Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania itinerary
 

Hello, fellow travelers! My 68 year old father lives in Russia and will be meeting me in Tallinn this April, while I will be fying in from the US.
We want to see Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. I don't mid renting a car as it will make things more comfortable for my father, although he is very athletic and positive for his age.
Here is our itinerary:
04/20 Saturday - arrive to Tallinn at 2pm, check into the hotel, rest, have dinner, go for a walk.
04/21 Sunday - full day Tallinn
04/22 Monday - rent a car, Laheema national park day trip. (skip it?)
04/23 Tuesday - check out of the hotel, make our way to Riga. The trip in around 4 hours, are there any stops in between, I heard Parnu is nice? Arrive to Riga, check into the hotel, or shall we stay 1 night in Parnu?
04/24 - full day Riga
04/25 - Jurmala day trip? (is it worth seeing?) Any other day trips from Riga?
04/26 - check out of the hotel in Riga and make our way to Lithuania. The trip from Riga to Vilnius is around 3-4 hours. Any places to see in between? check into the hotel in Vilnius.
04/27 - And we just ran out of time b/c my flight back in on Saturday 04/27...
I know my father always wanted to see Lithuania so would you help me with this?? Thank you so much! Any suggestions will be appreciated.
daria

I have already modified the itinerary:
04/20 Saturday - arrive to Tallinn at 2pm, check into the hotel, rest, have dinner, go for a walk.
04/21 Sunday - full day Tallinn
04/22 Monday - rent a car, make out way to Parnu, Parnu – half a day, check in at Riga Hotel that night
04/23 Tuesday – full day Riga
04/24 – Cesis, maybe Sigulda too?
04/25 – Arrive into Vilnius, Vilnius city tour.
04/26 – Kaunas, and Trakai castle day trip. Come back to Vilnius.
04/27 – Take a plane back home.
Thoughts? Thank you!

Riga deserves as much time as possible, especially if you like Art Nouveau architecture. If you don't want to drive the buses are fine. Click on my name for my Baltic's TR for Tallinn and Riga. I was in Vilnius in 2004, I think it's changed a lot since then!

FWIW I thought Vilnius the most interesting of the three capitals. It's the one I would go back to. I did a trip report last year, see Gertie in eastern Europe.

Thanks, guys! Does the second itinerary look good to you?

Hi, Daria. I can only suggest things for Tallinn since I haven't been to the other two places. We really enjoyed a guided walk of Tallinn. Click on my name for my Tallinn trip report along with pictures. As far as Laheema National Park is concerned, it depends. We liked it, but because we live in the Pacific Northwest with beautiful forests, we weren't as excited as some people might be. If you do go to Laheema, go on the boardwalk, out into the bogs. My pictures will show you what it looks like.

Enjoy your trip. We loved Tallinn!

IMO The Hill of Crosses is a must see.It is on the way btw Riga and Vilnius,close to Siauliai.(Lithuania)
We did it by public transport and it was worth it.You will have a car and it will be easier.
Here is the link for more info:
http://sacredsites.com/europe/lithua...f_crosses.html

Enjoy your trip. We loved Tallinn most!

I urge you to read Gertie's trip report. It's well-written and gives lots of good details.

Consider the drop off fee for the car from country to country.

. We took a bus between those three cities and it was very easy. www.eurolines.com

Info for these three cities. www.inyourpocket.com

Hey guys, I realize how time crunched we are... Here is a new itinerary:
04/20 Saturday - arrive to Tallinn at 2pm, check into the hotel, rest, have dinner, go for a walk.
04/21 Sunday - full day Tallinn, stay Tallinn
04/22 Monday – full day Riga, stay Riga
04/23 Tuesday – bus to Vilnuis, stay Vilnuis.
04/24 – Kaunas, and Trakai castle day trip. Stay Vilnuis.
04/25 – ?
04/26 – ?
04/27 – Take a plane back home.

Please give feedback! Thanks!

My only advice is, if you are taking the bus between cities, get your ticket, to the next city, the day before you leave.

The bus can fill up quickly.

Thanks, Iris!

I used Lux Express bus between the cities. Inexpensive, comfortable, efficient. I booked online ahead of time but the buses were half empty and I could have bought the ticket on the day. Looking at your itinerary, there is no time to get from Tallinn to Riga unless you are driving overnight. I enjoyed Vilnius to the point I would go back. I reckon 2 full days minimum for both Riga and Vilnius. I only went to these cities I can't comment on other places to see.

I hear what 'gertie' was saying. Seems like it was a different company.

But our bus was full on both legs of the trip.

Better to be cautious

Hey guys, thanks for all your feedback! I have been cutting here and there and decided to cut Latvia out completely :(

04/20 Saturday - arrive to Tallinn at 2pm, check into the hotel, rest, have dinner, go for a walk.
04/21 Sunday - full day Tallinn, stay Tallinn
04/22 Monday – day trip to East/West or Saremaa
04/23 Tuesday – fly to Vilnius, stay Vilnius
04/24 – Trakai castle trip, stay Vilnius
04/25 – Kaunas, full day, stay Vilnius
04/26 – full day Vilnius
04/27 – Take a plane back home.

Thoughts?

Also, I have booked St Olav's hotel in Tallinn, could anyone recommend a nice inexpensive hotel somewhere in the Old Town Vilnius? Thanks!

Given a choice between Tallinn and Riga I would definitely take Riga, but then I am a big Art Nouveau fan.

In Vilnius you could try this site that has reliable reviews. booking.com/vilnius If you use this site, make sure it has 'free cancellation'.

I recently used this site for hotels in Urah ans Spain.

When we were in Vilnius, I walked by a man in a suit, said hi and he in turn replied.

Later found out he was the President of Lithuania. Only other person fairly close, was a tall man standing against a wall, in a white suit. This was about six years ago.

In Vilnius I stayed in Domus Maria convent which gets good reviews. However, it was a bit cold and monastic for me(see TR) so I wouldn't stay there again. But the location was perfect.
I'm surprised you're cutting out Riga. What a shame!