The three Baltic states have become the top destination for European travel breaks. With similar, but still diverse cultures, alive ancient traditions and new economies, the Baltic states are must visit for those who seek unique impressions and pristine experiences.

Bearing in mind the fact that travel outside of the capitals – Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius might be difficult based on the shortage of communication possibilities and information signs in English, the Baltic countries are the best to be discovered by organized tailor-made private tour.  For those who prefer to discover the Baltics on their own, useful will be information about how to travel between the Baltic states.

Traveling between Baltic capitals

The most frequently asked question by travelers is regarding train connections between Baltic countries.  Travelers from West Europe and other countries expect to have fast train connections between all three capitals, which is a misleading opinion. There isn`t direct train connection neither fast trains.

While the most part of European countries use the track width of 1435 mm and have fast trains with speed from 250 – 300 km/h, all three Baltic countries still use the rail width of 1520 and train speed up to 90 km/h that was built according to standards of Soviet Union. This is the reason why the current Baltic railway network cannot be connected to Europe.

In a couple of years, the situation promises to improve by Rail Baltica project with a goal to connect Tallinn – Riga – Kaunas – Warsaw-Berlin and in few years time and integrate Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in the European railway network.

The whole project is in progress and real building works will start in 2020 and to open the connection Tallinn – Riga – Kaunas already in 2025. The maximum speed for passenger trains is planned to be 240 km/h and the train trip between Tallinn and Lithuania/Poland border is estimated to be around 4 hours.

While waiting for the Rail Baltica project acquires physical proportions, there are two alternatives: coach traffic by Lux Express and Simple Express buses and well-scheduled flights by local airline company AirBaltic.

Lux Express coaches departure from Riga towards Tallinn 9 times per day and from Riga towards Vilnius 8 times per day during high season from May till the end of September. Simple Express buses departure 2 times per day in route Riga – Tallinn and 3 times in route Riga – Vilnius. The difference between both types of coaches is in comfort level of traveling. Simple Express ensures quality new buses by basic comfort –  WC, Free WiFi, power supply by each seat pair (220 V) and climate conditioner while Lux Express supplies extra with individual touchscreen media systems (videos, music, games, Internet) and hot drinks. As Riga is located geographically right in the middle between Baltic states, traveling time from Riga to Vilnius or vice versa is 295 km and 4 hours, while Riga – Tallinn or vice versa 309 km and 4 hours 25 minutes. Ticket prices start from 16 EUR for Lux Express, while as low as from 8 EUR for Simple Express coaches.

Local airline company AirBaltic is a great alternative for business travelers and those who save the time. From Riga to Tallinn, the same as from Riga to Vilnius there is short 50 minutes flight, but Vilnius – Tallinn or vice versa is 1 hour 20 minutes long flight. Ticket prices from Riga to Tallinn and Vilnius starting from 50 EUR and flights are 5 times per day. Flight between Tallinn – Vilnius or vice versa is possible 2 times per day and ticket prices start from 65 EUR.

Despite the good public transportation network between Baltic capitals, the private transfer is still one of those services to consider. While scheduled buses will take travelers from one destination to another with 1-2 stops in between, private transfer is excellent option for those who would like to discover some of the most visited sights in the Baltics like Hill of Crosses, Rundale Palace, Sigulda and Turaida Castle, which are located conveniently on the way between Lithuania and Latvia and Estonia and are easy to discover by private transfer stopover in these spots.

Traveling between the local cities

For travel between the local cities, there is a choice between train or coaches. Quality of train travel on some routes are improved like it is between routes Tallinn – Valga, Tallinn – Tartu, and Vilnius – Klaipeda where is option to travel in modern train compartment, while the speed of the train still will be not more than 90-120 km/ hour, which makes the travel time nearly the same as if traveling by car.

The quality of local coaches between the cities is quite different and depends on the route. From Tallinn to the largest cities in Estonia like Tartu and Parnu is available already mentioned Lux Express coaches with top quality, while in other routes between local cities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania services are divided between different service providers and quality of the coaches might vary.

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