Thoughts on draft travel plan for Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Helsinki?

I travel a lot more slowly (I needed at least 9 days in each of the capital cities), so I can't help much. I'm nuts about WWII and Cold War history, and the Baltic countries have a lot of related sites, so those took up a lot of my time.

I gather you're not counting your travel days in the length of your city stays, so you'll have 2 full days in each of the capitals.

En route to Klaipeda: As I recall, the Ninth Fort has a lot of information posted. I don't remember how long I spent there, but it wasn't a quick visit. Check the website for opening hours; I remember some confusion on that score, but it worked out. I used public transportation and had a not-short walk to reach the fort. I'm not sure whether your car will get you a lot closer. I mention this since you plan an in-transit visit to the fort.
 
Tallinn: There's really not much Art Nouveau architecture in Tallinn. I wonder whether the Art Nouveau tour you mentioned is actually in Riga. There are a bunch of interesting-looking restaurants in the Rotermanni Quarter (which isn't too far from the Viru Hotel); I imagine you won't go wrong if you check the Google ratings and look at the posted menus. I enjoyed L'Orangerie (twice) and Bruxx. The Rost bakery is very good, but I don't think it opens until 8:30. Every time I walked by, it was doing a booming coffee business as well as selling pastries and savory breakfast items. Other than for food, I think you can skip the Rotermanni Quarter unless you have a unusual interest in repurposed warehouses. The area is attractive enough, but there is just so much to see in Tallinn. I'd also suggest you give the Song Festival Grounds a pass since they are outside the city core. I confess I didn't even make it out there myself.

Helsinki: Lots of nice Art Nouveau architecture here. I'd skip the Helsinki City Museum. I found it really underwhelming; much of it seemed designed mostly to appeal to children. Aside from the great architecture, there are plenty of other museums to occupy your time.

This seems to be a well thought out itinerary. We have been to many of the places you mention, albeit on 2 separate trips: one to Latvia and Lithuania and the other to Estonia and a bit of southern Finland. Our trips were by public transportation so I think in terms of a public transportation pace. I think you could do what you've outlined.

There is another open air museum in Lithuania, just off the main highway from Vilnius to Kaunas. We really enjoyed our day there (day trip from Vilnius). This would be an easy stop. We did not go to Kaunas.

I loved Nida. We were there for 2 nights and it was a highlight for me. We stopped briefly in Klaipedia (to transfer from the ferry to the train). It seemed like a very pleasant town. I would look at staying on the Curonian Spit. We saw some other nice-looking small towns on the bus on our way to Nida.

We spent 3 nights in Sigulda. I had planned on going to Cesis for the day, but we liked Sigulda. Like Nida, we found it very relaxing. The day trip across the river to the old fort was wonderful. We walked all the way there and back. It was a very nice outing, but a lot of walking.

It's a shame you don't have more time in Estonia. Tartu is a wonderful university town with a fabulous museum. I particularly liked Haapsalu on the coast, Kuressaare on Saaremaa and Narva, on the Russian border. And closer to Tallinn, I would hate for you to miss Lahemaa (loved the walk in the bogs and the manor houses and the coast). With only 12 days, you have to pick and choose.

It would be extremely easy to spend 12 days in any one of those countries.

I am having a little trouble tracking this. Do you have 12 or 13 nights?
I think, based on how many days, it’s:
Travel;
Nights 1-3 Vilnius (evening arrival and 2 full days);
Nights 4-5 Klaipeda (travel day, evening arrival, and 1 full day);
Nights 6-8 Riga (travel day, evening arrival, and 2 full days);
Nights 9-11 Tallinn (travel day and 2 full days);
Nights 12-13 Helsinki (ferry day and 1 full day);
Fly home.

This is a really fast trip. I like all the places (obviously); but in this case, I might cut Klaipeda (you don’t have lots of time and you spend a lot of driving time just to get here - and half of it backtracking the next day). Add one of those nights to Riga and the other either to stop 1 night in Tartu, mostly for the Estonian National Museum, or add a night to Tallinn. Or pick a town closer to your route.

2 full days in Vilnius will give you time for everything on your priority list (and probably a few other things) if you are moving fast.

However, driving from Vilnius to Riga squishes your time for sites along the way. So if Kaunas Fortress, Trakai Castle, Hill of Crosses, and Rundale Palace are all equally important, maybe get the car early and use 1/2 day in Vilnius to head to the 9th Fort. I think you could fit Trakai, Hill of Crosses, and Rundale all in one long day on the way to Riga, with an early start (plus already having the car). Or skip one of them.

You have a lot listed for Riga (plus moving the Art Nouveau tour here from Tallinn, as acraven said). And it’s all good. You can easily fill 3 days here, even moving quickly.

In Tallinn during your tour of the Old City, you will see Toompea Hill and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Victims of Communism Memorial, Maarjamae Palace, and Estonian Open Air Museum are all further from the city center, so will require a little extra time to get to. That is close to filling 2 full days. Then you might have an extra half day before the ferry to Helsinki for some of the other items on your list.

But with limited time and your priorities, you have to make choices and I might choose to skip the Festival Grounds, Dominican Convent 1246 Museum, Rotorman District, Telliskivi, & Baalti Jaam Market. (Personal choices.) Viru Gate is just a “walk through/past”.

It’s a great area with a lot to see so deciding what to leave out is hard!

Sometimes we forget context. If you are only able to travel once a year or once every few years, then maybe a short visit is better than no visit. At least your eyes are opened and maybe you gain insight for the next trip.

If you are gobs wealthy and travel a few times a year, then sure, spend a week in a place that you have no idea if you will enjoy, because if it doesnt work out, there is always the next trip in a few montths.

I am so grateful for your responses – thank you!

I started my travel research knowing almost nothing about the area and the more I learn, the more excited I feel about our trip. I purchased our flights yesterday, so this trip is coming together!

After reading your feedback and giving it a lot of thought, I decided to drop Klaipeda and focus our time on the capitals. That feels like the right pace given we only have 2 weeks. That allows us the following:

UPDATED ITINERARY

DAY 1: Arrive in Vilnius at 5:40pm

DAYS 2-3: Two full days in Vilnius. Maybe get our car a day early and drive to Trakai Castle and 9th Fort - Kaunas Fortress on the 2nd day.

DAY 4: One full day driving to Riga - stop along the way at LLB Open-Air Museum, Hill of Crosses, &/or Rundale Palace

DAYS 5-7: Three full days in Riga

DAY 8: One full day driving to Tallinn – stop along the way at Cesis Castle

DAYS 9-11: Three full days in Tallinn

DAY 12: Half-day ferry to Helsinki with balance of time in Tallinn (morning) or Helsinki
(afternoon)

DAY 13: One full day in Helsinki

DAY 14: Fly home to Seattle at 4:40pm

Your feedback about capital city sightseeing priorities was also very helpful. Based on your guidance, I am researching and narrowing our plans for each city. I definitely want to prioritize and leave room for some spontaneity or just to catch our breaths.

One more question (for now!) … I am looking at Gemut for car rental. Is that a car rental agency you have used? Or any recommendations for that area? We have rented and driven in Scotland, Greece, Croatia, and France, so we are comfortable behind the wheel. Very happy not to be driving on the left side of the road!

Thanks, again!

If you haven’t done so already, check out the Youtube videos by WOLTERS WORLD. he lived for a couple of years in Lithuania

Gemut, like Kemwel and AutoEurope, is a consolidator; it works with a variety of car-rental companies. Although AutoEurope is more frequently mentioned, I've seen recommendations for all three of those companies. It seems that one of the reasons AutoEurope is so popular--aside from usually offering good rates--is that it will go to bat for renters who run into a problem at the rental counter. I haven't ever rented a car in Europe, so this is not first-hand information.

Vilnius is a very pretty city with a different look from what you'll observe in Tallinn and Riga (which also differ from each other). I wouldn't want to try to cram all my Vilnius sightseeing into one day.

I think your revised itinerary looks good. It looks like you are considering 2 open air museums. We did one in Lithuania and one in Tallinn and enjoyed them both, but these were separate trips. Both had a fair amount of walking. We spent a good part of a day in each, but that really isn’t necessary. You get the idea without seeing every cluster of houses. The Hill of Crosses doesn’t take very long. Rundale takes maybe 1-2 hours. We dawdled there because we did it as a day trip from Riga, but it wasn’t a full day.

I’m not sure I should say this, but I didn’t love Trakai castle. It’s super easy to get to, by bus or train, but you can see the castle pretty quickly. We enjoyed lunch at one of the restaurants along the lake. I liked our other day trips better, to the open air museum and to the prehistoric site (can’t remember the name right now).

Hope you have a great trip. Can’t help you w the rental car.

I’m not here to add anything that will assist your planning, just to say thank you for your post as I’m just beginning to plan a 5 week trip to the Baltic States! This is so helpful. I’ve bookmarked so I can follow along.

I'm glad you decided to give Tallinn 3 days as it's full of interesting things to see--my first visit I spent 6 days, with a day trip to Helsinki by ferry, then returned a few years later for 3 days, continuing on to Riga and Vilnius for 3 days each connected by bus. You might enjoy a visit to Kadriorg Palace, short trip by tram from Old Town. I visited Rocca al Mare--the open air museum--couldn't find the bus so ended up in a taxi out there, then walked over to the zoo and did find the bus back to old town. I have Estonian heritage so enjoyed exploring it for that reason, but it's quite spread out and can easily take a good 4 hours--I believe they have bikes you can rent there. The Balti Jaama turg was a favorite, excellent food offerings and everything from handcrafts to antiques. The Vabamu Museum of Occupations was quite fascinating, a couple of blocks from Nevsky Cathedral.