Travel to Lithuania ,Latvia and Estonia

[BB02TON]

Hi we are intending to travel to the Baltic States in May and June and wondered if any members have been there ? Is it ok to wild camp ? What are the road like? Etc. We have a large tag axle Motorhome Any information would be greatlY appreciated. Many Thanks

 

[rottiontour]

Hi, last year we were in Poland and Lithuania for 8 weeks in July and August. And coming spring and summer we will go back to the Baltics to see it all. It became our favorite region.
We never had a bad incident and the more you come to the northeast the more interesting and lonely it is.
We didn´t wildcamp cause it was so warm partially, that we needed electricity for the airco because of the dog :lol-053:. And we were the first time in LT so we preferred to use initially organized sites to stay overnight and to get used to the country and the national customs.

But we learnt during that time, that there are many places which are hidden in a forest or at a beach where it is absolutely no problem to stay overnight. There are loads of, you simply must find them.
So this year we will do wilding without bad feelings and use organized sites too for resupply.

Concerning the roads it depends on your own point of view. I have a 7 meter "normal" mh and for me there is no reason at all to avoid this area. The main and secondary roads are mainly not in a "western condition" (whatever that means) but they are quite ok and well usable. Small roads are often gravel roads, but usable too. Sometimes it is simply a question of speed.
Before we did the tour i had some bad feelings about the roads too, but after the tour it is not longer a problem for me, i even don´t think about the so called "road conditions" any more.

As i said, once having seen whole Poland and Lithuania, we will enjoy to travel again some weeks or months to see all of the Baltics, it is a wonderful clean and natural area , not many tourists and very lonely regions.

Regards
Bernd

 

[torwood]

In May 2010 we drove from Scotland to Calais to Hamburg to Copenhagen to Stockholm To Helsinki then Tallinn.

The Via Baltica running from Lithuania to Tallinn in Estonia is a good road. Polish Roads were a nightmare, potholed and tracked, among the worst we have come across.

We sometimes used secure hotel car parks for a fee on the outskirts of Krakov and Riga. We used a campsite in the Trakai area of Lithuania and took the bus from there into Vilnius, a secure car park in Kaunas had facilities and Wi-Fi and we cycled into and around the city from there. Off the beaten tracks there are many quiet spots. In CZ wild camping is not allowed, but when we asked at a tourist office in one area we were told the police would not trouble us as it was a quiet time of year we were travelling.

Lorry parks in Poland were also used and often we parked in sight of CCTV and used the Wi-Fi freely available. We also overnighted at Auschwitz before crossing into the Czech Republic, the car park had electric hookups at most lamp posts! After Prague we went to Karlovy Vary on to Bavaria and home!

For the Baltic States a grasp or command of German or Russian will help you get by, and many younger people speak English. In CZ we ended up translating for a French couple who spoke nothing else and the locals only admitted to German!

give it a go, be adventurous!

 

[BB02TON]

Thanks for the info

Thanks for the replys was a bit worried about going there but the tourist info books make it sound so interesting and my son's partner lives in Narva in Estonia . They go backwards and forwards all the time and Anna and her mother keep inviting me to go to see where they live, so I said I would come in my camper. Don't think they thought I would but the more I think of it the more exciting it seems . It looks like the beaches and campsites all along the Lithuanian and Latvian Coast are lovely and I m told Tallinn is wonderful so we are going to take the plunge setting off hopefully on 10th May ( would like to go before but have a wedding to attend on the 9th --so wish me luck --

 

[torwood]

Worth bearing in mind that it will still be cold in that area, we left Helsinki in the snow and when we stopped along the Via Baltica admiring the ocean and beaches my wife through her arms wide and shouted 'It's Baltic!!' For a very good reason, it was bitter cold, but on the other hand we have seen some lovely dry and bright days there!

 

[rottiontour]

Hi,

understood you want to do wilding, but in case you need some support on campsites, look at this:

http://www.camping-estonia.ee/

Latvijas kempingi un atp

Kempingai Lietuvoje - Kemping? katalogas

Polska Federacja Campingu i Caravaningu - zaprasza

may be you know already.

All maps and guides are excellent. You can get them on the mentioned sites or order them in advance.
And most of the places have a good standard and the price is ok.

E.g. our last stay in PL was on Eurocamping in Suwalki.....excellent place.
And our first stay in LT was on campinn Kaunas, as well a nice place to visit Kaunas and get a first impression with the bikes. As well we got there a combined baltic camp site map with all places on it for free.

Go for it, we will do as well in spring, cause the more eastern you go the more free you are. And it was amazing for me.....we did NOT leave Europe!!!

Bernd