"A Whirlwind Tour of the Baltic Capitals and Beyond"

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, I realized that I haven’t shared a post here in the community for quite some time. I had major issues with my laptop, and due to my limited tech skills, I was never able to post from my smartphone. Fortunately, I’ve just bought a new computer, so I’ll finally be able to resume posting my updates.
During this time, I’ve done a lot, but I’d like to start by sharing a trip that I found truly overwhelming. It was certainly not suited for those who want a relaxing vacation, but it was all thanks to my cousin, who organized a whirlwind tour from July 12 to 20, covering the Baltic capitals as well as Stockholm and Helsinki.

Let’s just say that nine days and eight nights made for a pretty tight schedule. Perhaps a few more days would have allowed us to explore more leisurely. Nonetheless, I was very satisfied with the trip because I had long wanted to see the Baltic capitals, which many people had told me were very beautiful and charming.
In this post, I’ll share some of the photos I took almost randomly, explain a bit about the itinerary and the transportation we used, and I must say that I was also pleased from an economic perspective. I honestly expected it to be much more expensive, given that this part of Northern Europe is quite pricey.

We flew from Treviso to Vilnius, arriving at a decent time around eight in the morning, which allowed us to reach this beautiful capital in just a few hours and very comfortably. Unfortunately, there are few flights from Italy to the Baltic regions, so you have to adapt a bit. After a quick tour of Vilnius, we took a sort of Flixbus, which offered free water and coffee, for a four-hour ride to Riga. Honestly, it was a very comfortable journey, much better than I had anticipated. I’ve had bad experiences with bus travel before, but sometimes it’s the most economical way to get around.

After exploring Riga a bit, we flew to Stockholm. Thanks to the time zone difference, it felt almost like we were teleported to Stockholm. From there, we took the ultra-fast Arlanda Express, which got us to the central station in 15 minutes. We explored Stockholm as well; I would have liked more time to visit some museums, but it was very interesting to walk around and see the architecture of the city. The weather was perfect and mild, making it great for walking, which is why I always try to avoid choosing destinations that are too far south in the summer.

On July 17 at 4 PM, we took a ferry to Helsinki, arriving at 9:00 the next morning. The trip was beautiful, sailing through the Swedish archipelagos on a Viking Line ship. Of course, the prices can be quite high depending on the cabin you choose.

Once in Helsinki, we took a nice city tour. I had already seen Helsinki a few years ago in winter, but I think it’s better to visit in summer when the days are much longer and there is more light.

Finally, our last transfer was from Helsinki to Tallinn, which took about two hours by ferry. This was also a lovely journey. After visiting Tallinn, which I must admit I liked much more than the other cities on this trip—especially the medieval part—we waited until July 20 for our return flight to Treviso, this time at a less ideal time of 8 PM.

In conclusion, my cousin did a great job organizing the transfers and finding strategic locations with luggage storage, even though we only had one backpack each and opted for a more minimalist approach.

I hope you found my story interesting. I’ve shared some photos I took, but more than anything, I wanted to tell you how I organized the trip. See you in the next post! Kisses