The Ultimate Baltic Roadtrip Itinerary
When our planned multi day biking trip from Maastricht (NL) towards the Stelvio in Italy got cancelled we evaluated our options. Where could we go in June for a period of 9 days? We quickly ended up with a long lasting plan to do a roadtrip through the Baltics countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Flying on Riga got the best hours where we could departure on Saturday morning and arrive back on Sunday early evening. By starting and ending in Riga, we could avoid a heavy uplift in the car rental. Our high level planned route quickly got defined where we would do a kind of circle through the countries around the capitals and then see what other destinations or activities we take in between. With a roughly 1300 km we could limit the amount of kilometers we had to drive per day. It’s not because it’s a road trip that we aim to sit hours in the car. We try to limit to maximum 200 km per day, which feels comfortable to us. Find out about our experiences around the 7 major destinations:
Riga
After picking up our car at the airport, we stopped at the National Library of Latvia. One might think why stop at a library, but often these buildings are very special or have a master piece. We enjoyed the public library in New York and now we pay more attention to which libraries we might pass during our trips. After a short stop we continued to our hotel, Hotel Hanza before heading to the lovely old Town.
The old town with its cobblestone streets, narrow streets and many bars and restaurants is really enjoyable. It’s not such a big city and wandering around for a day will be more than enough to see the majority of the highlights.
We left the city behind to start our road trip and headed in the direction of Lithuania. To break up our trip towards Kaunas we stopped in both Jelgavas Pils and Rundāle Palace. It are impressive buildings, hosting museums, however we have limited ourselves to admiring the buildings, have a short walk and continued our journey.
Impressive place along the road
On the road between Riga and Kaunas there are 2 more interesting stops you can make. First is the Hill of Crosses, a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. The origin of this place is uncertain but they state that the first crosses were place in 1831. You can’t count the number of crosses on the hill but I’m sure it are couple of thousands. All sizes, colours, materials. There is an official parking lot little before the site however we rode a little further and parking next to the road for free. It took us around 30 minutes to explore this place.
We continued our journey in the direction of Kaunas and headed to Ninth Forth, a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate. It is a part of the Kaunas Fortress, built in the late 19th century. During the Soviet occupation, the fort was used as a prison and way-station for prisoners being transported to labour camps. You an walk around the forth, which we did, but you can also visit the building, which we didn’t.
The Ninth Forth Memorial commemorates the victims of the Ninth Fort, a Nazi execution site for the Jews in the Kovno Ghetto. These were historical events that I didn’t recall to have learnt at school, but it makes you silent if you only try to imagine what have happened at that place.
Kaunas
Totally unexpected we enjoyed Kaunas. We didn’t have big expectations and we only arrive in later afternoon, but we had a great time. We stayed in the Radisson Hotel Kaunas which is centrally located. Due to the loyalty program we were allowed to stay on the members floor and got a delicious ice cream upon checkin. The room was spatious, had all comfort, but in the end we didn’t stay that long on the room beside sleeping. The hotel was totally full as the Lithuanian national soccer team was staying in the hotel. It were all national teams as from U17 including the national mens team.
The weather was awesome and we started with exploring the Laisvės alėja with is full of bars and restaurants. This is a pedestrian only street which bring a very laid back atmosphere. We continued our hike to the Kaunas Castle region which is a zone you can’t miss.
Vilnius
After we checked in to the hotel we headed out for a city walk through Vilnius. The city is nice but has less charm compared to Riga or Tallinn. Still there are enough places you can visit to have a nice time. One special one is the Chapel of the Gates of Dawn. Mostly this is now associated with the chapel itself, however the name initially refers to one of the 10 city gates of the old city wall. This gate is the only one that survived over time. I think a city with narrow cobble stone streets has a certain charm. You don’t see that specifically in Vilnius but still there are quite some narrow streets.
In the direction of the river you will find the Vilnius Cathedral and a little further the Gedimas Tower. From that hill you have a good view over the city. There is a staircase to the top but you can also take a little train up the hill. We took the train up, which costs you 1 euro but took the strairs back down. Once we saw the most important parts it started to rain gently. A sign for us to take an apero in Sparkling Ocean. A cosy place with a wide silection of champagne and oysters. Not often we do so, but we enjoyed a tasteful glass of champagne. After this we continued our journey and wanted to pass by the Margutis Easter Egg. Nothing special and it is what the name says. A big egg, but the square is normally visited by locals to gather. With this weather we were the only people around. We continued to Vilnius G street where you have plenty of bars and restaurants. We were lucky to score an unreserved table in the meating room. A catchy name, an awesome bar and interior and delicious food.
Direction Daugavpils
When we left Vilnius we drove towards the Paneriai Memorial which reminds us both of the stories of the biggest mass murder in Lithuania and of the tragic fate of local Jews during the Holocaust. We were early and alone which made it even more impressive. When you walk around, read the informative signs once again, you simply cannot imagine what it must have been. There is a small museum but it was closed when we were there.
Before leaving Vilnius behind us we passed at The Road of Freedom Memorial Wall which was created to commemorate the longest human chain of 650 km in 1989. The chain went on from Pikk Hermann Tower in Tallinn till Gediminas Tower in Vilnius. It was the approach of the people from the Baltic countries to stride for freedom and no longer be attached to Soviet union.
While driving towards Daugavpils there aren’t too many touristic things to do, but we stopped at Europos Centras. During the years several countries or instances claimed to have calculated the centrum of Europe. The only one recognised by Guinness Book of World Records is located in Girija, a small village with only 9 habitants. There is a monument and a stone showcasing the exact point. It kept us busy, was a nice break during our journey, but in the end is a rock on a field. We were also completely alone in the location.
The last step before reaching Daugavpils was Zarasai lake where you have the Observation Circle which gives a nice view over the lake and its environment. It’s a super small and chill city and not much to do. We did a small walk at the borders of the lake. you can go around, but it was several kilometers and we didn’t want to spend our time on this hike. We had a coffee in a small restaurant with view on the lake.
Daugavpils
Due to some construction works on the road we had a detour and had to drive quite some kilometers on dirt roads. Throughout all 3 Baltic countries you quickly end up on dirt roads. Often there is only 1 main road between 2 cities and whenever you leave that road there is no more asphalt. Something to take into account as your speed will be lower on those roads.
The east side of the roadtrip isn’t a touristic region and plenty of people decide to pass back via Riga. However, we wanted to explore the east region and headed in the direction of Daugavpils.
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia. The old town centers on the university’s neoclassical main building, and the cafe-filled Town Hall Square, home to the Kissing Students fountain. It isn’t a big city but it’s a good stop during your journey. We arrived late afternoon after having a quick stop in Valga / Valka. The particular about this border city is that they divided it into 2 parts, one belonging to Estonia and the other to Latvia. A couple of hours is all you need to explore Tartu. There is the city park with some places to visit and the main square full of bars and restaurants. We enjoyed a beer and snack in a small beer garden. There are a few charmant side streets, but that’s it. The next day we headed out early towards Lahemaa National Park.
Estonia claims that only 1,9% of the area is built and the rest is nature. Tourism outside the main cities is very low which means that even the National Parks are limited exploited. In most countries you would expect plenty of marked trails, however in Estonia that’s really limited. In fact the same goes for Latvia and Lithuania. We did find an extended version of Viru Raba which was 13 km in total. The first part starts on a wooden path, following by a more narrow path through the water zones. There is a nice watch tower from which is a great view point. Instead of heading back we did our extension of the hike and that part was really full of mosquitos. There were really hundreds of them and a kind of Tiger variant so you don’t hear them while they attack you. We strongly recommend long pants and sleeves but even that isn’t enough in our opinion. When we arrived at the car park I still had my shorts on and within 2 minutes I had 2 bites on my legs. Knowing I’m normally not at all sensitive to mosquito bites shows how aggressive these little beasts are. If we would have know up front, we would have sticked to the main part and didn’t bother with the extension. Maybe it was the time of the year and it might be less disturbing during your visit. Let us know in a comment below 🙂
Tallinn
We stayed for 2 nights in the Radisson Blu Olumpia which is just outside the old town but still very close to it. Upon arrival we were lucky to get upgraded to the Emerald Suite which is on the Diamond floor (13). Only few suites are on that floor and you don’t have to press floor 13 in the elevator, but a button with a diamond on it. The room was spacious with a desk, living room, bedroom and big bathroom. It also provided us free access to the spa on the 26th floor where you have some relax seats overlooking the city. Do reserver some time for this spa with a swimming pool and sauna. The breakfast was extensive and very good. Radisson Members have a reserved area where breakfast a la carte with service is possible. A good choice to stay here 2 nights.
We had huge expectations of Tallinn and the city matched them all. The narrow streets with cobble stones, old buildings, streets going up and down, bring a pleasant atmosphere. It was busy with tourists but not disturbing at all. On our first evening we did a short hike through the city and had a drink on the old town square. It’s full of bars and restaurants where they try to pull you in. We had a drink enjoying the evening and looking around while observing people passing by. We ended our day with a drink in the bar of the hotel.
Strava Quick evening exploration (4 km)
The next day we did a more elaborated hike through the city.
A historical fact of the Baltic countries is the suppression of Russia and the KGB is part of that ear. You can visit the KGB Prison Cells / KGB House to get an impression of what it must have been. Innocent people were dragged from the street and often kept for days to be interrogated in a crazy setting. There is a museum linked to the Viru hotel which we skipped as we thought it would be too commercial so we took this smaller variant. It’s really small and it won’t take you much more than 30 minutes. We did it during a rain shower but if you don’t have the time don’t feel too bad on it.
Pärnu - Balta Kapa - Riga
All good things come to and end and we had to head back to Riga to get a flight back to Belgium. A first stop on our journey was in Pärnu. We didn’t know much about this city but it was great! The weather was perfect, a cosy unknown city and we wished we could have spend some more time in this city. We wandered around, had a drink, spotted a Lamborghini and enjoyed the good vibes. It was a Saturday and we didn’t spot much tourists. In our impression this were locals enjoying the good life. If you are around, don’t hesitate to visit Pärnu. Before entering Riga we stopped at Balta Kapa where we enjoyed some sun, a short walk on the beach and the good life. Certainly because we knew the weather in Belgium was bad and we were blessed with great weather for ending our trip.
As we had some great stops on the road from Tallinn to Riga we only arrived quite late in the city. we limited ourselves to an apero and a dinner on a terrace. The vibes in Riga are awesome and I can image we will be back in a couple of years.
We had a good sleep in the Hilton Garden Inn Riga Old Town which is really in the middle of the action! What was also awesome was that we were offered a glas of sparkling wine during check-in because it was warm weather. These small gestures really make a difference and are the icing on the cake. After a good sleep we enjoyed the extensive breakfast with included fresh pancakes was delicious. We still had the time to do a city walk before leaving for the airport and leaving back to the rainy Belgium. Conclusion is that the Baltics are not the most standard holiday destination but we can really recommend it. the nature is a blast, people are friendly, road and traffic are smooth. We weren’t blown away from the food, but obviously we are spoiled in Belgium.