11 days self-guided supported cycling tour from Tallinn to Vilnius (Code SG7)
The Baltic coast and National Parks of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania explored on very scenic routes, including the three capital cities – Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius – with their old towns designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Featuring the National Park Lahemaa, which is one of the last unspoiled regions of the Baltic coast, Otepää Lakeland – the so-called “Estonian Switzerland” and the beautiful Gauja River valleys. The tour includes cycling on the Curonian Spit which was previously closed to visitors; nowadays it is often called the Lithuanian Sahara. Travel from Tallinn, Estonia, in the north, through Latvia and on to Lithuania in the south, enjoy a great variety of towns, villages and landscapes, and get an excellent feel for the different characters of these distinctive countries.
The tour begins in Tallinn where you get your tour maps with detailed program and route description. Next day your rental bicycles will be ready for your first ride in Lahemaa. This trip is a half-guided tour ie during the whole trip, except Jurmala and the Curonian Spit, our driver with a minibus and bike trailer is with you and you can take part in city tours (Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius) lead by professional guides. Our driver will transport your luggage every day to the next hotel. If you have a breakdown, then our driver will take care of everything for you. If you have any problems – contact the driver or our office. To make certain that you are well looked after, we only employ people, who have good local knowledge and speak either English, or German.
TOUR INFORMATION
Tour distances: cycling ~344 km/~220 mi., by minibus ~1117 km/698 mi., by boat/ferry ~14 km/9 mi.
Cycling grade: We rate this trip as Moderate one. Daily biking routes mainly on low traffic roads and cycle paths range from 20 to 57 km (13-36 miles) each day with a possibility for faster riders to cycle more kilometres on some days like Day 2 (more detours on a circular route in Lahemaa national park), Day 3 (extra distance towards Tartu) and Day 6 (exploring Jurmala Resort). The terrain is varied and rolling with a few gradual hills on some riding days (a few steep ups and downs in Otepää region, the Gauja River valley and on the Curonian Spit) and dead flat most of the tour. The tour covers all three Baltic States and therefore it includes a few long minibus transfers between the most interesting cycling destinations and the capital cities. Our walking sightseeing tours in the capital old towns are along cobbled streets.
Arrival / Departure: Arrive in Tallinn (Estonia) and depart from Vilnius or Kaunas (100 km from Vilnius). For more information about flights, see websites:
TALLINN airport
VILNIUS airport
KAUNAS airport
