I hope it is ok i am asking this qustion in the Estonia. I am trying to plan my upcoming special 10th anniversary trip with my wife. We are in our late 30s in good health and are looking forward to exploring the history of Estonia, Latvia and St. Petersburg. We most like culture and manors and castles. We plan to spend one day in Estonia (Old Town), one day in Latvia (Riga) and three days in St. Petersburg. We have an extra day to allocate- my thought was either in Estonia- outside of Old Town or in Latvia outside of Riga. I am hoping people would have experienced both and can give their viewpoints. Thanks so much- what a great community of travelers!
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2688 posts
I've only been to Estonia--spent a full week there since it's a heritage country for me--and you can certainly see Old Town and Kadriorg palace in one day, but if you decide you want to venture outside Tallinn I heartily recommend taking a tour with EstAdventures http://estadventures.ee/tours/day-tours/ --they do small groups (I was there in mid-Sept and small meant me and another couple one day and just me and the owner another, and he took me to a great knitting shop as a personal favour). They offer several walking and half and full-day tours, I took one to Lahemaa National Park and to the countryside for tours of manor houses, another to the western area of Haapsalu, all very interesting and great to see the beautiful area outside Tallinn. The owner is an ex-pat from Australia who married an Estonian girl, and the tours are highly rated and a good value for the price.
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1923 posts
Of the three locations you are visiting, I too have only been to Tallinn. I was there for most of two days (arrived on overnight ferry early morning, spent one night, and departed by ferry at 6pm the next day). That was barely enough time to see everything I wanted to see in Tallinn. I saw Kadriorg Palace from the outside but didn't have time to go in. I also went to Kumu Art Museum (specializing in Estonian art from the 19th - 21st centuries) and loved both the building architecture and the collection. I also recommend visiting the Song Festival Grounds (and before you go, read about the singing revolution and consider watching this movie: http://www.singingrevolution.com/cgi-local/content.cgi). So I think spending two days in Tallinn would be easy and worthwhile. Hopefully you can find someone to reply who can talk about what to do with a second day in Latvia.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you all so helpful!