Plan my trip

Destinations · Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania

The Baltics

Three capitals with three of Europe's best-preserved old towns, and empty forest, bog and coast in between. Fly into Tallinn, drive south, fly home from Vilnius.

Best: May to September8 to 12 days

Why here

The Baltic states are small, safe, affordable and still uncrowded. Tallinn has a medieval walled town that looks like a film set and a tech-driven café culture around it. Riga has the largest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in Europe and a huge central market in old Zeppelin hangars. Vilnius is Baroque, hilly and relaxed, with a self-declared artists' republic in Užupis. Between the cities: national parks, manor houses, Soviet-era relics and a coast of pine forest and white sand where you can walk for an hour without seeing anyone.

Ten days that work

Three nights in Tallinn: the old town, the Kadriorg palace park and the Seaplane Harbour museum, plus a day in Lahemaa national park with its bog boardwalks and fishing villages. Drive south (4h, or 2h to Pärnu on the coast for a night) to Riga for three nights: Art Nouveau quarter, Central Market, and a day at Jūrmala beach or Sigulda's castles in the Gauja valley. Then via the Hill of Crosses at Šiauliai to Vilnius for three nights, with a half-day at Trakai island castle. Fly home from Vilnius.

Do you need a car?

Useful between cities, not inside them. Lux Express coaches link the three capitals in about four hours each and are comfortable and cheap, so a car-free version works. The car pays off for Lahemaa, the Curonian Spit or the coast, and one-way hire between the countries is normal with no extra border paperwork. Roads are good and traffic light.

Good to know

  • All three countries are in the EU, the euro and Schengen. Card payment is universal; Estonia is nearly cashless.
  • English is widely spoken by anyone under fifty. Russian is common among older people; a few words of Estonian, Latvian or Lithuanian go a long way.
  • Summer days are very long: sunset after 22:00 in June. Midsummer (23 to 24 June) is the biggest holiday of the year and the countryside shuts down to celebrate.
  • Prices are well below Western Europe: a good dinner for two with wine is €50 to €70 in the capitals.
  • Winter is dark, cold and beautiful, with Christmas markets in all three old towns, but it is a different trip. This one is for May to September.

Other destinations