Baltics Trip

Three weeks across Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

Published 09/08/25

Having received my deposit back for last year's uni accommodation, I naturally booked a trip to Eastern Europe. I had been watching a few videos about Riga/Latvia of late, and felt a desire to return after a few years. So, I rented an Airbnb for two weeks in the city centre and used it as a base for exploring the region. Of particular interest to me was visiting the KGB Corner House Museum and Agenskalns Market, neither of which I was able to visit on my first trip to Riga.

The KGB Museum did not disappoint. They offer multiple guided tours every day, with a nice student discount. A very funny older man showed me around the building which once housed the KGB's operations in Latvia. It's quite a dark experience as many political dissidents were imprisoned or executed in this very place, but its very informative and I recommend the museum to all who visit Riga.

Something you may not know about Riga is that it is home to the largest indoor market on the European continent; the Central Market just behind the city's main bus station. Still somewhat remniscient of the Soviet era, this place is absolutely bustling, and while it has become popular with tourists, its still a place where actual locals go to buy and sell all kinds of produce, from food to clothes. Some of my personal recommendations for this market are:

• Siļķītes un Dillītes for fish solyanka
• Šašliks Uzbeku, an Uzbek cafe in the outside area serving plov, lagman and other Central Asian dishes
• Registan - Uzbek bakery offering plov in samsas
• Rizhsky Samogon - local honey brandy
• Labietis - good, reasonably priced craft beer
• Milti un Gala - Ukrainian vareniki, pancakes and more

Meanwhile, the Agenskalns Market, which is more of a strictly local affair, has two businesses that I wholeheartedly recommend:

• Hačapurija - Georgian cuisine
• Marmelāde - very chill bar

From Riga, you can embark on some great day trips. I chose to visit Kemeri National Park, Sigulda and Cesis. Train tickets in Latvia are very affordable and can easily be purchased at vivi.lv. The Baltics sometimes feel like one giant village - I met a guy on a hike in Kemeri, who I later met again at random in Cesis, a full 130km away.

Aside from day trips within Latvia, it is worth noting that Riga is closer to the Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania than Vilnius is. This makes it another day trip option. Unfortunately, there are pretty much no reliable public transport options for this if you want to self-organise it, but there are several companies that offer day tours down there from Riga for under £30. I booked this one via GetYourGuide, and can recommend it. Day tours like that can also be a good way to meet likeminded travellers.

After a couple of weeks in Riga, I headed up to Tartu for my first ever visit to Estonia. I travelled via Flixbus because it was a very cheap option, but fair warning, this can be rough in the summer as the AC is practically non-existent and the windows do not open. However, its still a lifesaver if you're travelling on a budget, as I was, due to not receiving student maintenance loan payments over the summer.

Tartu is Estonia's second city, but its arguably more of an Estonian cultural centre than Tallinn, which I skipped on this occasion as accommodation there is on the expensive side at this time of year. It is home to the Estonian National Museum, which has become one of my favourite museums. It's massive, and I particularly appreciate the exhibit on Finno-Ugric languages and cultures. I've long believed that the numerous minority demographics within the Russian Federation are underrepresented, and its nice to see Estonia doing something to help rectify that when the state these minorities are actually part of cares so little about them. Really, the only thing I dislike about Estonia is that its considerably more expensive than its other Baltic neighbours!

After chilling in Tartu for a couple of days (and trying several local beers at Pühaste Kelder!) I caught another bus, this time up to the city of Narva. 90% of this city's residents are ethnic Russians, and Russian is the native language of almost everyone there. What makes Narva really interesting is the river bank offers an incredibly clear view of the town of Ivangorod, in Russia. This makes it feel like the primary site of today's iron curtain - on one side, a democratic EU member state. On the other side, a dictatorship currently invading and occupying a European country.

I stayed in Narva for a few days. Despite the obvious geopolitical tensions, I found it to be a peaceful, sleepy little town. I particularly enjoyed having a pint while facing Russia, a country I would still like to explore one day, but certainly not while it pursues its current imperialist ambitions. The people of Narva are a friendly bunch, and there was something very sad about witnessing fishermen on either side of the river wave at each other, with no way of communicating further. The older generation here grew up with no border checkpoints between the two cities, yet today it is more securitised than ever. I can only hope that the situation improves in the coming years.

Back in Tartu, I enjoyed a few more local beers and vibed to some very cool and talented street performances. It's a student city, so the population is quite young and socially liberal, which makes it feel like a nice, accepting place. Estonia is a pretty locked in country, being the only post-Soviet state to legalise marriage equality so far. I definitely think it would make a good first trip to Eastern Europe for anyone curious.

Overall, I had a great experience in the Baltics. They're well developed countries at this point with good public services and lots of cool innovative attractions. There are still lots of Russian speakers in all three countries, which allowed me to get some good practice in. However, most young people also speak a very good standard of English. I wouldn't recommend the Baltics as a budget destination - I found all three countries to be more expensive than Poland, probably because of the difference between the euro and the złoty - but they are all worthwhile. Riga and Tartu are particularly awesome cities, and the entire region is full of endless forest that is excellent for long walks. I will be back!