Baltic Republics small group holiday
Highlights
Baltic Republics | Enjoy traditional Baltic cuisine | Tallinn | Alexander Nevsky Cathedral | Saaremaa | Kaali Crater | Koguva Museum | Karja Church | Kuressare | St. Laurentius Church | Tartu | Riga | Gauja National Park | Jurmala | Rundale Palace | Hill of Crosses | Curonian Spit National Park | Nida | Kaunas | Vilnius | Pazaislis Monastery | Trakai Castle | Chapel of the Dawn |Description of Baltic Republics small group holiday
The Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania make an enchanting destination for this two-week small group tour. Accompanied by a tour leader and local guides, you will join the whistle-stop tour in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, with its beautiful Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A major draw here is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and the chance to pick up some unique souvenirs from Tallinn’s renowned handicrafts industry. Cultural highlights of the area include Saaremaa Island, and the medieval castle of Bishop’s Palace.Continuing on to Riga, Latvia’s magnificent riverside capital, you will stop in the ancient university city of Tartu. Like Tallinn, the historic centre of Riga is lined with fascinating historic buildings, and another excellent place to dive into traditional Baltic cuisine, from sauerkraut to smoked fish and delicious crusty cheeses. Time will be set aside here for an optional visit to the gorgeous coastal resort of Jurmala.
En route to Lithuania, you’ll pause at the legendary Hill of Crosses, a symbol of national and religious unity that neither German and Soviet occupiers were able to destroy.
Enjoy a day at the ravishingly beautiful Curonian Spit National Park, and visit the fishing community of Nida built and rebuilt on shifting sand dunes, before moving on to Kaunas and finally Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. A morning’s sightseeing will explore the city’s many Baroque churches and of course the Chapel of the Dawn, with its Black Madonna. As your whistle-stop Baltic small group tour winds to an end, it’s time to bid farewell to your fellow travellers and tour leaders, but we’d hazard a guess you’ll be coming back before too long.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
Check dates, prices & availability
The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.
Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Responsible tourism
Baltic Republics small group holiday
Carbon reduction
Your holiday will help support local people and conservation. We must also reduce CO2. Learn about the CO2 emissions of this holiday and how to reduce them.
Environment
We use a local Tour Leader and guides on this trip who know the region very well. Our Leaders are trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference.
The majority of the accommodation we use is locally owned. This not only provides direct employment within the hotel, but also has the effect of percolating money beyond to small businesses that supply the hotel and in this way money is spread throughout the region we visit. The historical capital cities of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius are all UNESCO World Heritage Listed, and money spent within them helps to support the local communities and the preservation of the legacy of these distinctive cities.
To help reduce the level of pollution within the city centres, the sightseeing tours we operate don’t use transport and are instead taken on foot, which is also a great way of seeing all they have to offer first hand. When coaches are being used for these small group trips we also keep the size of the coach to a minimum, so rather than using gas guzzling 40-50 seaters we opt for more environmental friendly 15-25 seat coaches that use less fuel and therefore admit less carbon.
The Curonian Spit National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a valuable cultural landscape and Nida Beach within the national park has been awarded a Blue Flag. The national park authorities have put in place measures for the sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria in collaboration with the Water Quality, Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, and safety providers.
In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour Leaders leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.
Community
A percentage of the entrance fee to Rundale Palace goes towards helping with the restoration of this attraction, so that it can be enjoyed by future generations. Besides historical sites the trip also includes Saaremaa Island in Estonia, Sigulda and Cesis in Gauja National Park in Latvia, and the Curonian Spit National Park in Lithuania.
Overall in these parks there are in excess of 300 plant and animal species under protection. By travelling here we are assisting and encouraging the local communities to safeguard their natural beauty and native flora and fauna.
1 Reviews of Baltic Republics small group holiday
Reviewed on 25 Sep 2019 by mike wotton
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Good leader, great group. Tallinn old town probably the most impressive sight of the tour
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Ate locally, of course, had local guides but not sure we contributed much to reducing environmental impacts or conservation
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Good
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