This three week tour of Poland and the Baltic States takes you on an amazing journey through, historical, cultural and scenic delights, visiting six beautiful capital cities and seven countries, as well as the less explored countryside of these fascinating, former Eastern bloc countries. The journey to and from the Baltics includes driving through Denmark, and Germany, and short visit to Finland as well.
The tour will drive across Denmark and Germany to spend five days in Poland, including Warsaw. Then cross into Lithuania and visit the capital, Vilnius. The tour then heads to the coast to visit Klaipeda and the Curonian Spit. Travel north to Latvia and Riga for two nights. The tour will then go to Sigulda and the Gauja National Park and north to Estonia and the resort of Pärnu, and onto Virtsu where we shall take a ferry to the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu. Back to the mainland and onto the capital, Tallinn for three nights. Our return journey will be by ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, with a few hours in Helsinki, then another (overnight) ferry from Helsinki to Rostock in Germany. After a final night in Germany, drive to Esbjerg, Denmark for the return crossing to Harwich, England.
Accommodation
The tour will stay in some of the most glorious hotels, including sumptuous former palaces, castles and villas.
All the hotels are individual and unique and, overall, are of an extremely high standard. Due to the nature and age of these hotels the rooms vary from charmingly comfortable to the utmost luxury. We have hand-picked the accommodation for their unique atmosphere and style.
All accommodation includes breakfast, and dinner is included where stated. Suitable parking is, of course, a feature of each hotel, but it is rarely undercover. Where private parking is not available (Warsaw and Riga), 24-hour security guards will be arranged.
Itinerary
*Itinerary may be subject to change without notice*
Day 1
All UK vehicles will meet in Harwich. Leave Harwich at 18.00 for an overnight sailing to Esbjerg, Denmark.
Day 2
Arrive in Esbjerg at 13.00 and meet continental participants at a charming and refined villa hotel, just north of Hamburg, Germany. There will be a welcome dinner for all the participants.
Day 3
Drive across Germany to the Mecklenburg Lake District - about an hour north of Berlin - where the tour will stay in a lovely family-run hotel on the shore of a lake. Dinner is included.
Day 4
Take the opportunity to spend a few hours visiting Berlin if you wish. Then cross the border into the Wielkopolska region of Poland, core of the original Polish nation. Head towards Poznān, an attractive and vibrant city. Tonight we stay in a restored palace, now an exclusive and fabulous hotel beside a lake. Dinner is included.
Day 5
Visit a beautiful ethnographical museum this morning. Then drive to Warsaw, capital of Poland. Stay in the centre of the city, on the edge of the Old Town, in a beautifully restored historic building, within walking distance of all the sights.
Day 6
Explore this fascinating city and the beautiful Old Town (Stare Miasto) and New Town (Nowe Miasto), the latter dating from the 15th century. Tonight there is the option to attend a performance at the National Opera House, followed by dinner at the beautiful Belvedere restaurant, located in the Orangery in the Royal Łazienki Park.
Day 7
Leave Warsaw behind and drive north to the Mazury Lake District, a sparsely populated area of thick forests and innumerable lakes and rivers, and a popular holiday destination. Stay in a country lodge on the shore of one of the lakes. Dinner will be a barbecue near the shore. There is a good, untarred road to the lodge of about 2.5km.
Day 8
Explore the Mazury region on a scenic drive, visiting the pleasant towns and driving alongside the tranquil lakes. Take the chance to visit Hitler’s wartime base, Wolf’s Lair, location of the infamous July Bomb Plot. Alternatively relax on the beach, swim, ride, sail, or play tennis at the lodge. Dinner will be in the restaurant.
Day 9
Head eastwards into the least developed part of Poland. Once part of the Tsarist Empire the towns have quite a Russian feel to them. Cross into Lithuania and visit the Dzūkija National Park, a deeply forested region famous for traditional architecture that is elsewhere preserved in museums. Drive on into Vilnius. Stay for two nights in a former Orthodox monastery, now a hotel, with a gated courtyard for parking.
Day 10
Explore Vilnius and its Old Town; an inviting warren of cobbled alleyways and Baroque churches. The city has a laidback charm and atmosphere that draws you in and it is easily explored on foot.
Day 11
Leave Vilnius and drive west towards Kaunas. Visit the Rumšišk’s open-air museum, which has 150 original buildings from all over the country. Drive along the Kalingrad Province border to Klaipeda and take the 10 minute ferry across to the Curonian Spit - the most exotic natural wonderland in the Baltics. The Spit is a National Park and has fabulous long beaches. Stay overnight in a genteel resort on the lagoon in an attractive wooden villa.
Day 12
Cross back to the mainland and drive north into Latvia. Visit the pretty town of Kuldīga, and then drive on to Rīga, capital of Latvia. Stay for two nights in a wonderful, contemporary, luxury hotel.
Day 13
Explore Rīga, a boisterous, mercantile city, that was once part of the Hanseatic Laegue. The city has a rich collection of Art Noveau architecture, Baroque churches, cobbled squares and idiosyncratic museums. The Old Town is a compact network of narrow streets and medieval merchant houses, dotted with Gothic spires and fairytale turrets. Most of the buildings are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is also a motor museum featuring Latvian and Soviet transport history.
Day 14
Drive south of Rīga and visit one of Latvia’s architectural wonders, the stupendous 18th century Rundale Palace, a huge Baroque palace of aristocratic excess, and veritable ‘Versailles of the north’. Then drive up to the Gauja National Park, a wonderfully unspoilt and forested area where the river carves through steep cliffs. Explore the Gauja River area, including Turaida Castle and the nineteenth-century aristocratic seat of Krimulda, both sitting on the cliff top above the river. Then head north along the coast and into Estonia. Arrive in the beach-side resort of Pärnu, which is blessed with a glorious white-sand beach. Stay in a century-old merchant’s grand villa, now an exquisite and stylish Russian Art Noveau hotel restored to the highest quality.
Day 15
Leave Parnu behind and drive across lovely countryside to the coast. From here take the ferry to the island of Muhu. Stay for the next two nights on the southern tip of the island in one of Estonia’s most charming manor houses, situated at the sea edge. There is a spa, private cinema, and renowned restaurant, as well as a number of activities to keep you amused. There is a 6km untarred drive to the manor. Dinner will be a barbecue on the shore to watch the sunset.
Day 16
Take the opportunity to explore Muhu and the neighbouring, larger island of Saaremaa, reached by a causeway. For Estonian’s, these islands epitomise the nation’s natural beauty more than any other place. Or, if you prefer, spend the day relaxing at the manor. Boat rental, mountain bikes, water skiing, fishing, and riding can all be arranged, or pamper yourself in the spa.
Day 17
Leave Muhu and take the ferry back to the mainland. It is only about two hours drive to Tallinn, the capital. Tallinn is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in northern Europe and is a beautiful place. The Old Town’s maze of paved alleys, turrets, slender steeples, and proud merchant houses look like they are from a fairy tale. Stay for two nights in one of Tallinn’s best hotels, an atmospheric and intimate baronial city house, in the heart of the Old Town, with secure courtyard parking.
Day 18
Spend the day discovering the delights of Tallinn; a fascinating combination of quaint medieval old town, and gleaming, glass-fronted new metropolis. Visit Kadriorg, a leafy park laid out by Peter the Great, with a palace at its centre, and home of the finest art museum in the Baltics.
Day 19
Leave Tallinn and Estonia by ferry at 15.30 on the short crossing (105 mins) to Helsinki. Spend a couple of hours exploring Helsinki, and then take the overnight ferry to Rostock, Germany at 20.15.
Day 20
The day will be spent crossing the Baltic Sea, so enjoy time to relax. Arrive in Rostock, Germany at 10pm and stay in a nearby hotel.
Day 21
Drive up through Denmark and spend the day discovering the small villages in the southern part of the country. The ferry departs from Esbjerg at 18.45.
Day 22
Arrive Harwich at 11.30am and depart for home.
Details
Duration: 21 nights
Suggested dates: 6-28 June 2009
Price:
To be confirmed for 2009. However in 2007 the price was £3,275 per person, based on two people sharing a twin or double room, travelling from the UK.
What’s included
- Tour participation
- All accommodation for twenty-one nights for two people sharing a twin or double room
- Breakfast every morning (except on the ferries) & dinner on seven evenings. You will be able to dine at restaurants of your choice on other nights.
- Return crossing from Harwich, England to Esbjerg, Denmark for a car & two people
- One-way crossing from Tallinn, Estonia to Helsinki, Finland for a car & two people
- One-way crossing from Helsinki, Finland to Rostock, Germany for a car & two people
- Tour book - includes a brief history of the countries to be visited, emergency details, maps and directions, accommodation information, and a very detailed, tailored account of sights and visits for each day. The book effectively eliminates the need for any other guide books
- Arrangement and reservation of optional activities
- Event regalia - There will be a rally plaque for each car.
- A European road atlas
- Experienced and friendly Classic Travelling tour guides
What’s not included
- Evening meals (unless stated) and all lunches
- Entry into attractions and activities
- Personal travel and medical insurance
- We strongly suggest and recommend you have European breakdown cover, and ensure you are covered for the countries to be visited. The RAC and Green Flag both cover the Baltics but the AA do not.
- All drinks are extra to accommodate individual preferences.
Requirements
- Each person must have a passport (and any necessary visas for non-EU passport holders) valid for Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland and any other countries you may visit to participate on the tour.
- All passports must be valid for six months after the end of the tour.
- You will also need your vehicle registration documents, driving licence (a photo-card licence or international permit is best), and an international insurance green card.
- Please check with your travel and motor insurers that you are covered for travel in the required countries.
- You are also required to carry a warning triangle, first-aid kit, fluorescent jacket, set of replacement bulbs and a national identification sticker.
- The most important requirement is that you take pleasure in motoring through fabulous scenery, relish individual, character hotels and enjoy the company of like-minded travellers.
Booking
Apart from our scheduled, escorted group tours, none of our itineraries are set in stone - after all, this is your holiday - so we can fine-tune any aspect of these tours to meet your wishes. Any of our escorted tours may also be taken as a private, independent tour, at a time to suit you.
We work closely with a number of classic and spots car hire companies across the UK, Europe, and beyond, so we can arrange your car hire for you , too. Please contact us for futher details and the cars we have available.
