Baltic States

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: the World Heritage old towns of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius strung together on one route.

The Baltic States are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. All three countries are small and easy to travel around, and are often combined into a single 7–10 day itinerary. Highlights: Tallinn's well-preserved medieval Hanseatic Old Town, Upper Town and wall towers; the university town of Tartu and the windmills and meteorite crater on Saaremaa island; Riga's Old Town, Europe's greatest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture (Alberta Street) and the Jūrmala seaside; Gauja National Park and Rundāle Palace (the 'Versailles of the Baltics'); in Lithuania, the Hill of Crosses, Vilnius' Baroque Old Town and the 'Republic' of Užupis across the river, Trakai's island castle in the lake, and Kaunas; and the giant dunes of the Curonian Spit (shared with Russia's Kaliningrad, World Heritage). Classic route: Tallinn (2 days) – (Tartu) – Riga (2–3 days) – Hill of Crosses – Vilnius (2 days, including Trakai) – Kaunas/Nida (1–2 days); you can reach Tallinn from Helsinki by a 2-hour ferry. On transport: long-distance buses such as Lux Express link the three capitals, with each leg taking about 4–5 hours; the Rail Baltica railway, due to be completed around 2030, will make travel easier. All three countries use the euro and are in the Schengen area, and prices are lower than in the Nordic countries.

Destinations

Itineraries