Baltic Countries

This is great. Thank you.

We were originally thinking stockholm or Helsinki, Tallinn, and Riga and driving one or two of the countries surrounding areas.

Vilnius just seems more our speed than Heksinki.

We have 14-16 days, so it's tough to do all given the distances.

Was the Helsinki ferry ride smooth?

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Was the Helsinki ferry ride smooth?

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The boats are enormous and have restaurants and even a casino on board. The time will fly by…

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id you go anywhere in the Baltics besides the Capitol cities?

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My last trip was in the summer of 24’. Starting in Helsinki for 3 days. Which is one day too many. It’s a bit dull after 2 days and depending on when you arrive the weather can be brutal.

Then take the ferry to Tallinn. Two or three days there tops. You can do more. Hit the old town. See the new city. Visit the old KGB Hotel. You can eat very well there cheaply. Then take a bus to Riga for 3 more days.

Day trips to Vilnius are available from either Tallinn or Riga. In addition, the Hill of Crosses is a quick detour and the Rundale Palace is definitely worth a visit.

Riga is the star of the show. Art Nouveau architecture. Black Balsam cocktails. Stay in an old Soviet hotel like the Bellevue. The entire area isn’t on the EuroRail. Only accessible by plane or ferry. It’s one of the few unspoiled areas of Europe still left. Michelin rated restaurants like Shoyu and Milda.

How many weeks are you planning for that?

The Grand Tour did an episode where they drove from I think the Black Sea to Sweden or somewhere else in Scandinavia (it was not the Black sea to the Caspian episode). It could have been Top Gear or the Netflix Scandi Flick.

The scenery was f*#$% fantastic, and one of those routes I'd spend $600 a day (or more, who is counting) on a proper touring car for.

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Visit the old KGB Hotel.

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Is this what they turned into the KGB museum? That was a very somber experience, if so. I waited back in the basement until by myself, then closed the door of that holding cell behind me, and meditated for a couple minutes. Horrible things happened there.

I’ve done Talinn, Riga, and Vilnius (in addition to Helsinki and Stockholm).

I’d rate them Talinn>Riga=Vilnius with maybe just a slight edge to Riga. Talinn is nice with the old town essentially being a giant medieval walled city with cobbled streets and a castle. Theres lots of history from the Danish conquest in the Middle Ages to the occupation by both Nazi germany and Soviet Union.

Riga is different mostly since it is flatter and more open in areas. It definitely felt a bit touristy though since there are mobile bike riding bars around town. The market is quite large in a WW2 zeppelin hanger and that was fun to see.

Vilnius was cool and seemed bigger than Riga. They have a castle on the hill on the banks of the river. I felt like the locals were some of the most hospitable in all of Europe. Just outside of Vilnius is a little fortress on a lake called Trakai which is definitely worth a day trip.

I’ve done the ferry from Helsinki to Talinn, think of it as a giant cruise ship, the Baltic Sea is fairly shallow and it was calm when I did it, also very foggy where you couldn’t see much. I also took a cheap 10€ bus from Talinn to Riga and later from Riga to Vilnius.
(Personally I would not recommend Helsinki alone as it is nothing special. The Russians made it the site of the capital in times of modern history and for that there isn’t a medieval old town. Turku would be a better choice if you were to go to one. Also I think much of the nordics are better appreciated in nature outside the cities.)