Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania vacation

Planet

Accommodation and Meals:
You will spend 11 nights in locally run hotels, all in good locations and some with sustainability certification (Konventa Seta in Riga). The hotels use locally produced ingredients wherever possible for breakfast and picnic meals- this is usually a combination of fresh bread, cheeses, meats, fruit and vegetables. Where meals are provided, the food will often be typical of the region; however we do encourage clients to use authentic, small restaurants and cafes as well. Your guide will be able to recommend or take you to some traditional restaurants, selling sauerkraut, borsch, veal and fish dishes. If there is time, we recommend the impressive market in Riga.

Activity:
Much of this trip is spent sightseeing towns and cities or exploring National Parks where we operate with a strict ‘leave no trace’ policy. When we do use motor transport we ensure that it is always proportionate to our small group size and never excessive. By visiting Laheema N. P. and Gauja N.P. on this trip, we contribute a portion of our entrance fees to conservation efforts in these areas. We have also volunteered in the Curonian Spit National Park doing conservation activities in order to protect the environment we see encounter on this trip.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Local Craft and Culture:
We are enthusiastic about exploring the culture of each of the three countries on our route. There are several cultural stops on the trip, like Toompea Palace and castle, Turaida castle, Plokstine Cold War Museum, the Monastery of Pazaislis, the Hill of Crosses and Trakai castle. All of these sites and surrounding communities benefit from profits generated by entrance fees and souvenirs sold. There are a wide range of local handicrafts available for purchase during the trip including amber jewellery, hand knitted accessories and wooden toys. Clients can also locally produced specialties such as smoked fish on the Curonian Spit, honey and rye bread in Latvia or kama (milky drink made from grains) in Estonia.

A Fair Deal:
All of our guides are local to the Baltics and in exchange for their insider’s knowledge and passion for the area, we ensure they are paid and treated fairly. You will also find that those working in the hotels and museums are locals as it is a natural requirement for those in the tourist industry to speak all three Baltic languages. Our support of locally staffed businesses helps to provide alternative employment opportunities in areas which are sometimes quite rural. The economy and local community therefore benefits.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 20 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.