One car, several cities,
hundreds of impressions

Short answer: the Baltics are compact enough to see several cities in one trip, but public transport rarely connects them in the order you want. With a private car and driver you set the route, stop where something catches your eye and never carry your luggage to a station.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are all in the Schengen area, all use the euro and share one time zone, so crossing a border feels much like entering a new region. Distances are manageable: Tallinn to Riga is about 310 km, Riga to Vilnius about 300 km. What makes a multi-city trip tiring is not the kilometres — it is the transfers between them. That is the part a driver takes off your hands. For the bigger idea behind it, read Travel without a timetable.

Five itineraries to start from

1. Tallinn – Tartu – Riga

A classic two-country route with a university town in the middle. Tallinn to Tartu is about 185 km (around 2 h 20 min); Tartu's compact old town and riverside make a good lunch stop. From there the road continues south through Valga towards Riga, which you reach by evening. A longer day, but one that shows a very different side of Estonia than the coastal Via Baltica. Prefer the coast? See Tallinn–Riga: a small adventure.

2. Riga – Sigulda – Cēsis: the Gauja valley

Gauja National Park, founded in 1973, is Latvia's oldest and largest national park. Sigulda, roughly 50 km north-east of Riga, is the gateway: Turaida Castle, sandstone cliffs and views over the river valley. Cēsis, further along the same road, has well-preserved medieval castle ruins set in a park and a charming old town. An easy day trip from Riga, or a beautiful detour on the way back to Tallinn.

3. Vilnius – Trakai – Kaunas

Trakai Island Castle sits on Lake Galvė, about 28 km west of Vilnius — one of the most photographed places in Lithuania. Kaunas, Lithuania's second city with its interwar modernist architecture, is roughly another hour by road. Three very different places in one day, ideal as part of a longer trip that begins in Tallinn. See Tallinn–Vilnius: a journey through three countries.

4. The Estonian loop: Tallinn – Haapsalu – Pärnu – Tartu

Two or three days around Estonia. Haapsalu (about 100 km from Tallinn) is the country's oldest resort town, with a 13th-century bishop's castle by the sea. Pärnu, the summer capital, has a long sandy beach and a lively old town. Tartu brings university streets and cafés before the drive back to Tallinn.

5. Narva: two fortresses on one river

About 210 km east of Tallinn, Narva's Hermann Castle stands on the Narva River directly opposite Ivangorod Fortress — the river forms the border between Estonia and Russia. It is one of the most striking views in the Baltics, and the castle houses a museum. On the way you can stop in Lahemaa National Park or at the cliffs of the north coast.

What it costs

For a multi-city trip, there are two ways to price it: full-day hire, where car and driver stay with you all day, or a fixed route price. For itineraries over several days, we quote the whole trip in advance as one price.

Prices per vehicle; route prices are one way. Other routes — Pärnu, Haapsalu, Narva — and larger vehicles are on our pricing page.

Planning tips

• Do not overfill the days. Four to five hours of driving plus two or three stops is a comfortable day; more than that and the trip becomes a commute.
• Start the long legs early. You arrive with daylight and energy left for the evening.
• Carry a passport or ID card. There are no routine border checks within Schengen, but temporary checks can happen.
• Send us the rough plan. Cities, dates and what you want to see — we help with the order, timing and the right vehicle.