If you, like I, booked one week in the Baltics ambitiously thinking that it’d be enough time to visit Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, small villages along the way, and heck, perhaps even take that party ferry to Helsinki… allow me to spoil it for you.
You can’t.
You can’t do it in a way that’d do any of those wonderful places justice. My final destinations included only Tallinn and Riga, and we still wanted more time to explore each! Luckily, I came across this Tallinn to Riga tour by the Travellers as I was mapping out our itinerary. Price- and time-wise, the tour would be more than a direct bus, although not by much. However, we’d have a private van, access to insider knowledge and, best of all, the chance to get acquainted with more than the capital cities. Sold!
Tallinn to Riga: Tallinn to Riga Sightseeing Tour Bus
Riga to Tallinn: Riga to Tallinn Sightseeing Tour Bus
LuxExpress: the bus that we took from Riga back to Tallinn, which was great for a more straightforward option. Free WiFi and super clean!
Cassandra and I shared the passenger bench next to Andres, our humorous tour guide. This worked out perfectly for us because we could interrogate him relentlessly on growing up in Estonia, its USSR past, and his favorite local bars. Truly, we learned more about Estonians and Tallinn life from his stories and observations than anything else.
Although the tour can accommodate up to 8 people, we lucked out with only two others joining – a #goals couple rendezvousing all over the world. This made for an incredibly bespoke day. It meant we could take our time at places we loved, skip others entirely, and really get to know both Andres and our fellow passengers.
Viljandi, Estonia
Our first stop was Viljandi, a serene, romantic little town blanketed with a layer of fresh snow.
All was calm,
until our group passed this contraption:
Whatever could it be?
Andres glanced at us in disbelief.
“It’s only your average village swing…”
I’m sorry, what?
A Village Swing™ is just that: a delightful swing upon which an entire village (well, a tiny village) can hop on and be merry. Townsfolk line up on the parallel slats of wood, and then push back and forth as one. Have you heard of anything more quaint?! Some inebriated folks will even play a game of chicken sometimes and make the whole thing go 360. See it here in action.
We insisted on giving it a try. Andres directed us to hop onto either side of the swing, and then gave us a hefty push. It was quite a thrilling five minutes! Then, our boots started slipping on the icy wood and our hands became numb from clutching onto the handrail. I now consider this to be at the very top of my “things I never knew I had to know” list.
Andres urged us onward. This crumbling stage was the dramatic backdrop of the most idyllic scene of a group of schoolchildren having an epic snowball fight with their teachers. They shrieked and laughed as we walked past and waved at them, threatening to pelt us with snowballs. It was like living in the credits scene of a Hallmark holiday movie.
Can’t you imagine the most breathtaking winter wedding here?
Before moving on, we admired this beautiful church whose bells chimed captivatingly in the silence of the town. We also visited an outdoor amphitheater; here, Andres told us about the longstanding tradition of folk music, and how important singing is to the Estonian culture and history. Music is ultimately how Estonians maintained their cultural identity through decades of occupation.
And back on the road!
Valga, Estonia
After Viljandi, our next stop was Valga, a non-descript town on the border of Latvia. Literally. As in, Andres pointed across the street at some marked signs (no border agents! no customs! no gate or fence even!) and said, there’s Latvia!
In Valga, our main stop was a military museum, which was probably the oddest museum I’ve ever visited. The exterior resembled a small office building with rusty tanks parked outside. Rooms are filled with creepy wax figures, guns and other weapons, and general wartime paraphernalia. Although the museum itself was interesting, Andres’s stories and personal insights were much more meaningful.
After crossing the border into Latvia, there were two more stops left on our roadtrip.
Cesis and Sigulda, Latvia
The first was the medieval Old Town of Cesis. My goodness, this was a hauntingly gorgeous place. Granted, we arrived at dusk, so the velvety darkness lended the town a bit more of an edge than I imagine it’d have in the light of day. On top of that, our agenda consisted of peering at the outskirts of an old, gothic church while flocks of birds circled overhead squawking throughout the night, and then walking around a motionless lake, and then checking out ancient castle ruins… So, you get the vibe, don’t you? Don’t get me wrong, Cesis is BEAUTIFUL, but also *shivers slightly* *and not just because it was cold.*
Finally! One last stop! A pitstop, really.
In Sigulda, we climbed atop a Soviet era bobsleigh and luge track, which on a brighter day and if we were braver humans, we might’ve attempted to give a go. Alas, this time – a peek was all that we needed to satisfy our curiosity. Then, back to the van and towards Riga we went.
Andres dropped off us at Riga’s city center, which welcomed us with brisk winds that chilled us to our bones. We beelined for a warm, cozy coffee shop on the corner. Here, we were properly introduced to the Latvian equivalent of Irish coffees, made with black balsam rather than whisky. Priorities!
If you’re planning on visiting both Tallinn and Riga, I highly recommend this one-day tour (not sponsored). Truly, I don’t think I’d have left Estonia with half as much of an understanding of its history, culture, and quirks without the conversations we had with Andres. His pointers and insights helped us navigate Tallinn and interact with Estonians so much easier when we returned after our brief Riga visit. And also!! How else would we have known about village swings!
To read about our Riga adventures and recommendations, check out this post!
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