enjoy it a great deal and it will afford you a different experience than the other places you intend to see. It is a major, cosmopolitan city with a nordic/Scandinavian twist. Well worth your sightseeing time. In fact, I think you're starting to fashion a wonderful trip overall. I'll continue to follow and hope to be helpful to you from my experience just as I learn from what you're putting togehter.

Thanks Julie! I'll stop worrying about the ferry...

So far, I only have a couple of decisions made:
- I will be going in September instead of April
- I will start from either Stockholm or Helsinki instead of Vilnius, so the reverse of what I had originally posted
- I've gotten some great day trip suggestions from fellow travelers

I'm from Canada where we are used to cool/cold weather, and found the temps pretty chilly in late September, early October. Tallinn was just above freezing while I was there (bought some really nice wool mittens at one of the cool markets!) and we needed warm jackets the whole time we were there.

For the luggage, we had a large suitcase and shoulder bag each, and we took care of our own while on the ferries. During the 2 hour trip from Helsinki to Tallinn we just kept the luggage by our side, but when we went from Tallinn to Stockholm, we left the luggage in our room (it's mandatory to book a room on the overnight crossing). One thing that surprised me as I'd never been on a cruise was the distance we had to walk from the terminal to the ferry... easily 1km each way, so make sure you can handle your luggage yourself.

I was weary of the 17 hour cruise time it took from Tallinn to Stockholm, but read here that it was the highlight of some trips for some... and we REALLY enjoyed that part of our trip. We ate great food (the dinner buffet is delicious, breakfast buffet not so much!), played bingo!, watched great entertainment, and stayed up in the karaoke bar until 2:30 am!! I highly recommend it! We got to Stockholm around 10 am and were ready to sightsee there.

I regret not having gone to Riga or Vilnius, but we packed so much in our trip already...

Glad to see you've added Helsinki. I visited Helsinki, Tallinn and Riga in September 2011 (early September, the weather wasn't too cold but was wet). I had visited Vilnius back in 2004. Of the four cities I would spend longest in Riga, but I'm a big Art Nouveau fan.

For my TR see: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ne-baltics.cfm

Or for text with pix but without chitchat start here (links at the top of the page): http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...ain-and-shine/

On the Helsinki-Tallinn ferry I stashed my bigger bag in a locker. I was on a Viking ferry and I'm pretty sure it took more than two hours.

Don't be decieved by the length of the flight vs. the bus: you have to add the time it takes to get to and from the airport, and the time you have to spend in the airport. Plus, you get a view from the bus and are being kinder to the environment. I prefer trains to buses or planes, but most of the trains that used to serve the Baltics have been cancelled.

Hi Ruby99, I too am used to the cool weather but considering that I spend most of my days outdoors exploring when I travel, I find « just above freezing » a bit too cold!
I don’t have exact dates yet, I won’t know until April/May but I can try to get Aug/Sept off from work. It’s a bit warmer in August, right? Do any of you think August is preferable to September?

Thanks for the ferry info. I’ll have a large suitcase, a messenger bag hanging from my shoulder and probably a carry-on as well. I’m trying to lessen my load.
I don’t mind the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn but wow, 17 hours feels long! I’m glad you were able to enjoy it :)

Hi thursdaysd, yes, I’m really glad that Helsinki was recommended. It’s definitely part of my itinerary now, no going back!
Thank you for your links, I can’t wait to read about your experiences!
I will look into Viking. I think there are 3 major companies?

I know what you mean about the travel time by plane vs bus. Is it not a minimum 5-hour drive? I’m not crazy about road trips, I get nauseated easily so I’ve always preferred flying, and trains are just a nightmare with luggage. I haven’t decided yet.
Thanks for your input :)

If you pack light you will have no problems with luggage on trains. Or boats. You sound like you have far too much - you're only going for 21 days, you're not moving there, lol. I travel for months at a time with one carry-on size bag and a day bag. (For my packing list start here (links at the top of the page): http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/...take-part-one/ )

Hi thursdaysd! I saw your backpack, I hope I can find a way to do that. I think I pack "a lot" b/c I usually travel in April and my travel starts off with snow (like last time in Slovenia) and ends in heat under the sun (in Croatia) so I have to have the short sleeves AND the long sleeves + hat/scarf...maybe this time around I can pack for more stable weather.

Hi all! A little twist to my itinerary.
Doing some research, I came across a tour that includes Kaliningrad, Russia (b/w Poland and Lithuania). I thought of maybe replacing Helsinki with Kaliningrad although I was really excited about Helsinki but I've already been to Poland (loved it!) so I don't know when I'll be in that area again to visit Kaliningrad; whereas, I have yet to visit any of the Scandinavian countries and I could either visit Helsinki in the future when I travel to its neighboring cities/countries OR when I visit Russia. What are your thoughts on this possible change? Any of you been to Kaliningrad?

I did some more thinking, I will stick to my original plan including Helsinki. I will post with an update to keep the thread active.
thanks

Hi Julie, I've posted a modified version under 3 weeks - Helsinki-Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius - Aug/Sept. if you're interested.