The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Our first visit to the Baltic States was in 2010 when we were on a massive tour that looped all the way around Scandinavia before dropping into Tallinn, the capital of Estonia via the ferry from the Finnish capital Helsinki. We really didn't know what to expect and it's one of the few places we have visited where we were a bit nervous before going.

18th century stately home in Latvia

About a month later we left having had our eyes well and truly opened. The Baltic States are now officially my favourite part of Europe (although it never gets hot enough for it to go into top spot for Wendy). We travelled in September as the season was dying off. Due to the weather, which is similar to that in the UK, they tend to have a fairly short season and most of the sites close down at the end of the month.

In that time we came across  a lot that we didn't expect. I'll start with the bits we did expect. Firstly you have the three capitals, Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and the lesser known Vilnius (Lithuania). There's too much in all of these places to do justice to here. Suffice to say that you could happily spend at least a week in any of them. The capitals combine the old with the more recent Soviet influenced past plus a lot of modern development. In many ways they are typical modern capitals combining history, commerce, tourism and lively eating-out and night-life.

Traditional and modern transport in eastern Estonia

Outside the capital the other expected aspect of this tour was that a lot of the areas remain very agricultural and pretty basic. You will still see old women in head scarves and horses and carts trotting down the road, especially in the eastern parts of each country. Many of the roads, particularly in rural areas are not tarmacced, which can be a bit of a surprise, although all the major routes are. The roads were quite quiet although in common with the rest of mainland Europe there are always plenty of lorries around.

Another aspect that we expected was the Soviet influence, which can be seen all over the place. You can see this in many of the cheap housing blocks, the old tram systems, the statues and monuments and the civic buildings. There are also many museums dedicated to their recent past including a KGB musuem in Riga and the amazing Grutas Park in southern Lithuania, where an enterprising mushroom farmer bought up thousands of old statues and turned them into a tourist attraction.

In terms of the unexpected The Baltics boast some wonderful coastline. It was of limited use to us in September, but earlier in the year these places get packed out with locals. In Latvia there is the Curonian Spit, a 94 kilometre long peninsular onto the Baltic Sea. Another surprise were the aspects of much older history including castles (in Cesis for example) through to 18th century stately homes, such as Rundale Palace in Latvia and churches (Russian Orthodox and Catholic) such as the Aglona Basilica in Latvia.

There is also plenty in the way of forests, lakes and country parks making it very easy to get out walking and cycling, or just touring.

Beautiful modern campsite in Cesis.
Note the Union Jack put out for our benefit!

Next surprise was how much the Baltic States have latched onto the tourist trade, but not in a way that has spoiled the place. For example the town of Druskininkai in southern Lithuania has fashioned itself as a spa town appealing mainly to wealthy Germans. All over the Baltics there are towns making the most of what they have got and there is no shortage of decent campsites, restaurants, supermarkets etc - all the things you expect and need as a tourist.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that the people are incredibly friendly and really pleased to see you. Yes, they are happy to take your tourist pounds off you but personally I like travelling to places where they don't take you for granted. Also, the prices are good. The important things like diesel and beer tend to be a lot cheaper than most other parts of Europe. Food in supermarkets and restaurants is also much cheaper than most of western Europe.

There is loads to see and do in the Baltics. In addition to the places mentioned above a 'mustn't miss' list could also include:

Russian Orthodox Church in Tallinn

1. The Lehamaa National Parks in Estonia
2.The Livonian Coast
3. Gauja National Park
4. Trakai island castle
5. Kaunas
6. Klaipeda
7. Tartu
8. The Hill of Crosses
9. Daugavpils
10. Lake Peipsi

This could be a much longer list. Eyewitness Travel do a really handy tourist guided covering all three countries that we have used quite successfully. You really do need a guidebook in countries like this as it's quite easy to miss things and they do not have such an extensive network of tourist information offices that you might find in other countries.

The Soviet influence is never far away.

You probably need a month to do justice to it, and you do have to allow a few days to get there and back, depending on how you get there. We drove back through Poland, but next time we would use the Kiel to Klapeida ferry as this would massively reduce the driving time.

Can't wait to go back.