Eastern European tour

country:	Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia
departures:	2008: 20 Jul, 27 Jul, 3 Aug, 17 Aug, 31 Aug, 14 Sep, 21 Sep, 28 Sep, 12 Oct 2009: 12 Apr, 26 Apr, 10 May, 24 May, 7 Jun, 21 Jun, 28 Jun
price:	From £1075 (21 days) excluding flights. Local payment €300. We can arrange flights from the UK

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Europe holidays

Cultural tours

the amazing things you'll be doing

21 days Helsinki to Vienna

Helsinki, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Aukstaitija National Park, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Vienna

Discover what Eastern Europe has been hiding all these years in this fascinating journey across borders.

This all-encompassing traverse of Central Europe from Helsinki to Vienna offers a multitude of real life experiences. Explore cities that have been at the forefront of European culture for centuries and countries that are thriving in their newfound freedoms.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1-2:	Helsinki. Enjoy the delights of Finland's capital including the Senate Square and the stately Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.
Day 3-4:	Tallinn. Travel by ferry across the Gulf of Finland to the Estonian capital. Wander the imperial residence of Peter the Great and step back in time in the city's Old Town.
Day 5-6:	Riga. Trace the Art Nouveau heritage of the city before stopping at the Ethnographic Museum. For a Baltic beach experience, nearby Jurmala is worth a visit.
Day 7-8:	Vilnius. Admire Vilnius's medieval attractions and fertile gardens before soaking up the castle views at nearby Trakai.
Day 9-10:	Aukstaitija. Engage with nature in the lush surrounds of Aukstaitija. There is time to visit some traditional villages and the local beekeeping museum.
Day 11-12:	Warsaw. Wander the streets of this historic city with its art deco buildings, Soviet estates and Baroque churches.
Day 13-15:	Krakow. This World Heritage city oozes with Renaissance elegance and houses one of the world's biggest medieval squares, Rynek Glowny.
Day 16-17:	Prague. Immerse yourself in the wonders of Prague. Wander through the Old Town, stroll along Charles Bridge or climb St Vitus Cathedral for impressive views.
Day 18-19:	Cesky Krumlov. Be transported to a fairytale land of cobblestone streets, old-world buildings and castles.
Day 20-21:	Vienna. Kick back and savour the cultural ambience of Vienna with a coffee and sacher torte.

travellers' tales

Awesome! I had a fantastic time and enjoyed all the places on the itinerary. The group I travelled with and the group leader Stefan were well travelled, fun and interesting companions. (more)

small group adventure holiday

This is a 'small group adventure' - on our group trips you'll be with a maximum of 11 like minded travellers and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting people from other parts of the world as well as seeing new places! (more)

highly commended

This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.

Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.

how this holiday makes a difference

In the Baltic States our focus is on making a positive impact, providing numerous opportunities for local interaction as we cover so much ground using all means of public transport. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn from a friendly local who strikes up a conversation during your journey.

Your leader and occasional local guide will be able to direct you to many local eateries throughout the trip, helping you discover real local fare, at real local prices (and probably helping you learn some local language at the same time).

We also spend time in the beautiful Aukstaitija National Park, taking care to ensure our groups behave in an environmentally responsible manner such as sticking to established trails and taking out everything we take in.

During this trip we have many opportunities to visit the UNESCO world heritage sights that feature in many of Europe’s destinations, where our entrance fees help maintain and restore these precious icons. Our trips also help to educate our travellers of the history of many of the countries we travel though by helping to arrange visits to sites such as The Museum of Occupation in Riga for a very thorough and fascinating insight into the periods of occupation suffered by the Latvians, during both Soviet and German periods, or the guided tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau, sites of some of the atrocities perpetrated during the war.

Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've lead the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism.

This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards.