My friend and I would like to begin in Talinn, after visiting Moscow and St. Petersberg, and continue on to Riga, Vilnius, Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow, Prague and Berlin. It's ambitious and we could look at deleting but would really like to include it all. Not sure about the routing either: Vilnius to Warsaw and then Gdansk, Berlin, Prague, eliminating Krakow? Vilnius to Gdansk, then Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, Berlin? In looking at transportation (busses, trains mostly) some distances are many hours. Flying is a possibility but we'd like to see the country from the ground not the air. But, do we trade that for more time at the location? Really need some direction from those who have done it or are locals. After Berlin (or Prague) it's on to Venice and Verona before leaving from Milan. Air to and from set. Many thanks!
Posted by
41 posts
We did a similar itinerary this past summer. We traveled from St. Petersburg to Tallinn on LuxExpress. Very nice bus, complete with water and coffee maker. We picked up an inexpensive Gate1 bus tour to travel from Tallinn to Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw and Krakow, 2 days in each city. Take a look at their website to get some ideas. Then a Polski bus to Budapest. Budapest to Prague via a river cruise, but you could also bus that. It was a nice trip, and I was glad we did a lot of it by bus. It gives you an idea of the terrain and helps you remember the geography. Gdansk and Berlin are the only places we didn't go. Don't skip Krakow. Warsaw is pretty soulless because of WWII destruction, but Krakow is intact. It has so much music, history and beautiful buildings to offer. as well as a strong holocaust history. We spent 4 days in that area.
Posted by
41 posts
We did a similar itinerary this past summer. We traveled from St. Petersburg to Tallinn on LuxExpress. Very nice bus, complete with water and coffee maker. We picked up an inexpensive Gate1 bus tour to travel from Tallinn to Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw and Krakow, 2 days in each city. Take a look at their website to get some ideas. Then a Polski bus to Budapest. Budapest to Prague via a river cruise, but you could also bus that. It was a nice trip, and I was glad we did a lot of it by bus. It gives you an idea of the terrain and helps you remember the geography. Gdansk and Berlin are the only places we didn't go. Don't skip Krakow. Warsaw is pretty soulless because of WWII destruction, but Krakow is intact. It has so much music, history and beautiful buildings to offer. as well as a strong holocaust experience. We spent 4 days in that area.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Thanks to acraven and Traveller for taking the time to respond. Very helpful information which I plan on taking into serious consideration!
Posted by
San Francisco
14809 posts
Hi,
I would not recommend skipping Warsaw, true the city was obliterated in 1944, while Krakow escaped intact. If you have the time, see both Krakow and Warsaw. Warsaw was my first introduction into Poland, Krakow 2nd. I am glad I did it that way. Use both the bus and the trains.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15773 posts
rome2rio.com is a great place to start to find transportation options from city to city.
I count 7 cities between St.P and Berlin. 20 days for 7 cities gives you about 2 days in each and a lot of travel time, with multiple languages and currencies (more orientation time in each new city). And that's if Berlin isn't included in the 20 days. I've been to Tallinn (a gem) and am looking forward to visiting Poland later this year. If it were me, I'd consider slowing down, flying from Tallinn to Gdansk, and skipping Riga and Vilnius - but I haven't researched them, just have a vague sense from others that there's not as much to see there.