The Baltic countries, composed by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, are three countries that most people don’t even remember to visit when they book their next trip in Europe. I was lucky enough to visit these three countries back in 2015 during my first ever solo trip, when I traveled Europe solo for three months, and I fell in love with this part of Europe that most people never visited. I was also lucky to have now returned to Lithuania three times and to have returned to Latvia last year as well. I feel like these three countries have a lot to offer and they are now part of my life story.
I decided to write this itinerary so that you can see how easy it is to visit these three countries, how cheap it is to spend a week in the Baltic countries and also how beautiful all these three countries really are. This week itinerary will begin and end in Warsaw, Poland because it’s the easiest and cheapest way to get to the Baltic Countries and this is exactly the same itinerary I did back in 2015 when I visited for the first time.
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA | 2 nights | 58,5€
TRANSPORT
CATCH THE NIGHT BUS FROM POLAND TO LITHUANIA
- OPTION 1
To get to Vilnius without flying and the cheapest way possible, the best option is to catch a night bus from Warsaw, Poland, to Vilnius, Lithuania. There is a bus from Lux Express leaving Warsaw Centralana at 20:20 and arriving in Vilnius at 5:10 the next morning. The ticket costs 14€
- OPTION 2
If you don’t feel comfortable with night buses or arriving at 5am in a place you don’t know, there’s a Lux Express bus that departs from Warsaw Central station at 10:20 and it arrives in Vilnius at 19:30 the same day. The ticket costs 14€.
There is also an earlier bus, operated by Ecolines, that departs from Warsaw Zachodnia at 6:15 in the morning and arrives in Vilnius at 16:25 and it costs 16€.
TRANSPORT COSTS | 15,5€
- Tram/Bus in Warsaw to the bus station 1,5€
- Bus from Warsaw, Poland, to Vilnius, Lithuania 14€
ACCOMMODATION | 26€
For the two nights in Vilnius, stay at Pogo Hostel. A night in a mix dorm costs 13€. By staying to nights your accommodation will cost you 26€.
FOOD | 30€
Just like in a previous itinerary I shared with you here on the blog I suggest a budget of 15€ a day for food. Yes you can spend less and yes you can spend more. I focus on this amount because I believe it to be enough to cover the basics. And considering this is a budget itinerary, we need to focus on keeping the costs of this one week trip in the Baltic Countries as low as possible. So, 30€ for food for the two days in Vilnius is more than enough.
2 NIGHTS IN VILNIUS TOTAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN:
Transport: 15,5€
Accommodation: 13€
Food: 30€
TOTAL BUDGET 58,5€
RIGA, LATVIA | 2 nights | 62€
From Vilnius you will travel to another country and your new destination: Riga, Latvia. Riga is my second favorite country in the Baltic countries and I always say it should be on everyone’s bucket list.
TRANSPORT | 12€
CATCH THE BUS FROM LITHUANIA TO LATVIA
Take the Ecolines bus from Vilnius to Riga. There are a couple of buses departing during the day. I suggest taking the bus at 9:30 from Vilnius and arrive in Riga, Latvia, at 14:00. The ticket costs only 12€ and by arriving after lunch you still have a few hours of day light to find your accommodation and maybe take a walk in the city.
ACCOMMODATION | 20€
For your two nights in Riga I suggest staying at the Tree House Hostel. It’s one of the best rated hostels in the city and it has an amazing location in the old town of Riga, which will make your life easier if you want to make the most of your time and explore Riga as much as possible. A night in a female dorm will cost you 10€, so you only need 20€ to spend two nights in Riga.
FOOD | 30€
2 NIGHTS IN RIGA TOTAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN:
Transport: 12€
Accommodation: 20€
Food: 30€
TOTAL BUDGET 62€
TALLINN, ESTONIA | 2 nights | 72€
The final destination on this One week itinerary in the Baltic Countries is the beautiful capital of Estonia, Tallinn. This is a medieval city with a lot of charm and it was my favorite place on this trip.
TRANSPORT | 12€
CATCH THE BUS FROM RIGA TO TALLINN
To get from Riga, Latvia, to Tallinn, Estonia, take the Ecolines bus. The journey takes 4h15 and the ticket costs 12€. I suggest taking an early morning bus at 8:00, arriving in Tallinn at 12:15. With this you will gain a few precious hours to explore Tallinn.
ACCOMMODATION | 30€
For your last two nights in the Baltic countries, stay at imaginary hostel. There are a few hostels in Tallinn and it’s not easy to pick one. Many of the hostels are party hostels so be careful when chosing your hostel as you may end up having a weird experience like I did. I’m suggesting Imaginary Hostel as besides offering a bed in a female dorm for 15€ a night, it looks like one of the few that don’t have a party vibe. If you don’t mind to stay in a not so quiet hostel, you can find cheaper hostel options.
FOOD | 30€
2 NIGHTS IN TALLINN TOTAL BUDGET BREAKDOWN:
Transport: 12€
Accommodation: 30€
Food: 30€
TOTAL BUDGET 72€
FROM TALLINN BACK TO WARSAW | 44€’
We have started this itinerary of one week in the Baltic countries in Warsaw, Poland and that’s where we will finish. This is going to be a very long day of travel and it really comes to the experience you are looking for. For me, this long travel day was worth it. I had plenty of time and I love buses. Plus, the fact you get to be on a bus and step foot on four countries in 18h was pretty awesome.
HOW TO GET FROM TALLINN TO WARSAW
This journey from Talinn to Warsaw will take a little over 18h with Lux Express bus. The ticket for this entire bus journey all together costs 44€. Don’t worry about having to buy too many separate tickets. Just use the website of Lux Express, put departure ‘tallinn’ and destination ‘warsaw’ and the website will automatically show you tickets for the entire journey.
So how is your day going to look like?
- 12:30 – 17:00 Bus from Tallinn, Estonia, to Riga, Latvia
- 18:45 – 22:35 Bus from Riga, Latvia, to Vilnius, Lithuania
- 22_50 – 6:00 (the next morning) – Night bus from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Warsaw, Poland
SO HOW MUCH IS THIS TRIP GOING TO COST YOU?
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA | 2 nights -58,5€
RIGA, LATVIA | 2 nights – 62€
TALLINN, ESTONIA | 2 nights – 72€
TALLINN BACK TO WARSAW, POLAND – 44€
TOTAL COST OF ONE WEEK IN THE BALTIC COUNTRIES STARTING AND ENDING IN WARSAW, POLAND
236€
236€ is the total amount for this one week itinerary in the Baltic Countries, departing and ending in Warsaw. If you wish to departe from somewhere else and you don’t plan on visiting Warsaw after this trip, then out of the 236€ you just take out 15,5€ (transportation from Poland to Lithuania) plus 44€ (transportation from Tallinn to Warsaw. That means your budget will now be 176€ and you just need to add the costs of the transportation from another place you like.
Leave a Reply