Classical Baltics
Day 1: VILNIUS
Arrival to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, transfer to hotel.
Dinner and Overnight.
Day 2: Vilnius-Trakai-Vilnius (ca. 60 km)
Morning city tour in Vilnius. UNESCO included the Old Town of Vilnius on the World Culture Heritage List because of its unique mixture of the different architecture styles represented. Such churches as St. Anne’s, St. Peter’s-and-Paul’s, the Cathedral are real masterpieces of architecture. Be sure to visit the courtyards of the oldest University in Eastern Europe, founded in 1579.
Afternoon excursion to Trakai visiting the medieval Castle, situated on an island in the midst of lake. It is the most famous and most photographed castle in Lithuania. The five-storey, redbrick fortifications were constructed by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas in the second half of 14th century.
Dinner and Overnight in Vilnius.
Day 3: Vilnius – Kaunas - Klaipėda (ca. 320 km)
Morning depart to Kaunas – the second largest city of Lithuania. The Old Town of Kaunas is a concentration of the most important, ancient city architectural monuments: the 13th century Castle, the Old Town Hall, nicknamed the “White Swan”, the Archicathedral Basilica, the Church of St. Francis Xavier and the Jesuit monastery, Perkunas House and Vytautas Church.
In the afternoon you will continue your journey to Klaipeda. Evening city tour. Once part of Germany and still known to many as Memel, Klaipeda, the only port in Lithuania, mainly represents architectural influences from this period.
Dinner and Overnight in Klaipeda.
Day 4: Klaipeda – Curonian Spit – Klaipeda (ca. 100 km)
Day trip to the Curonian Spit National Park, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the most unique landscapes in Europe. There is a Hill of Witches, Stone sculptures park, one of the largest cormorant colonies in Europe, and the so-called dead dunes valley. Sightseeing in Nida, a village of picturesque wooden fisherman houses, with the amber gallery, and hiking through the pine forests and dunes.
Dinner and Overnight in Klaipeda
Day 5: Klaipeda-Hill of Crosses-Riga (ca. 300 km)
Morning departure to Riga via Siauliai Hill of Crosses. The stopover in a special place – Hill of Crosses – a place where people have added crosses to the ground for couple of centuries. This is an expression of a spontaneous religiousness and is a symbol not of a grief and death but of Faith, Love and Sacrifice.
Continue the journey to Riga and arrive to the capital of Latvia in late afternoon.
Dinner and Overnight in Riga.
Day 6: Riga
Day tour in the capital of Latvia. Riga’s city architecture is beauteous and diverse. Heritage of 800 years old Gothic churches, medieval and wooden buildings, exquisite Art Nouveau make Riga a true pearl of architecture. Its Historic Centre is thus listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for a reason.
Dinner and Overnight in Riga.
Day 7: Riga-Gauja National Park-Tartu (ca. 250 km)
Morning depart for Sigulda and Gauja National Park, stopovers at the ruins of the 13th century Order of Knights Sigulda Castle, at Turaida Bishop’s Castle and Gutmann’s cave.
In the afternoon continue the journey to Tartu – the second largest city in Estonia and a home to one of Northern Europe’s oldest universities.
Dinner and Overnight in Tartu.
Day 8: Tartu – Lahemaa – Tallinn (ca. 220 km)
In the morning you will depart to Lahemaa National Park in the North of Estonia. Lahemaa is perfect for a hiking trip and nature watching. Here you will find stony and sandy seashores, picturesque bogs, pine and cliff forests, rivers that cut into the limestone cliff as well as erratic rocks left over from the last Ice Age.
In the afternoon continue your journey to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
Dinner and Overnight in Tallinn.
Day 9: Tallinn
Tallinn – a day discoveries with a guide in the best-preserved medieval city in Northern Europe with many of the buildings and fortifications surviving from the high medieval era. Due to its exceptionally intact 13th century city plan, the Tallinn Old Town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, joining the ranks of the world’s most recognised landmarks.
Dinner and Overnight in Tallinn.
Day 10: TALLINN
Departure. Transfer to Tallinn airport.