Baltic States + St.Petersburg 12 days / 11 nights

DAY 1, Vilnius

Arrival to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Bus transfer to the hotel. Check-in at the hotel.

Overnight in Vilnius.

DAY 2, Vilnius - Trakai - Vilnius

City tour by bus and walking tour of Vilnius to see most interesting sights: the Old Town, listed by UNESCO's World Heritage Lists and it's main churches, historical and architectural monuments, Ausros Vartai (the Gates of Dawn) with a splendid icon of Virgin Mary, the oldest Vilnius University in Eastern Europe campus, Cathedral Square.

Departure to Trakai (28 km from Vilnius), the former capital of Grand Duchy of Lithuania with it's beautiful insular castle of 14^th century, erected on the amazingly situated island in the middle of a lake. It was called "town on the water".

Transfer back to Vilnius.

Overnight in Vilnius.

DAY 3, Vilnius - Kaunas - Klaipeda

Departure to Klaipeda (312 km from Vilnius) an ice-free port, fishing and sailing town, the Lithuanian gateway to the sea and the world.

Stop in Church and Monastery of Pazaislis. Built in 1664-1719. One of the most beautiful Baroque style ensembles in Lithuania. Now it belongs to St. Casimir abbey.

Kaunas City Tour.

City tour by bus and walking tour of the Old Town includes visiting the ruins of the 13^th century Kaunas Castle, the Town Hall Squire locally known as a "White Swam", the 14^th century Vytautas Church, the Perkunas (Thunder) House, passing the Cathedral -Basilica.

Departure to Klaipeda.

Overnight in Klaipeda.

DAY 4, Klaipeda - Nida - Klaipeda

Exploring Curonian Spit in Nida (5km by ferry + 50km from Klaipeda), included in the UNESCO list of World Intangible heritage Lists. The Spit lies between the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea, with the biggest sand dunes in Europe. Visit to the Hill of Witches in Juodkrante. Excursion to Nida, the Lithuanian sea resort includes a climb up the Great Dune to see breathtaking view.

Visit Amber Gallery - Museum in Nida.

The group will be introduced of amber history, can watch and try to process amber in a Amber workshop.

Visit Tom Man house.

Overnight in Nida.

 

DAY 5, Nida - Hill of Crosses - Rundale - Riga

Departure to Riga (292 km from Klaipeda), the capital of Latvia. Stop to the famous Hill of Crosses near (152 km from Klaipeda) Šiauliai, a unique place with thousands of crosses on it.

After crossing the border with Latvia, you will visit Rundale Palace (50km from Hill of Crosses), which was designed for Duke of Courland, Ernst Biron, in the 18^th century by Italian architect F.B.Rastrelli, the author of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Today, the Palace is the most magnificent masterpiece of baroque architecture in the Baltic States. Arrival to Riga.

Dinner in Riga.

Overnight in Riga.

DAY 6, Riga

Riga City tour by bus and a walking tour of the Old Town to see the most interesting sights: Riga's Castle, Dome Cathedral, the Church of St. Peter, the buildings of the Great and Small Guild Halls, the fortification wall of Riga, the Swedish Gate, the building of Latvia's Parliament, the Monument of Liberty, Brivibas (Freedom) Boulevard, the district of Art Nouveau buildings.

Tour in The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum is one of the show-pieces of Latvia's cultural heritage, founded in 1924. Situated 10 km from Riga centre in a pine forest on the banks of Jugla Lake, the museum consists of some 90 traditional rural buildings

Dinner in at hotel restaurant.

Overnight in Riga.

DAY 7, Riga - Sigulda - Tallinn

Departure to Tallinn. (300 km from Riga), the capital of Estonia.

Stop in Sigulda (50km from Riga).

Tour to the Gauja National Park, the region, called "Latvian Switzerland". The tour includes visits to Turaida Castle built in the 13^th century as the residence of the Bishop of Riga, Gutmanis cave, a monument of nature, a residence of the Master of the Livonian Order.

Late afternoon arrival to Tartu. Check-in at the hotel.

Lunch at Sigula restaurant in Sigulda.

Evening arrival to Tallinn. Check-in at the hotel.

Overnight in Tallinn.

DAY 8, Tallinn

City tour by bus and walking tour of Tallinn includes a visit to the Old Town with its main historical and architectural monuments: Toompea Palace, seat of the Estonian Parliament,  the medieval Toompea Castle, the Russian Orthodox  Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Dome Church (13^th -18^th centuries), Town Hall Square, the Pharmacy (15^th century), St. Nicholas Church and Pirita.

Lunch in old town.

Visit the Kadriorg Palace (5km from Tallinn) was founded by the Russian tsar Peter I and beautiful Flower Garden behind the palace which has been renovated after 18^th-century examples.

Overnight in Tallinn.

DAY 9, Tallinn - St. Petersburg

Departure to St. Petersburg (400km from Tallinn) the city, the northern capital of Russian Federation, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

City tour by bus and walking tour (4h) of St.Perersburg includes most interesting sights and St.Peter&Paul Fortress.

Overnight in St. Petersburg.

 

DAY 10, St. Petersburg - Peterhof - St.Petersburg

Departure to Peterhof (29km from St.Petersburg), the famous suburban residence of the Russian tsars has about 200 fountains that make its major attractions. World best artists designed the unique ensemble of fountains and cascades over long period of over 100 years. A 5-hour tour includes a tour of the Grand Palace with some unique early 18 century interiors and private chambers of Catherine the Great and an enjoyable walk round the grounds

Transfer back to the city.

Visit to the Hermitage museum (3,5h) with the collection of over 2,5 million exhibits, is one of the very finest world art museums.

Overnight in St. Petersburg.

 

DAY 11, St. Petersburg - Pushkin 25km (Carskoe Selo) - St.Petersburg

Pushkin is an ensemble of palaces and parks. It is a brilliant monument of architecture and gardening of the 18th-19th centuries. The major sight is a magnificent Catherine I Palace- one of the best examples of Russian baroque with incredible collection of art. The most famous place here is the Amber Room. The palace grounds occupy more than 100 hectares and have marvelous pavilions, grottoes, statues.

Transfer back to the city.

Afternoon at leisure.

Dinner in city center with famous Gypsy folk show.

Overnight in St. Petersburg.

DAY 12, St. Petersburg

Transfer to the Airport. Departure.