Why a Baltics Road Trip?
We didn’t know quite what to expect when we set out on our Baltics Road Trip. We knew it would feel European, and we knew the sun would be out for like 20 hours a day. But we didn’t realize just how much we would fall in love with the area, the people, the views, and all of the cities and towns that these countries had to offer. We wished we could have stayed longer and seen more places, but the great thing is, you can get in a lot of stops here in a pretty short time!
Tallinn Estonia: 2 days
Wanting to see Tallinn may have been one of the main things that got us started on planning this Baltics Road trip. Tallinn is an incredibly charming city with cobblestoned streets and a historic old town that looks like it is right out of a fairytale.
Tallinn also has a very hip and artsy area that is really cool to check out and hang out in, it is called Telliskivi Creative City. The creative city is a former industrial area that has been revamped to include street art, galleries, cafes, restaurants, and shops. One of the most interesting things about Tallinn is that you can have both the old world and new world vibe depending on where you are hanging out, and we loved each of them!
We stayed in an Airbnb that doubled as a speakeasy champagne garden. It was perfectly located right near the center of it all. We did a biking and food tour around town, walked the whole city, checked out street art, ate at wonderful places, and really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the people of Tallinn and learning about it’s history.
The airbnb we stayed at is no longer listed so if you’re looking for a spot in Tallinn I do recommend you check out hotels in the Old Town!
Parnu, Estonia: 1 day
When you are thinking about beach vacations in Europe, the Baltics are likely not the first (or second) place that comes to mind. However, they have some stunning beaches up in this part of the world.
Parnu is a beautiful and very clean beach town toward the south in Estonia. One neat “attraction” is a seawall made of boulders that you can walk out into the ocean on. It is over a mile long, and if you reach the end and kiss your partner, local lore says you will stay together forever. So of course we had to take that walk. It was an easy and fun adventure.
We stayed at a great airbnb along a beautiful walking trail on the water. It was quiet and cozy and perfect for the end of the day in a nice beach town.
Riga, Latvia: 2 days
Riga was 100% the best surprise of our vacation. It doesn’t pop up as much on social media or blogs and so I didn’t have as much information about it as I do some other locations. It was such an enjoyable and interesting city!
We had a great time walking the medieval streets, looking at the different architecture, snacking, and walking by the river and through the park. Riga is known for its Art Nouveau architecture which covers one third of the buildings in the city making it fun and easy to spot.
We did a food tour of the market in old airplane hangers and tried some of the best food of our trip. We also happened to be in the city when the band “Rammstein” was playing, this brought a HUGE and very lively crowd to the city and made it very fun to walk around! We went from tasting Latvian vodka at an amazing rooftop bar with views of the whole city, to an underground medieval bar/restaurant in an old wine cellar. I would highly recommend a few days in this lively, stunning city. I’d recommend you stay in or near the old town here in Riga as well.
I have now written a more detailed blog post about Riga as well. You can find it by clicking here.
Leipaja, Latvia: 1 day
This was another glorious beach break, we got an incredible day and spent most of it on the perfectly pristine sandy beach. We also spent a beautiful evening down by the beach watching the sunset over the water.
The town itself here was small and didn’t have a ton to offer, but there were nice places to eat and grab a happy hour drink, and that was all we needed for one night. It is also great to note that these beach days are so comfortable. The weather was never scorching hot, it was comfortable to sit and relax on the beach and spend hours there without sweating to death!
Klaipeda, Lithuania: 2 days
We stayed in an Airbnb here in the tallest residential-only building in all of the Baltic countries. It was on the 28th floor and had views far and wide of the city and its surroundings. In fact, we were so high up that we woke up one morning surrounded by clouds. It was a really neat experience to stay in a place like that, and it was very easy to get into town and to get to the ferry for the Curonian Split beaches.
The Curonian Split is a giant sand dune that separates the Curonian lagoon from the Baltic Sea. We took bikes over and rode around on the island. The beaches were so vast and uncrowded it we felt like we had the place to ourselves. We shopped in the market in town in the morning for picnic supplies, and then had a great picnic at the beach in the afternoon. Having both the Curonian Split and the town to keep us busy, we really enjoyed our stay here.
Vilnius, Lithuania: 2 days
We were excited to get to Vilnius because we had planned an anniversary gift for ourselves here, which was a hot air balloon ride! The ride was one of the most exciting, amazing, and honestly a bit nerve wracking, things we’ve ever done. We loved every second of it. We started by watching as they inflated and prepared several balloons for take off, all set up to take flight at once. Then we hopped into the basket all set off into the sky. The flight is incredible, it is hard to describe the feeling of floating in the air above the world like that. When the time was up and we landed, they told us some amazing stories of the past, and then to follow some sort of tradition, lit a strand of our hair on fire and put it out with champagne.
Even if you’re not taking a hot air balloon ride, there is still plenty to explore here. If you want a view from above, you can get one by climbing up to the Castle complex high on a hill overlooking the town. One of the most interesting parts of Vilnius is the republic of Uzupis, which is a very artsy, bohemian neighborhood. Uzupis has declared itself an independent republic and even has its own very interesting constitution. Like much of the Baltics, Vilnius old town is full of beautiful cobblestone streets, great food, street art, and lots of action. Most importantly, we found Prosecco on tap!
Baltics Road Trip | visit the Baltics | itinerary for the Baltics | Visiting Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania |