Finally, I got around to writing a text about our road trip route around the Baltics.

The total length of the route is 2975 kilometers, but taking into account trips within cities and to nearby attractions, we covered significantly more - 3672 kilometers. I’ll say right away that you should hit the road only if you have a love for traveling by car, and if you are traveling with a child, it is advisable that he shares this passion.

Our daughter, fortunately, is growing up as a tireless traveler, and takes long trips more than favorably - after all, during this time you can listen to a whole bunch of fairy tales!

So, the route broken down by day:

In the morning we leave Moscow along the M-1 highway and drive towards Smolensk (380 km). To save time and nerves, I highly recommend using toll detour Odintsovo.
We have lunch in Smolensk (I highly recommend the Peter Push cafe @restoran_peterpush on Lenin Street, 14) and move further towards Belarus. There are no borders between countries, even the most formal ones.
We didn’t like any of the hotels in Minsk, so we spent the night in the “Quiet Courtyard” agro-estate in Lagoisk (306 km from Smolensk)

We have breakfast and go to Minsk (distance from Lagoisk - 40 km).
There we went to the zoo @minsk_zoo_official (Tashkent street, 40), had lunch and moved towards the border with Lithuania (191 km to the Benyakoni crossing point)
We cross the border and go to Vilnius (distance from the border - 53 km), where we settle in for the night

The third day takes place in Vilnius - we have already been here, so we did not repeat the inspection of the historical center. Instead we visited:
Museum under open air“Park of Europe” (village Yoneikishku, LT-15148)
Cafe with a huge game “World of Dwarves” (Laisvės pr. 88)
Interactive “Museum of Toys” (Shiltadarzho St., 2)

We begin to move towards the sea. We leave Vilnius towards Trakai, but on the way we stop at a wonderful corn maze (Vilnius–Trakai 16 km)
Having got out of the labyrinth, we go to Trakai and walk around the castle there (the drive is only 11 km)
From there we go to Kaunas for a walk and lunch (the journey is 87 km)
After Kaunas we continue to go to the sea. Our correspondent office on the coast was the town of Sventoja (250 km from Kaunas)

We come to our senses after a busy day and explore the surroundings. We went to the beach in the morning, and then went to the entertainment complex HBH Palanga (Zhibininkai, Lepu 23). You can easily hang out there for the whole day.

In the morning - the sea, and then we go to the dinosaur park DINO.LT (Radailiai, Klaipeda region). After the lizards, you can have lunch and take a walk in Klaipeda or Palanga, they are very close.

We have breakfast and go to the old port of Klaipeda, where we take a ferry to Curonian Spit. In this part of the spit you must visit the Lithuanian maritime museum, he is beautiful.
We return by ferry, get into the car and drive towards the border with Latvia. Again, there is no border between countries.
We spend the night in the small but wonderful town of Liepaja (from Sventoji to Liepaja - 61 km)

We walk around Liepaja, swim, if the weather permits, and go to Riga (the drive to the capital is 216 km)
There we went to the Latvian Museum of Nature (4 K. Barona St.), had dinner and went to bed

This day takes place in Riga - we dedicated it to a walk through the huge open-air Ethnographic Museum of Latvia (10 Bonaventuras Street).
Then I recommend stopping by for lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants of the Lido chain - it’s delicious, cheap and very colorful

We have breakfast and go to wander around the historical center of Riga. To appreciate all the beauty of the city, we climb the tower of St. Peter's Church (Skarnu St., 19).
Then we leave the capital and go to Cesis to look at local castle(88 km)
Afterwards we say goodbye to Latvia and leave for Tallinn (the journey is 300 km)

We walk around Tallinn, although one day here, of course, is criminally not enough.
We went to the Tallinn Zoo @tallinnzoo (Ehitajate tee 150 / Paldiski mnt 145), the medieval restaurant Olde Hansa @olde_hansa (Vene 1) and went to Pirita beach 15 minutes from the city center.

In the morning we walk around Tallinn, and then we move towards the border with Russia - it was more convenient for us to leave through Narva (211 km). Don't forget to sign up for the email queue!
Once at home, we go to rest and sleep in Veliky Novgorod (distance - 272 km)

We have breakfast, walk around the Novgorod Kremlin and head towards Moscow. I would use paid Leningradka as much as possible, because it saves a lot of time.
We have lunch and stretch our legs in Tver (387 km from Novgorod)
The last push to Moscow (176 km)

– this time the girl shares her ready-made plan for a trip around Latvia. Wandering around Riga and lying on the beach in Jurmala is a great program, but are you sure that you will learn a lot about the country from such a trip? Castles, waterfalls, lighthouses, gingerbread towns - where else to go and what to see in Latvia - the word to Masha.

Why Latvia?

Latvia became the first European country to which I planned a trip entirely myself. We wanted to go to Europe, but we were limited in money and time - only ten days, so the choice fell on the Baltic countries. Initially, we were going to travel around Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, hitchhiking between them, but buy bus tickets to one of the countries to make it easier to get a visa. The cheapest flights were to Latvia - and that’s how the fate of the trip was decided.

Now I can say that Latvia is an ideal country for those who want to travel to Europe for the first time, but are afraid of the language barrier and do not want to spend a lot of money. But experienced travelers will also find it interesting here. Alas, Latvia is often underestimated. Our compatriots and neighbors often perceive it as an intermediate point on the way to the “real Europe”. Europeans, on the contrary, go there to take a look at the post-communist country. But don’t think that by wandering the streets of Riga before a low-cost airline flight or lounging on the beach of Jurmala, you have really seen Latvia.

I have the impression that this country is seriously investing in the development of tourism. I would describe this with an English proverb: “If you can"t have the best make the best of what you have” (“If you can’t have the best, make the best of what you have”). There’s not much here world-famous architectural monuments, impressive natural attractions or places with very ancient history– so, only two points from Latvia are included in the UNESCO list. But every more or less attractive city is equipped information Center, and twenty Latvian beaches have been awarded the Blue Flag (a sign of quality and suitability for safe swimming). Everything even slightly interesting here is turned into a tourist attraction: from ruined forts to the telescope of the radio astronomy center. Looking at such a careful attitude towards their history, I want to express respect to the Latvians and even slightly envy them.

“Everything even slightly interesting here is turned into a tourist attraction: from ruined forts to the telescope of the radio astronomy center.”

How to get there?

We traveled to Riga from Moscow by bus LuxExpress for €35 per person. We took a return ticket to St. Petersburg for € 17.5. Ecolines are also transported from both cities to Latvia. If you plan your trip in advance, you can save money. Thus, the minimum price of a LuxExpress ticket from St. Petersburg to Riga is about € 13. There are also trains from Russia to Latvia: branded train“Latvia Express” from Moscow to Riga costs from € 40.5, regular from St. Petersburg – from € 37.5. Travel time in both cases is a little more than 16 hours.

You can also get from Minsk to Riga by bus. The state carrier Minsktrans will take you to Latvia for € 14.5. There are also offers from private companies: LuxExpress runs once a day, ticket price starts from € 10, Ecolines has several flights, price – € 23.8. Don't forget about discounts for youth and students!

Ecolies travels from Kyiv to Riga, but the journey will not be close - a full 30 hours on the road. A one-way ticket will cost €50. It will be much faster and easier to fly on airBaltic - about 2 hours on the road and about €100 per ticket.

Housing

During our ten days in Latvia, we didn’t spend a cent on accommodation thanks to couchsurfing. Finding a host in Riga is not difficult: the site has more than 700 users from this city who are ready to receive guests. In other settlements the situation is different: in the second largest Daugavpils the population is seven times less than in Riga, in the third largest Liepaja - nine times. In the cities we visited, there were usually no more than ten active hosts - so I advise you to contact them in advance. We managed to find a “couch” in Riga, Liepaja and Kuldiga, and spent the night in a tent a couple of times.

Housing prices in the Latvian capital are encouraging: a night in a hostel starts from € 5. In other cities, everything is not so pleasant: the most cheap option from Booking in Ventspils – from € 10, in Liepaja – from € 12, in Kuldiga – from € 19, and in Cesis – from € 25. If you prefer to explore the country at a dynamic pace and want to save money, you can, like us, do Riga is a transshipment point. Distances in the country are very short: if you wish, you can leave the capital early in the morning, explore a city and return at night.

Transport

We hitchhiked around Latvia. According to our host from Liepaja, who has traveled to about sixty countries this way, hitchhiking in his homeland is one of the best in the world. I wouldn’t give such a high rating, but I confirm that hitchhiking around the country is convenient and fast. The average wait time for our couple was about 10 minutes, the maximum was an hour. A pleasant surprise was that many drivers are willing to spend a little time and gasoline to take you straight to your destination. One day, the driver not only drove us an extra fifteen kilometers to a point where a not very popular road led, but also left us a parting phone number so that we could contact him if we couldn’t catch anyone on the way back.

In addition to hitchhiking, we tried intercity trains - we traveled from Riga to Sigulda (about 50 kilometers). The ticket costs € 1.9. We were transported by a quite comfortable, although slightly painted, train. You can check the schedule and routes on the company's website Pasažieru vilciens (PV).

They go to places that cannot be reached by train. intercity buses. A ticket from Riga to Sigulda costs € 2.75, to Ventspils – € 7.55, from Liepaja to Kuldiga – € 3.85. Check the schedule and prices, and on a separate portal you can buy tickets online, but at a premium.

National cuisine

In Latvia they love rye bread. So much so that they not only eat it, but also add it to various dishes. For example, here you can try bread ice cream or bread yogurt with prunes. And also bread soup, which, oddly enough, is eaten not as a starter, but as a dessert. It is prepared from dried fruits and bread itself and seasoned with cream. Another local dish is made from rye flour - sklandrausis - an open pie with vegetable filling (usually boiled potatoes and carrots mixed with eggs and topped with sour cream).

As a main dish, I recommend gray peas, which are cooked with onions and smoked cracklings. And for dessert, try the cake “ Old Riga"(Vecriga) with curd cream.

Most dishes of Latvian cuisine can be tasted in the restaurant Lido, and we bought “Old Riga” cakes and bread yoghurts in supermarkets.

Language

There is practically no language barrier in Latvia: as a rule, the younger generation speaks English, the older generation speaks Russian. Of all the drivers who gave us a lift, we only had to communicate in English with one – a Dutchman.

Only once did we have difficulties with communication. In Kuldiga we wandered into a workers' canteen, which by some miracle was included in the guidebook. Only locals dined there; the menu, like something from a school canteen, hung on the wall and was only in Latvian, and the food was served from huge pots and basins, so there was not even a chance to understand what was there. I addressed the woman at the counter in Russian, and she answered in Latvian. I repeated my question in English - and then she switched to Russian.

The situation with the language in the country is closely related to historical context. After the collapse of the USSR, only 2/3 of the country's population received Latvian citizenship - citizens of the pre-war Republic of Latvia and their descendants. The rest - mainly Russians, as well as Belarusians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Poles and a number of other peoples living on the territory of Latvia - received the status of “non-citizen”. As of 2013, there were about 80 differences in rights between citizens and non-citizens: for example, the latter cannot take part in elections, hold a number of positions, and there are economic and other restrictions for them. To obtain the status of a citizen, you need to go through the “naturalization” procedure: take an oath of allegiance to the country, pay a fee, pass an exam on your knowledge of the Latvian language, constitution, anthem and history. At the same time, back in the 90s, Russian ceased to be the state language.

On this moment There are still a little more than 10% of people living in the country who have not received citizenship: some consider the procedure itself unfair, some are not ready to pay the fee, some do not know the language sufficiently to pass the exam. However, not all Latvians like the fact that in their country there are people who do not want to master the state language and speak it. According to a 2005 study, 47% of Latvians believed that the interests of Russian speakers in the country were taken into account even more than they should be. 68% of Russian speakers, on the contrary, believed that their rights were infringed. To this day, relations between the two nations within the country are slightly electrified.

Route

At the Latvian visa center we were provided with a couple of guidebooks, and I found a wealth of information on the official Latvian tourism portal. Initially, I wanted to fit all the Baltic countries into a ten-day trip, but after studying a dozen booklets and websites, I realized that there was simply not enough time for Lithuania and Estonia.

I marked points of interest to us on the map, and a route emerged: arrival in Riga, inspection of the country to the east of it, then to the west, and finally returning to the Latvian capital, from where the bus went home.

Riga and Jurmala

Riga became the first European capital, where I visited. I was delighted with everything: organ music from churches, paving stones and tiled roofs, prices in euros... Although no, these were rather upsetting. I studied a bunch of guidebooks and didn’t want to miss a single point recommended there. I enthusiastically wandered around Town Hall Square, trying to fit into the frame the houses huddled close to each other, called the Three Brothers, and looking out for black cats on the roof of the house, the owner of which, in retaliation for the elder who did not accept him into the merchant guild, turned the sculptures with their fifth point towards his window. However, Riga has already been written in detail in.

Of the places not mentioned there, I would recommend Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum (Brivdabas iela 21), where more than a hundred ancient wooden buildings were brought from all over the country. During the warm season (from May to September) admission for adults costs € 4, for full-time students – € 2; in cold weather (from November to April) – € 2 and € 1.4, respectively. In the summer, artisans demonstrate their skills on the museum grounds. We spent almost half a day walking and had an inexpensive lunch at a tavern in the park.

“Everything delighted me: organ music from churches, paving stones and tiled roofs, prices in euros... Although no, these were rather upsetting”

I also recommend going inside. National Library of Latvia(Mūkusalas iela 3). Although many locals consider it ugly, it looks quite nice inside. You can explore the building along with a tour in Russian, which can be booked by phone on weekdays and costs € 2. I walked around the library for free with our host, seeing floors 1 to 8. The library website says that on Sunday the 11th and 12th floors are also available to visitors.

We visited Jurmala on the eve of departure, and it seemed rather boring to us from an excursion point of view, although there are more than a hundred monuments of wooden architecture of national importance here. But it is well suited for resort holiday: a third of Latvian beaches that have received the Blue Flag are concentrated here, and total length well-maintained coastline– 26 kilometers.

Sigulda

We went to Sigulda for the castles, of which there are three: medieval Turaida, destroyed Krimulda and more modern Sigulda Palace. Half a day is enough for a leisurely walk between them, while you will admire the views of the Gauja River valley and be able to appreciate several objects unique to Latvia.

Firstly, this Gutman cave (57.176235, 24.842062) 18.8 meters deep, 12 meters wide and 10 meters high. Those who are interested in speleology or have simply been in caves in the past will hardly be impressed by such dimensions, but this is the largest cave in the Baltic countries. Secondly, you can get to Krimulda Castle on the opposite side of the river by the only one in the country cable car. The views are magnificent, but the price for a 7-minute journey is unreasonably high - € 8 one way. You can bungee jump directly from the tram cabin, but the pleasure is even more expensive - € 60.

For extreme sports enthusiasts, there are other attractions in Sigulda: for example, a 1200-meter-long bobsleigh and luge track and an obstacle course at a height of 20 meters in the largest adventure park in the Baltics, Tarzāns.

Cesis

Cesis is one of the oldest cities in Latvia, more than 800 years old. Its main attraction is the largest in the country Castle of the Livonian Order, which is also called Wenden, named after the people who lived in these places.

For entrance to Cesis Castle in the summer season (from May to September) you need to pay € 4 (for schoolchildren and students - € 2.5), in the winter (from October to April) - € 3 (€ 1.5). To visit the museum in the new castle you will have to pay an additional €2 (for schoolchildren and students – €1). We bought a full ticket, but came to the conclusion that we could limit ourselves to the castle.

I not only climbed around the entire building, going down into the dungeon for prisoners, but also watched the work of the blacksmiths, learned about medieval cuisine from the gardener and took part in the entertainment of that time - I practiced fencing with a wooden sword and took a dozen steps on stilts. When walking through the castle park, I advise you to find a wooden “box” where lies the dismantled monument to Lenin, which used to stand on the main square of the city.

Liepaja

This seaside town in western Latvia boasts the largest mechanical organ in the world and the third largest port in the country. Today the harbor is used only for trade, but previously a third of the city was occupied by a military port - “Karosta” in Latvian.

Construction of the largest sea military base in the Russian Empire began here at the end of the 19th century. It was from here in 1905 Russian fleet went to the Pacific Ocean to participate in the Russo-Japanese War. But the location for the base was initially chosen poorly - only 40 kilometers from the border with a potential enemy, Germany. Soon the First began World War, and all defensive structures were destroyed by order of the commander of the Baltic Fleet - fearing that they would fall to the enemy, they were never used. The blasted forts have survived to this day and are popular with tourists.

During the Soviet years, submariners were based here, and Karosta became a closed military town. Now anyone can visit this area and admire the architectural contrasts - imperial buildings and typical Soviet houses, abandoned, unfinished or inhabited. We came here to visit museum-prison "Karosta" (Invalīdu iela 4). On the official website, this place is positioned as “the only prison in Europe open to tourists”, “from which no one has escaped.” But this does not indicate the security or scale of the structure: in fact, this is a cunning advertising ploy. From tsarist times until the end of the last century, there was not a prison here, but a guardhouse where military personnel served disciplinary punishments. The maximum term of imprisonment did not exceed a month, so there was no point in running away.

The guardhouse managed to serve the Russian Empire, Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, and after it was abandoned, local enthusiasts decided to turn the building into a museum. My admiration for how carefully and creatively Latvia uses the opportunities it has to attract tourists first came to me here. For €5 you can take a regular excursion, where they will take you through the chambers and tell you about the history of the place, and for €15 you can even spend the night. Large groups, by appointment, can experience all the delights of prison life by participating in the “Behind Bars” show. Although children are allowed on the tour, and the guide constantly cracks jokes, the guardhouse has retained its gloomy atmosphere.

Today Liepaja is the music capital of Latvia, where a festival takes place every summer Summer Sound. Thanks to this, the city now has new attractions - a glass concert hall“Big Amber” and the Walk of Fame of Latvian musicians. It took us less than a day to explore all these places, despite the fact that we also had time to swim in the Baltic Sea at the marked Blue flag city ​​beach.

Kuldiga

Kuldiga is perhaps the most cozy city in Latvia from those I have been to. Only 13 thousand people live here, you can walk from edge to edge in an hour, and historical Center The city is included in the UNESCO national list. But we came here primarily for the two waterfalls.

First - Alekshupitsky waterfall (56.969851, 21.975383) on the Aleksupite River - it looks very nice, but is weakly impressive, although with a height of 4.5 meters it has become the tallest in Latvia. Second - Ventas-Rumba (56.967965, 21.978900) on the Venta River - was awarded a higher title: its width from 100-110 meters to almost 280 at high water made it the widest in Europe. But don’t imagine the Latvian Niagara: its maximum height- a little more than two meters, so it resembles a river rapids rather than a waterfall. It is best to come here in spring or autumn to watch migrating salmon “in flight” overcome Ventas Rumba.

Ventspils

I got my first impression of Ventspils on the way to it. The woman who gave us a lift told us about the local amusement park and its key attraction – the Lembergs Hat ski mountain. The mountain is notable for the fact that it was created on the site of a landfill: the waste site was mothballed, processed, filled with construction waste, covered with turf, planted with grass and equipped with jumps and lifts. A trash heap turned into popular place recreation, was named in honor of the long-time mayor of Lembergs.

One of the mottos of Ventspils is “a city with a future”. Indeed, the depressiveness and devastation usual for the province is not felt here. Progressive trends here are illustrated not only by the story of the landfill. Thus, in 2002, the city took part in the Cow Parade, an international art event in which artists create creative sculptures of cow cows and exhibit them in different places cities. After this, the monuments are sold at auction, and the money goes to charity. Ventspils became the first city of Eastern Europe who took part in the parade. Of the 26 cows that decorated the city during the event, only six were not sold. But the parade inspired residents and city authorities, and soon new cows began to appear on the streets, and in 2012 the Cow Parade was repeated again. Walking around Ventspils, you constantly come across sculptures of artiodactyls: from a fashionable cow admiring itself in the mirror, to a police cow or a fan cow watching football on TV with its owner. These works of art not only lift your spirits local residents, but also attract tourists.

I want to tell you how my friend and I visited the Baltic states ourselves, without agencies. I won’t talk about the sights, just about the business. 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 states cost 44,000 per person for a week, and it cost us 23,000. Almost two days in each city. There is a difference!!! TIP: I always buy books from the series Orange Guide. Wonderful series. I take it with me on all my trips when I go on my own.

VISA. I’ll say right away that we decided to submit documents to Visa Center. A little more expensive, but simpler: if something goes wrong, they still reprint the documents on their own forms. For money. Documents are submitted to the embassy or visa center of the country where you will spend the most time, namely nights, regardless of the sequence of visiting countries. We started from Lithuania, but we submitted visa documents to the Latvian visa center, because... in Vilnius there were two days, but one overnight stay, and in Riga and Tallinn two nights each. You will find a list of documents on the websites. Along with your documents, be sure to bring copies of hotel reservations and copies of all tickets, and 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 weren't many people in the center, it took about an hour and a half. We waited longer for the documents to be reprinted. After 10 days, my husband arrived and took our passports with visas. When submitting documents, you indicate who will pick them up. Very comfortably.

TRAVEL BETWEEN COUNTRIES: we chose the bus. Tickets were booked on the website.

Very convenient site. Buses take an average of 4 hours. There is not much to see on the road. The buses were empty. Maybe it’s not the tourist season, or maybe I’m just lucky. We chose the second half of the day, left around 5 pm, arrived around 9 pm, slept, and in the morning walked around the city with fresh energy. We chose hotels closer to the center and bus stations so as not to spend extra money on travel.

HOTELS. We chose inexpensive ones with the intention of only spending the night. Breakfast.

VILNIUS. We arrived on an airBaltic plane. The plane is tiny: 15 rows with two seats per aisle.

We flew perfectly. From the airport we took a bus to the Comfort Vilnius 3* hotel. There are two hotels in Vilnius with a similar name and we were a little misinformed by the locals, but from one hotel

It's an extra 15 minutes on foot to ours. Found. The hotel is small but nice. For a night or two, no more. There wasn't 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. We didn’t spend any money on travel 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 it's a 10 minute walk. Almost two days were enough to see the main attractions and just walk around the city. But that's not what this review is about. Travel on your own, don't be afraid of anything.

RIGA. From the bus station to the 4* hotel it’s a 10 minute walk. The hotel is very good. When you booked, you got a discount. The breakfast was amazing, 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 and iron, a kettle, tea and coffee. At 17.00 bus to Tallinn. We walked everywhere and didn’t spend money on transport.

TALLINN. In Tallinn from the bus station to the hotel 3* by tram 10 min and on foot 5 min. The hotel is not bad, but there is no tray in the shower, and the water almost did not go through the hole in the floor and flooded the entire floor in the bathroom. But as a joke, there was a mop, you know, with a rubber band to collect water. But across the road Old city and all the sights. Return to Moscow on an airBaltic plane. By taxi 15 euros and in 20 minutes on the spot.

CONCLUSION: It’s half the price, you are your own boss, travel by yourself and everything will be fine. We walked in all cities; I can’t say anything about the prices for transport.

It so happens that PRTBRT often broadcasts from the Baltic countries - one of its editorial bases is located in Latvia. We often look at how our friends and acquaintances travel around Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and clutch our heads. That’s why we decided to write this column about how to truly experience these small countries, where you really have to look for the flavor.

Do not take the route Tallinn - Riga - Vilnius at once

For several days you just walk around the Old Towns of three capitals, drink, eat, stare and spend money, and then say: yes, I was in this Baltic region, everything is the same. Although all three cities are unique and very different, this can only be understood by visiting each one separately.

During a trip to three capitals you will remember some passages, but everything will stick together into one lump of cathedrals, towers, food and booze. And at the same time, each city has its own face and its own unusual places, which you most likely won't see. Simply because the “three (five, seven) days - three cities” format does not imply anything other than an endless race and walks in the Old Town together with British lovers of cheap flights to stag parties and getting drunk, old people and tourists from ferries.

Advice: Don't be fooled by the size of the countries - each is best viewed individually. Therefore, do not try to travel around everything during the allotted vacation time.

Old town of Tallinn

But if you do go, don’t spend all your time in the Old Town

As already mentioned, each city has its own face and its own places of power: in Tallinn this is the Telliskivi district, which is located outside the Old Town. In Riga, for example, the best bars have never been located within the Old Town: just go for a walk along Krisjan Barona Street and turn into small streets. This is where the most interesting places and establishments will be, such as the editor’s favorite bar - Taka or the city's most current dance floor - Piens.

In the Old Town there is average entertainment, typical bars and restaurants, of which there are many in any city in Eastern and Northern Europe from Krakow to Stockholm. This is not why you come to see the country.

Advice: If you know that there is no life in the Old Town, then there is no need to rent housing there either. Look for apartments on Airbnb or hotels near places of power: you will save both time and money.

Telliskivi district in Tallinn

Another cool place outside of the old town of Riga – Kaņepes Kultūras centrs

Don't linger in cities

You won't get to see the country in cities, so be sure to plan to visit alternative or out-of-town attractions.

From Tallinn you can easily go to see the quarry in Rumma (there is still room to climb through, don’t be scared by the fence), and then go to the island of Saaremaa, where there are almost more attractions than in all of Estonia.

From Riga you should definitely go to Irbene - a ghost town with a huge radar, spend the night on Cape Kolka, see the seaside Ventspils and Liepaja. Who even knows about the existence of the Mark Rothko art center in Daugavpils? The famous artist was born in this city.

From Vilnius you should definitely go to the Hill of Crosses, visit the Europos Parkas landscape park - an analogue of the Russian Nikola-Lenivets, explore Klaipeda and cross the border with Russia on the Curonian Spit.

All three countries have many opportunities for diverse tourism: alternative attractions, eco-farms and national parks - plan your route so that you can spend one or two days in the capitals, get to know the main places and cultural life, and then go deeper!

Countries are replete with craft, family-run productions of everything from cheese to amber. A fair is held annually in Latvia, where you can buy not just handmade things, but modern and beautiful accessories and clothes. It’s nice to use such things not because they are crafted, but simply because they are convenient and beautiful.

Mountain of Crosses

Quarry in Rummu

But if you are still delayed, be sure to travel out of town at least one day

If it’s already late and you stay in each of the capitals for three days, then don’t be sad: there are many interesting places:

near Vilnius - the beautiful Trakai Castle;

from Riga you should definitely go to Jurmala or national park"Kemeri";

From Tallinn, go to Laachema National Park.

By the way, the locations from the previous paragraph also apply to this: this is the Baltics, and you can go back and forth to any place within one country! The main thing is not to be lazy and plan. It’s entirely possible to rent a car for one or two days, or find a driver using BlaBlaCar, use Lux Express buses, or maybe even stop hitchhiking. In summer, Estonia is overrun by friendly Finns, and Latvia and Lithuania are overrun by Poles and Germans (and less wary tourists in Russian cars).

Kemeri National Park

Spend more time searching

Not all good hotels, campsites and guesthouses are available on the usual booking sites. For example, the editor’s favorite campsite Saulesmājas with barrel houses on Cape Kolka (another chic Latvian location - a meeting place of waves Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga) appeared on booking.com only in May of this year!

Or one more great option- glamping Klaukas in the Sigulda area and national park Gauja. And this is just what is on the surface - there are dozens of such places, but you will have to prepare well and search.

Camping Saulesmājas

Don’t forget that these are already different countries

If in the minds of the older generation this is still a homogeneous Baltic region, then the modern traveler is struck by striking differences: Estonia and especially Tallinn are full-fledged Northern Europe, Lithuania gravitates towards Poland, and Latvia is still at an undefined crossroads, but with European features. At the same time, each of these countries has preserved unique original places and cultural characteristics. Understanding this simple fact will help you take a different look at these neighboring countries and choose the one that is closer in spirit for a full-fledged trip!

Check tickets to Tallinn, or maybe Riga or Vilnius

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An article about traveling by car to the Baltic countries: what you need to know, what documents to prepare. At the end of the article there is a video about what you need to know before traveling to the Baltics by car.

The content of the article:

If you are planning to take a look at the Baltic countries, but find that ticket prices are, to put it mildly, expensive, auto tourism can be a great solution.

A trip by car to the Baltic countries has a large number of pros. The main thing is to know some of the pitfalls and features of paperwork and driving in these countries.

The Baltic states are already Europe, the rules for entry and driving here are approximately the same, but small differences still exist. We'll tell you about the main points that you should know in advance.

Pros of traveling by car

If you love car tourism, you have long known these advantages:

1. If you drive a car not alone, but with two or three of you, the cost of gasoline (even taking into account depreciation of the car) will be significantly cheaper than purchasing tickets for transport, be it a bus, Railway tickets and even more so by air.
2. The car will allow you not to worry about excess luggage and liquids prohibited for transportation by plane. Also, the problems of “overweight” are pushed back to the limit of the weight of luggage, which is critical for a particular car, and are not limited to the weight specified by the airline in the region of a modest 20 kg per person.

   When looking for your next purchase in a souvenir shop, you won’t have to think about whether you can bring it home.

3. A personal car is freedom. You are not limited by time frames, you do not have to move along a predetermined trajectory, as in the case bus tour. Seeing a building you like on the horizon, locality, you can always turn off the highway and visit more interesting places. Tempting, isn't it?

But in order for a trip by car to the Baltics to be extremely enjoyable and free of problems, you should take care of collecting information in advance. Let's start with the documents.

Required documents for entry

If you are entering the Baltic country in a personal car, you will need a standard set of documents.

For auto:

• registration certificate;
• international driver's license;
• technical certificate;
• « green map».

A “Green Card” for a car is the European analogue of the Russian OSAGO insurance. A “green card” is issued at any insurance company and costs the car owner about 2.5 thousand rubles. This card can even be issued at some gas stations in close proximity from the border. This document must be purchased no earlier than a month before the start of the trip. The minimum validity period of the document is two weeks.

If the car is older than three years and has Russian registration, at the border you may be required to present a diagnostic card of the car, which indicates that the car is in good working order.

Those who have recently traveled to the Baltics note that even for a more recent car, it is better to undergo unscheduled maintenance in advance. They ask for a diagnostic card at the border after tourists have received a stamp in their passport to enter the country.

If the car does not meet the serviceability requirements, they will immediately put an exit stamp at the border and send it home. If you purchased a one-time Schengen visa, the trip can be considered over.

A diagnostic card may be required not only at the border. According to the laws of the Baltic countries, any police officer can ask to see this document.

If your car has tinted windows, you should be concerned about their light transmittance. Tinted side front windows of a car must transmit light at least 80%. In the case of side rear and rear windows, the light transmittance of the coating may be less. As a rule, there are no problems at the border with factory tinted windows.

Studded tires in the Baltics are allowed from the beginning of October to the end of April. If the car's windows are cracked or there is damage to the body, the car may not be allowed to pass through at the border - according to European laws, such cars do not have the right to enter the country.

If a power of attorney is needed for a car, it must be notarized.

For adult passengers:

• application with questionnaire;
• international passport with a Schengen visa;
• certificate of income from work;
• confirmation from the bank that there are funds in your account;
• medical insurance;
• confirmation of hotel reservation, rental apartment or guest house.

For children (in addition to the documents listed above, with the exception of certificates from work and from the bank):

• birth certificate;
• up to 14 years of age, the child’s data can be entered in the passport of one of the parents;
• when a child travels without parents - his own international passport with Schengen and notarized consent of the parents to travel abroad.

Currently, a Schengen visa can be obtained through an intermediary organization. Almost all embassies will indicate which mediator you can contact. You can also contact the embassy directly - this will cost about 25 euros cheaper, but at the same time you will have to go through a queue at the consulate - two to three weeks, and then wait for the document to be produced within 10 days.

Medical insurance for entry into the Baltic countries must be issued for a coverage amount of at least 30 thousand euros.

To make the trip comfortable, it would be useful to have a navigator. It's better if it's a program. Designed not only for cars, but also for pedestrian movements.

For example, navigator Sуgic will do an excellent job of both “guiding” the driver to a given destination and will tell you about the sights of the country closest to the route.

On a long trip it is very convenient if you can change while driving. A second driver in the company makes the trip much easier.

Restrictions on the import of goods and features of border crossing

In the photo: checkpoint on the border with Estonia

When crossing the border, motor tourists will have to pay an environmental fee - about 20 euros for each passenger, plus the amount for the car itself.

There are restrictions on the import of a number of goods into the Baltics, which may differ from country to country. As a rule, this applies to cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, fuel and some products.

For example, you cannot import into Latvia more than 40 cigarettes (that is, two packs), one liter of alcohol with a strength above 6 degrees or two liters of weaker alcohol such as beer, 10 liters of gasoline, as well as meat and any meat products.

The use of “anti-radars” in the Baltics is strictly prohibited. Upon entry, such devices will most likely be taken away or simply not allowed into the country. If the presence of these devices is discovered already in the country, the driver will face a fine of up to 1,200 euros - an amount more than the average salary!

The length of stay at the border depends on the specific border checkpoint and the type of queue. When entering the Baltics, an electronic queue is a faster way to get through control. At a minimum it will take about forty minutes, but on average tourists estimate the time to be up to one and a half to two hours.

Theoretically, you can call the border control point and ask in advance how long the queue is. But it’s not a fact that they will answer you.

When leaving the country, it is better for motorists to use advance booking of the electronic queue. It is worth keeping in mind that in the Baltics, border guards specifically pay more attention to the electronic queue than to the “live” queue, so it makes sense to spend one and a half euros to reserve a place in the electronic queue than to later tell the “horrors” about a seven-hour stay at the border control point.

Driving Features

There are no toll roads in the Baltics; all roads for passenger vehicles are free. Similar to most European countries, here in roundabouts cars located at the intersection itself have priority.

Similar to the Russian rules, in the Baltics, low-beam headlights are mandatory.

Parking in cities is usually paid. They will cost from two euros per hour, but in the capitals and central regions cities can be three times more expensive.

In Tallinn there is interesting feature parking: here you will need a parking watch, which can be purchased at the gas station. This watch is placed under the windshield. Payment for parking is made via SMS, if you have a country SIM card, or through a specialized machine.

It is better to study speed limits in the Baltic countries in advance. Thus, the “fairy tale” about the slowness of the same Estonians is by no means a fairy tale if we talk about the speed limit on the roads. The car is allowed a maximum speed of 110 km/h and then only on specialized highways, marked with the sign “road on a blue field”, and only in summer. And in the period from the beginning of November to the end of March outside the city you can move at a speed of no more than 90 km/h, within the city limits - no more than 50 km/h.

In case of speeding, you will have to fork out: an excess of up to 10 km/h can go unnoticed, but if the speedometer needle has crawled 20 km/h above the norm - this is 400 euros or a six-month deprivation of rights, 40 km/h above the upper limit - 800 euros and one-year deprivation of rights, 60 km/h “overkill” - 1200 euros and deprivation of rights for two years.

The car, as per Russian standards, must have a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, a reflective vest and a warning triangle. However, the presence of a reflective vest is not strictly necessary, but without it being on highway You can't go outside the car.

As in any European country, the Baltic countries have many video cameras for recording traffic violations. In addition, here you can often find hidden police patrols along the roads, which will not hesitate to record violations and issue fines. Please note that here police cars are often “disguised” as civilian vehicles so that they are indistinguishable.

If you are stopped on the road, you cannot get out of the car: this may be interpreted as an attempt to escape. You just need to open the driver's side window and put your hands on the steering wheel. The policeman will approach you himself.

Fuel cost

In the photo: gas station in Estonia

When driving into the Baltics, it is better to have a full fuel tank. The distances here are short, but the price of fuel is not low:

1. In Estonia: 95 gasoline - from 80 rubles, diesel fuel - from 76 rubles, gas - from 36 rubles, but there are very few gas stations here.
2. In Lithuania: 95 gasoline - from 75 rubles, diesel fuel - from 66 rubles, gas - from 34 rubles, and gas stations in this country are quite common.
3. In Latvia: 95 gasoline - from 78 rubles, diesel fuel - from 75 rubles, gas - from 35 rubles. In all the Baltic countries, the roads are not congested, cars move in “gentle” traffic, so fuel consumption is quite economical.

Conclusion

In general, a trip to the Baltics by private car is a pleasant adventure if you follow the traffic rules, are law-abiding and are willing to endure a little paperwork at the border. Have a nice trip!

Video about what you need to know before traveling to the Baltics by car: