How to travel to the Baltics on your own, without the services of travel agencies. It's easy and simple, because almost everyone there speaks Russian, so you won't have any problems with communication. It is enough to make a foreign passport and open a Schengen visa to one of the three Baltic countries. We also recommend that you compose your own route in the Baltic States, be sure to include Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in it. If someone tries to convince you that any of the three countries is the most beautiful, then do not take our word for it, because each country is unique and has its own flavor.
What to take with you when planning an independent trip to the Baltics. Of course, you need to bring your passport with a valid Schengen visa. Insurance for cars, those passport and green card. Several credit cards from different banks and a supply of cash will be, by the way, in case of unforeseen circumstances. When going on a trip by private car, it is better to take 2 navigators with different maps, because one navigator may get lost or have outdated maps.
Itinerary for an independent trip to the Baltics
The trip to the Baltics starts independently from Lithuania. Crossing the Lithuanian border, we immediately head to the city of Vilnius. It is just a stone's throw from the border, so you can catch a lot of things to see almost immediately after crossing the border. The city is quite small but very interesting. In the architecture of the city you will find the Baroque style, in which as many as 9 churches were built. The wall in the city and the church were made in the Renaissance style. As many as three Catholic churches are made in the Gothic style. Be sure to visit the old town, which has retained its charm over the centuries. The narrow winding streets of the old town are paved with cobblestones and are considered pedestrian, but some are allowed to drive. True, we do not recommend going to the old city in your own car, a taxi will cost cheaper and faster, because your car still needs to be parked somewhere.
Trakai
Next stop in the city of Trakai, the former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Who knows the history will understand how unique this place is. It is only thirty kilometers to go to it, so you can safely plan a visit to it for one day with Vilnius. The city is famous for the Trakai Castle, which is surrounded by water, because located on the island. You will not find more such castles in Europe. Just for the sake of one castle, it's worth coming to Trakai.
Kaunas
After seeing the castle and the city of Trakai, we go to Kaunas. It is a fairly compact and very well-worn old town with a large number of monuments and landmarks. In Kaunas, you can easily spend a whole day exploring and admiring the city's sights.
Klaipeda
It is not difficult to travel to the Baltics on your own, especially when there is a ready-made route. Then our route takes us to Klaipeda. By the way, the city has a very interesting maritime museum. If you are in the city with children, then go to the dolphinarium. For those who love to sail, there are two whole yacht clubs where you can rent a boat, boat or yacht for any time.
Palanga
Palanga is a resort that does not need to be advertised. all tourists in the world know it. The resort is located near Klaipeda, so we are heading there. In recent years, Palanga has greatly changed thanks to new comfortable hotels and guest houses. The most beautiful place in Palanga is the botanical garden, where the Tyshkevich palace is located. There is an amber museum and a souvenir shop on the territory of the palace.
Liepaja
We cross the border and find ourselves in a Latvian town called Liepaja. The royal family loved to relax in this city, and today it is a favorite place for musicians to relax. Constant concerts and musical performances attract more and more tourists every year. The city has a zoo that is open all year round. We recommend that after exploring the city of Liepia, go to the Rudel Castle. The castle is just a stone's throw from the next destination, so it fits perfectly into our route.
Saldus
The town of Saldus is not particularly remarkable in any way, but its suburb will be very interesting. Here In the outskirts of Saldus you will find Kalnsetas park. In the park you will find old estates and monuments from the reign of German barons, which is very interesting and informative. The Ciecere River, which flows through the park, offers many water activities and excellent fishing.
Jurmala
Of course, after Riga we go to Jurmala, fortunately, it's just a stone's throw from it, one might say, a suburb of Riga, only 25 km away. Here we recommend staying for a few days to relax in a truly legendary resort that has a lot to offer the local tourists.
Sigulda
After resting and gaining strength, we set off for Estonia, and on the way we will stop at the last city of Latvia called Sigulda. There are quite a few ancient castles in the city and the largest cave in the whole of Latvia. From Sigulda we will reach our next stop in Estonia in an hour and a half.
Tartu
Tartu, a hospitable youth city. It houses the largest number of universities in Estonia, which means the largest number of young people, which is why it is a city in which life is constantly boiling. The history of the city is more than a thousand years old. The combination of modern student traditions and the medieval flavor of the city is unique and unrepeatable.
Tallinn
Just 185 kilometers from Tartu is Tallinn, to which we are going. Tallinn, like Riga, offers us a lot of interesting things, so it's worth staying in this city for a few days in order to get to know it a little closer. We recommend that you draw up a separate route to the sights of Tallinn in advance, since there are quite a few of them.
Raquery
On the way home, it is worth stopping by the town of Rakveri, where the ruins of the Order's castle have been preserved. The city has a museum and an open-air concert venue. You will have the opportunity to see the very old mill, which is still working.
Kuremäe
Next we leave for Kuremäe. The Orthodox Holy Dormition Pyukhtinsky Convent is located here. Quite an interesting and famous place. It is here that an oak grows, on which the image of the Dormition of the Mother of God appeared. By the way, this is the only monastery in Estonia that is subordinate to the Moscow diocese.
Toila and Narva-Yesu
Our final stop before crossing the border is Toila and Narva-Yesu. Toila is a very beautiful resort, although it is not very advertised. Narva-Yesu is a beautiful city with its own beach, several kilometers long.
see also
Don't let the rising currency rate scare you. If you plan your trip well, the trip will cost you a fraction of the cost. I was convinced of this once again during my last trip to the Baltic countries, now I am sharing with you my advice.
1. Buses between Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn for 3 euros
The capitals of the Baltic countries are connected by a bunch of bus routes with great service (toilet, heating, Wi-Fi and even free monitors).
The carrier SimpleExpress throws out 5 promotional tickets for each flight exactly six months before departure. Travel Vilnius-Tallinn, Vilnius-Riga, Riga Tallinn and back for only 3 euros.
There are also ongoing promotions in the bus companies LuxExpress, Ecolines, and Eurolines.
Discounts can be up to 70% and a ticket for an international route costs around 5 euros.
2. Discounts on railways and buses.
There is a 15% discount on Lithuanian railways when buying a round-trip ticket. Remind the cashier about this. In Latvia, travel by electric trains on weekdays during working hours is a quarter cheaper. Between Estonian cities it is better to travel by SuperBus. The ticket costs 2 euros (the cunning ones indicate the price in Eureka, but you can't get away from paying for reservations).
3. Do not overpay for travel in cities.
The cost of travel in public transport for our money is crazy. For example, in Riga, a ticket when bought from a driver costs as much as 2 euros! However, the same ticket in the machine will cost you 1.15 euros. If you will use transport more than 4 times in 24 hours (from the date the coupon is broken through), then it is more advisable to buy a travel card for 5 euros.
In Tallinn and Vilnius, you should buy a special plastic card for multiple trips. They cost 2 and 1.5 euros, respectively. In the capital of Estonia, it can be returned (but only at the customer service center), Lithuanians do not return money.
4. Get free cards at tourist centers.
Each tourist information center provides a free paper map of a city, region or the entire country. As a rule, they are located in the main squares of cities, train stations and airports. Do not hesitate to ask travel agency workers about the events that take place in the city, free museums and where inexpensive but tasty food.
5. Business lunches, canteens and fast food.
On weekdays at lunchtime (usually from 11 to 15), many restaurants offer set meals (or business lunches) at a significant discount. For example, in the center of Tallinn in the Karja Kelder restaurant, minced meat soup (this is how it was presented to us) and the main dish (pictured) cost us only 3.7 euros.
There are still Soviet canteens in Vilnius. Lithuanian they will be Valgykla.
If the goal is to satisfy hunger, then in Riga fast foods you can buy a complex: burger, french fries and cola for 2.65 euros.
6. Where is it more profitable to refuel?
The cheapest gasoline among the three Baltic countries is in Estonia. A liter of the 95th costs a little more than euros. You will have to pay the most in Latvia. The difference in the price of fuel between states is within 10 cents.
7. No money for the museum and parliament.
There are a number of interesting museums where admission is absolutely free or the fee is purely symbolic. For example, these are museums of money at banks in Estonia and Lithuania. It's not boring here - it's very modern and interactive. You can even print your own money or treat yourself to a bank-branded candy.
Also in the Baltic countries there is a great opportunity to visit local parliaments. You can sign up for an excursion to the Lithuanian Sejm or the Estonian Parliament in advance.
Art museums in Tallinn have the so-called "One Euros of Wednesday". Entry once a quarter on Wednesdays for only 1 euro. Check the museum website before you travel!
Some museums have free admission with a press ID. And it doesn't matter if it's "Zhmerynsky worker" or "Forbes Ukraine". For example, in the interesting Maritime Museum Tallinn. Employees of other museums (including ours) also have a similar benefit.
8. Shopping from catalogs in supermarkets.
The lowest supermarkets in Lithuania. We're mad about their chocolate curds! Price from 0.2 eurocents. Citrus fruits - like ours. Please bring your promotional price brochure before entering the supermarket. Sometimes the discount can be up to 50%. Of course, everything that is cheaper is not worth buying, but in this way we bought ourselves delicious Riga sprats or double snickers with coffee in an IKI supermarket for 1 euro.
9. We book accommodation earlier.
We booked a hotel in Riga a couple of months in advance. In addition to discounts for early booking, we used a promotional code on the hotel website. Won over € 10 A friend of mine was using Airbnb. Had a private room in Tallinn for 9 euros.
Vilnius - Kaunas - Trakai
Breakfast in the hotel.
Moving to Kaunas (100 km)
Excursion around Kaunas.
Kaunas- the second largest city in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. Kaunas was founded in 1362 and is the second capital of Lithuania. The city is famous for its medieval square. Here you will see the Town Hall, which is called the "White Swan", admire all European architectural styles.
You will see the house of Perkunus (Thunder) - one of the most original buildings of the late Gothic style in Lithuania. Admire the Church of St. Vytautas, see the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and Paul.
The modern Kaunas street Laisves Alley is a boulevard that is called "Little Paris" with its cozy shops and cafes. The length of this street is about 2 km, and the panorama is completed by a magnificent church built at the beginning of the 20th century according to the project of Benois (now the Church of Michael the Archangel).
Kaunas is famous for its K.M. Čiurlionis. Many tourists from the east and west come here to admire the canvases of this great artist and composer. There is also the famous Devil Museum, which the whole world knows about.
Transfer to Trakai (86 km).
Lunch at the restaurant of Karaite cuisine. On the menu, the famous Karaite dish - kibinai, is a crescent-shaped pies made of dough stuffed with meat cut into pieces with a lot of onions and spices. Lithuania should be grateful to Grand Duke Vytautas for this extremely popular dish. It was he who brought the Karaites to Lithuania 600 years ago, and those - "kibinai". It is surprising that no more than two or three thousand Karaites lived in Lithuania, and their "kibinai" peacefully conquered the whole country.
Excursion around Trakai.
Trakai, the ancient capital of the Principality of Lithuania, located only 30 km from Vilnius. Trakai is the ancient capital of Lithuania, a city between three lakes. The main attraction of the city is the famous Trakai Castle, which stands on an island in the middle of Lake Galvė. It should be noted that this is the only island castle in Eastern Europe, one of the largest medieval defensive structures in Lithuania, it covers an area of 1.8 hectares. To enter the fortress, visitors must cross two wooden bridges. The center of the architectural ensemble of the castle is the prince's palace, surrounded by a thick fortress wall with defensive towers. Now it houses a museum, the exposition of which covers the period from ancient times to the middle of the 20th century. The exhibition features genuine furniture, dishes, glass and bone products, seals, hunting trophies and archaeological finds discovered during excavations. By the way, it was here that the film "The Adventures of Electronics" was filmed.
Return to Vilnius.
Free time.
I want to tell you how my friend and I ourselves, without agencies, visited the Baltics. I will not talk about the sights, only about the case. How to go yourself. This is my first independent trip.
At the time of our trip, such a tour of the three capitals of the Baltic countries cost 44,000 per person per week, but we got 23,000. Almost two days in each city. There is a difference!!! TIP: I always buy books from the Orange Guide series. A wonderful series. I take it with me on all trips when I go myself.
VISA. I must say right away that we decided to submit documents to the visa center. A little more expensive, but easier: if something goes wrong, they will still reprint the documents on their forms. For money. Documents are submitted to the embassy or visa center of the country where you will spend more time, namely nights, regardless of the sequence of visiting countries. We started from Lithuania, but we applied for a visa to the visa center of Latvia, because there were two days in Vilnius, but one overnight stay, and in Riga and Tallinn for two nights. The list of documents can be found on the websites. Along with the documents, be sure to bring copies of hotel reservations and copies of all tickets, insurance is required. Read carefully. For example, at the time of our registration, they did not accept hotel reservations from booking in Lithuania. Maybe something has changed. We booked on Hotels.com. There were not many people in the center, they handed over an hour and a half. We waited longer for the documents to be retyped. After 10 days my husband arrived and took the passports with visas. When submitting documents, you mark who will pick it up. Very comfortably.
MOVING BETWEEN COUNTRIES: we chose the bus. Tickets were booked on the website.
Very user-friendly site. Buses take 4 hours on average. There is not much to see on the road. The buses were empty. Maybe it's not a tourist season, or maybe so lucky. We chose the afternoon, left at 5 pm, arrived at 9 pm, slept, and in the morning with fresh strength to walk around the city. Hotels were chosen closer to the center and to the bus stations, so as not to spend extra money on the road ..
HOTELS. We chose inexpensive ones with the expectation of just spending the night. Breakfast.
VILNIUS. Arrived on an airBaltic plane. The plane is tiny: rows of 15, two seats across the aisle.
We flew perfectly. From the airport we took a bus to the Comfort Vilnius 3 * hotel. There are two hotels with a similar name in Vilnius and the locals misinformed us a little, but from the same hotel
to our extra 15 minutes on foot. Found. The hotel is small but cute. For a night or two, no more. There was not even a closet in our room.
We took only breakfast in all hotels. The food was decent, the linen was clean. All attractions are within walking distance. They did not spend money on the road anywhere.
We arrived in Vilnius at 10 am, the bus to Riga was the next day at 16.30. From the hotel to the bus station on foot 10 min. Almost two days were enough to see the main attractions and just walk around the city. But the review is not about that. Travel yourself, fear nothing.
RIGA. From the bus station to the hotel 4 * on foot 10 minutes. The hotel is very good. We got a discount when booking. Breakfast for slaughter, there was even champagne. There is no such breakfast in Turkish fives. Clean, quiet, 5-7 minutes to the center. The room even had an ironing board with an iron, kettle, tea, coffee. Bus to Tallinn at 17.00. Everywhere we went on foot, we did not spend on transport.
TALLINN. In Tallinn, from the bus station to the hotel 3 * by tram 10 min and walk 5 min. The hotel is not bad, but there is no shower tray in the shower, and water almost did not go into the hole in the floor and flooded the entire floor in the bathroom. But in a mock there was a mop, you know, with such an elastic band to collect water. But across the road is the Old Town and all the sights. Back to Moscow by airBaltic. By taxi 15 euros and in 20 minutes on the spot.
CONCLUSION: By yourself it is twice cheaper, you are your own masters, travel yourself and everything will be fine. We walked in all cities, I can’t say anything about the prices for transport.
Are you planning to travel to Europe with your family or company, and ticket prices are so expensive? Don't be in a hurry to get upset - consider caravan tourism. It has many benefits.
Firstly, by car, you can move along any trajectory and are not limited in time. Secondly, if there are at least two of you, gasoline will come out much cheaper than tickets (accordingly, the more you are, the more profitable!). And thirdly, you don't have to worry about overweight luggage.
And if you are still in doubt, read below the real story of how we set off to travel the Baltics.
For the first time, we decided to start small and go for a few days to the Baltics - Latvia and Estonia. It must be said here that we had at our disposal only cars with studded tires, and far from all EU countries it is possible to drive on such tires - check this point when planning a route.
To travel to Europe by car, you will need ...
1. Reliable car.
2. A green card for a car (like our OSAGO) - costs about 2,500 rubles, you can get it both in advance, at any insurance company in your city, or just before leaving the Russian Federation. As you approach the border, you will now and then begin to meet points with appropriate signs, and cards are also drawn up at some border gas stations.
3. Schengen visa. Here a surprise awaited us. It turns out that now almost all embassies are moving to work with intermediaries. That is, of course, you can do without them, but then you will have to make an appointment with the consulate to submit documents for two or three weeks and plus 10 days for obtaining a visa, but you will save 25 euros on Pony Express services.
4. Navigator. We downloaded Sygic, which took us from house to house, that is, to rented apartments. In addition to the basic functions, it can be used in pedestrian mode - it will show the nearest sights and give brief information about them.
5. Good company. After all, you will have to spend a lot of time nose to nose: if in the city you can still run to different places, and sit on the plane at different ends, then in the car you cannot get away from each other. And it’s even better if this company has a second driver whom you trust - the road goes much easier if you change driving every two to three hours.
By the way, about the road. There are several options for how to travel to Europe: the choice depends on the specific route. Our first destination was Riga, so we chose Novorizhskoe highway with the border crossing at Burachki (Russia) - Terekhovo (Latvia). Judging by the reviews of friends and internet blogs, the highway was reconstructed just a couple of years ago. We did not have a single complaint: neither to the quality of the coating, nor to the markings, nor to the signs. There was only one imperfect, but also short-lived site in the Pskov region, it did not cause any serious inconvenience.
Leaving Moscow at 4 am, already at 11 we were at the checkpoint. On the way there was a feeling that we were alone on the track. Only in the rear-view mirror were sometimes someone's headlights visible, and once every five minutes, oncoming cars rushed. We were the third in the line at the border, but ten minutes later there was already a decent tail of cars behind us - it’s not even clear where all these people came from. When passing the control, the driver has to fuss mainly: he takes all the passports, and shows the car, and draws up the documents. The maximum number of passengers may be asked to get out of the car, and even then not always. Having settled the formalities in about an hour, we moved on.
On the other side of the border, the asphalt became noticeably worse, but still of acceptable quality. By the way, fill a full tank before the border - a liter of 95th gasoline in Latvia costs about 1.8 euros. The next 300 km to the capital of Latvia took us about 5 hours - there are many settlements on the highway and the speed drops to 50, and sometimes to 30 km / h. That is, the entire road, taking into account the passage of the border, stops at gas stations and lunch, took about 13 hours. For comparison, the train Moscow - Riga takes 16.5 hours.
Parking in the center of European cities is paid, so think ahead about where to store your car. We had an agreement with the owners of the rented apartment that they would give us the keys to the courtyard of the house, which helped us save a lot and not worry about the safety of transport. By the way, the apartment itself with all amenities for four people, 10 minutes walk from the Old Town, cost about 50 euros per night.
Of course, we immediately went to the Old Town. Having reached the Church of St. Peter and assessed its scale, we realized that we were getting hungry from the road. Having looked around, we went into a cafe of local cuisine - what a knuckle there was! To be honest, it was the most delicious dinner of the whole trip. I wanted to order mulled wine, but the waiter suggested trying a hot drink based on Riga balsam and blackcurrant juice - delicious! The bill for dinner in a restaurant in the center is about 20 euros per person - this is meat with a side dish and a drink. Some, but not all establishments automatically include a service charge of 10%.
You can save a lot on food if you eat at home or in establishments similar to our "Mu-mu", for example. In the latter case, a very hearty dinner will cost about 10 euros. But we figured that we would lose some of the flavor without exploring the local cuisine.
After walking a little more in the evening center and carefully tasting mulled wine in the central square, we went to rest.
The next morning, we left the car and went to Jurmala by train. The fact is that the station is located right next to the Old Town, the train takes only 20 minutes, and we decided not to bother. And the price of gasoline again ... Jurmala is a resort on the coast of the Gulf of Riga. In the very center is the Majori station, where we got off. Previously, it was here that the "New Wave", KVN and other festivals were held. A very cozy town with beautiful architecture and pine trees. On the beach in winter, the wind, of course, knocks you down, but on the streets themselves it is quiet and nothing interferes with the walk. I can imagine how great it is here in summer! This place is especially suitable for families.
Returning to Riga and armed with a guidebook, we headed back to the Old Town. If you wish, you can hire a personal guide on the square near the House of Blackheads who will take you around the city and tell you everything in detail. Unfortunately, we were not able to climb to the observation deck of St. Peter's Church: due to heavy snowfall, it did not make sense. The next morning we wanted to go to a 20-minute organ concert at the Dome Cathedral. So we stopped by to buy tickets. As it turned out later, it was a very correct decision - there is a huge queue at the box office immediately before the concert. Proceeding further and looking into the Cathedral of St. James, we got to the end of the service and was just playing the organ. "Eh, my 10 euros were crying, I wasted nothing," I thought. True, it turned out nevertheless that the organ of the Dome Cathedral sounds much cleaner, even in my amateurish opinion. But if you want to save money, this is quite an option.
The day after the concert we went to Tallinn. There are about 300 km between the cities, and this journey took about five hours. Crossing the border is purely formal: you pass without stopping at a low checkpoint speed, and that's it - you are in Estonia. The track immediately noticeably changes - the road surface is getting better, there are much more cameras, and gasoline is cheaper (about 1 euro per liter). In Tallinn, we also parked in a closed courtyard of the house with the prior permission of the owners. The price of an apartment is comparable to that of a dwelling in Riga - 50 euros for a spacious apartment within walking distance of the historic center.
On the Town Hall Square, following a very tasty smell, we found ourselves in the medieval tavern "Three Dragons". In all seriousness, no electricity or cutlery - the soup must be drunk from a cup-bowl! The choice of dishes is limited to one type of soup, wild boar ribs and hot sausages; there are also pies with various fillings and drinks. The prices are reasonable for a tourist center: dinner with sausages - 12 euros, with ribs - 20 euros. Of course, I wanted to try something unusual, and I chose wild boar ribs. The portion is oh-oh-very large and it is quite enough for two young ladies. Objectively, the meat is cooked well - not tough, very juicy. But he has a very specific marinade, it gives off sweetness. And sweet meat is ... not mine in general. Although the surrounding men ate beer with pleasure.
In the morning we decided to catch up and went to the observation deck in the Fat Margarita tower in the Old Town. To get upstairs, you need to buy a ticket to the Maritime Museum for 6 euros. Good news - if you are traveling as a family, the ticket will cost you 12 euros for everyone. The prospect of walking around a boring specialized museum did not please us at all, but what a surprise it was when it turned out to be extremely fascinating. There are interactive exhibitions, real masts with sails from sunken ships, and ship models. In general, it will be interesting for both big and small, for boys - in general, paradise. You can also go to the Hydrogavan, the second part of the museum, and climb there on a real submarine!
In principle, a couple of days is enough to explore the historical part of both capitals. If you want to go out of town or delve into the study of museums in more detail, of course, it is better to allocate more time.
The way back to Moscow took us about the same 13 hours through the checkpoint Luhamaa (Estonia) - Shumilkino (Russia). A couple of differences from the Latvian border: it is better to book the time of crossing the border in advance - spend about an hour. How long will have to stand in a queue is unknown. And you also have to pay a service fee of about 5 euros per car.
Total:
In total, it took us about 12 thousand rubles for the road on gasoline for a sedan with a 1.6 engine on the machine. For three people it turned out much cheaper than tickets.
Green card (insurance) - 2500 rubles.
Service fee at the Estonian border - 5 euros.
