Baltic Highlights
Tour Itinerary
Arrival in Vilnius, optional transfer to Hotel Radisson Blu Lietuva **** or similar, check-in, welcome meeting.
Hotel Radisson Blu Lietuva
Transfers
Vilnius Sightseeing
Vilnius is known for its more than 1.200 medieval buildings and 48 churches. The morning sightseeing tour includes a panoramic tour of the city and a walking tour of the Old Town with Vilnius Cathedral, Gediminas Tower, Peter and Paul Church, St. Anne’s Church, Old University and the Gates of Dawn.
The afternoon offers an optional excursion to Trakai, the medieval capital of Lithuania, with the well preserved Trakai Castle, beautifully located on an island in Lake Galve.
In the evening enjoy an optional Lithuanian dinner at Senoji Trobele.
Breakfast- Hotel Radisson Blu Lietuva
Excursion to Trakai, Lithuanian dinner
Heading for Riga, the first stop is the Hill of Crosses, one of the most holy sites of Catholic Lithuania. After crossing into Latvia, we soon reach the magnificent Rundale Palace, the former summer residence of the Duke of Courland. Following a guided tour of the palace we travel through the rolling hills of Southern Latvia to reach Riga late afternoon, check-in at Hotel Radisson Blu Latvija**** or similar.
- Breakfast
- Hotel Radisson Blu Latvija
- Transfers
Founded in 1201 by the German bishop Albert, Riga is the largest of the three Baltic capitals and boasts a real kaleidoscope of architectural styles. The walking tour of the morning takes to Art Nouveaux district and Old Town including Riga Castle, the Dome Cathedral, St. Peter’s Church, the Swedish Gate, the Three Brothers, the Large and Small Guilds and the Freedom Monument. The afternoon is reserved for an optional visit to Jurmala, the vibrant Latvian sea resort, famous for its wooden architecture and sandy beaches. The evening offers an optional organ concert at the Dome Cathedral.
- Breakfast
- Hotel Radisson Blu Latvija
- Trip to Jūrmala, concert at the Dome Cathedral
After we got acquainted with Riga, we have the possibility of discovering medieval Latvia. The optional tour for this morning takes us to the stunning scenery of the Gauja National Park and the town of Sigulda. We listen to the medieval Latvian legend of the Rose of Turaida and see the ruins of the Episcopal Castle and of the Castle of the Knights of the Sword before we return to Riga. The afternoon offers an optional visit to the Ethnographical Open Air Museum, a spacious exposition of 18th century country life.
- Breakfast
- Hotel Radisson Blu Latvija
- Tour to Gauja National Park and the town of Sigulda, visit to Ethnographical Open Air Museum, Latvian dinner
The tour continues along the coastal highway to the Estonian summer resort of Parnu. We do a short tour of the resort before we continue through the North Estonian land of forests and arrive in Tallinn early afternoon, check-in at the Hotel Radisson Blu Olympia**** or similar.
- Breakfast
- Hotel Radisson Blu Olympia
- Transfers
Tallinn is a charming blend of medieval tranquillity and modern urban life. The medieval Old Town is a busy place in the summer with its many shops, galleries, souvenir markets, outdoor cafés and restaurants. The sightseeing tour takes us around the old medieval city walls and into the Old Town where we see Toompea Castle, Dome Church, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, medieval Old Town Hall and Great Guild Hall. In the afternoon an optional excursion is offered to Kadriorg Park and visit to KUMU, the award-winning new Estonian Art Museum, with its collections of classic and contemporary fine art. The evening offers an optional medieval dinner at Restaurant Maikrahv.
- Breakfast
- Hotel Radisson Blu Olympia
- Excursion to Kadriorg Park and KUMU, Medieval Estonian dinner.
Optional transfer to airport.
- Breakfast
- Transfers
Customer reviews
We are back from our Baltic tour and wanted to thank you for your expertise and all of your help planning this amazing tour. We got to see really amazing sights in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania which was a lot for just a seven day tour! I felt our time was spaced out really nicely though and we never felt rushed in any location. The hotels were all beautiful and the staff at each place always made us feel really welcomed. My personal favorite spot was the Hill of Crosses. I took so many pictures there. Thank you for making our Baltic tour so special.
Georgia Hansen
Liz
We have planned the trip to the Baltic countries for a few years. Our friends recommended using Nordic Saga's expertise and experience arranging tours to Baltics. We contacted them and were not disappointed. The tour itinerary included all main attractions. Our nice guide Gintare took us even to places off the tourist track which was lovely. We saw a lot of authentic places and met nice people and tried the local food which was organic and very delicious. We also had a chance to soak our feet in the Baltic sea in a lovely resort Pernu in Estonia. Next time we visit the Baltic countries I hope we will be able to explore more of the Baltic seaside. This time we had too little time to enjoy the white beach sand .
Lilian and Ricard Okoja
Tom and I were participants on your Amber Coast tour in June, just one of the many Baltic tours your company offers. I haven't gotten around to writing you an update about the trip, so I thought I would now! It was really nice chatting with you in the spring as we tried to decide which tour would be the best choice for us. I think the Amber Coast tour really catered to people like us who have a deep love of history and an appreciation for Europe. I would have to write a very long, detailed list of all the places we were able to see and all the incredible things we learned along the way! It was a lot of fun and I want to say a big thank you to our tour guide, Dahlia, who was always able to answer any questions we had! You're lucky to have her working for you. Everything was very professional, the hotels were all located in great places, and the food was to die for... We will definitely be back to tour the Baltic countries. 11 days wasn't enough! :)
Sincerely,
Wanda and Matthew Williams
It has been a couple of weeks since our return from the Baltic tour and I have been away again for a week. However, I did want to thank you for arranging our delightful trip. My sister and I were happy that our friend, Stavrula, was able to share our adventures. We were all very pleased with our accommodations in each city and found the food everywhere was delicious and the people very friendly. Nearly everyone we met spoke English and we learned that they had learned it in school. It seems that English is one of the compulsory subjects in all the schools. I wish we had to learn more languages in our schools!
Vilnius was particularly memorable (I said "hello" for you) as I met a very nice young man who was originally from there and was just home for his father's 75th birthday celebration and a nephew's wedding. He and his family are now Americans living in North Carolina. Since one of his children is now in college they could not afford for the whole family to be away for four weeks, so he was representing his family. He gave us some very good advice of places to see on our own as well as what foods to eat if we wanted a sample of the native dishes. As a result we found a lovely restaurant on University street where we had beer soup and some tasty cepolinas. At the Lokys Restaurant we had a drink of starka after our dinner and we enjoyed the local beer everywhere.
All of the city guides were excellent and were very knowledgeable about the history, architecture and folklore, but Ona, our guide from Vilnius to Tallinn went out of her way to help make our trip more memorable. Even when she was "off duty" she volunteered to show us places that we had not seen on the regular guided tours.
Again, thanks for arranging such a nice tour (how did you arrange for the good weather???).
All the best wishes,
Jo Humphrey and Shirley Miller
It is now just about 10 days since we got back from the 8 day tour that you arranged: Baltic Highlights, starting August 23rd. It was an excellent tour in most respects. All of the local guides were excellent. We do have one suggestion, and I think we speak for most if not all of the participants. There was too much time in Riga. We all felt that we would rather have used this time for more sightseeing in other places.
David Memphis
