Baltic Road Trip Holidays 13 days itinerary

Arrival in Vilnius. A driver will take you to the hotel; there’s usually no driving on arrival day.

The car is delivered to your hotel. Full day in Vilnius – stroll the streets of the Old Town, drive to admire the gorgeous baroque Church of Sts Peter and Paul, then the open-air Museum of the Centre of Europe.

There’s just 100+ km of driving today, so different schedules may be possible. Our suggestions on the route: drive first to the historic capital of Lithuania, Kernave (40 km, 40min), which is now a world famous archeological site under World heritage. Then make a stop in Trakai (37 km, 35min), yet another ancient capital of Lithuania. Stroll the town with typical wooden buildings, the praying house of the local ethnic minority, admire the medieval Trakai Castle in the middle of a lake, feed local ducks… Have lunch here or at least taste traditional Karaim pastries with lamb.
Then continue to Kaunas where you will find ethnographic open-air museum of household tradition of Lithuania (20 km to Kaunas), the beautiful baroque Monastery in Pazaislis, massacre memorial museum of the 9th Fort, Devils’ Museum, Museum of Mr. Chiune Sugihara, Art Museum of country’s most renowned artist M. K. Ciurlionis. Night in Kaunas.

A bit of driving for today: take the highway A2 (210 km, 2h) as a quick option OR a scenic one on the so called Panemune Castle Route along the river Nemunas (235km, 3h 20min; national road 141). The latter would eventually take you via the delta of the river which could absorb some unscheduled hours of nature lovers.
Both routes would offer some options for lunch. Night in Klaipeda.

Approx 120 km and 2h of driving + 2 x 20min on a ferry.
Take a ferry* to the Curonian Spit and drive to Nida (55 km) , visit Juodkrante en-route (Mount of Witches). The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long and 2-3 km wide sand-dune spit, separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. 51 km of the spit belongs to Lithuania, the rest – to Kaliningrad, Russia. The whole territory is declared a national park and is on the World Heritage list of the UNESCO. The whole world is different here, take your time walking, trekking, cycling or gazing into the sea.
Return to Klaipeda for the night.

Riga is just under 4 hours and 280km away. And it would be a bit more o if you follow our recommendations, namely: drive to the Hill of Crosses (160 km, 2h) first, spend some half an hour there and then proceed (75km, 1h) to the gorgeous 18th century Rundale Palace with beautiful gardens. It will definitely take at least 2 hours of your time; plus possible lunch. Then there’s just 80 km and 1h (+ city traffic) to Riga.

A full day in Riga, the biggest city of the region. The ever buzzy Old Town may be perfect ambience to spend your time in. Art museums, galleries, coffee shops… And the majestic Art Nouveau architecture of Riga, is a brand of its own. Riga also has the country’s main sea resort town just 20 km away, so you may wish to drive there for some hours on the sandy beaches.

It’s a long driving day today: 335 km and 4h 30min of driving + 25min on a ferry* (+ 60-80 km and at least a couple of hours in case you detour for Gauja National Park).
There’s a nice Gauja National Park just 55km away from Riga. Drive to Sigulda where they have Tourist Information Office where you can decide regarding your schedule for today. The Turaida Castle (museum of history, some may claim it to look too similar to Trakai Castle near Vilnius in Lithuania, but the impressive panoramic views from the tower are much different). Sigulda, Cesis, Limbazi towns are also worth a look. Having visited the park you head to Parnu, Estonia’s resort town on the Baltic Sea (130 km, 1h 50min) and later continue to Kuressaare, the capital of the isle of Saaremaa (75 km to Virtsu port, then 25min on a ferry*, then 80 km to Kuressaare). Night on the island.

Explore the island and pamper yourself at one of the local spas.

80 km to the port, 25min on a ferry* and 135km 1h 50min of driving to Tallinn.

Full day day in the capital of Estonia. Stroll the lower and the upper parts of the Old Town, visit Art Museums at Kadriorg Park or drive to the open-air ethnographical museum of Rocca al Mare on the outskirts of the city, Pirita (the ancient Convent of St Bridget – Pirita Klooster).

Nature lovers may choose to drive to the National Park of Lahemaa (80 km from Tallinn). Others will find enough in the city. Night in Tallinn.

Departure day. Reserve some 30min to drive to the airport where you drop the car before your flight home.