Wednesday 20th August – Vilnius, Lithuania

Morning

• Arrive at your own leisure into Vilnius – the capital city of Lithuania is well connected with many European countries. Self-transfer to our centrally located hotel or join us directly from our Belarus: Back in the USSR trip taking place before this tour.
• Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of our hotel at 9:00am to discuss the tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• We’ll head out to explore Vilnius communist era architecture. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Lithuanians wanted to discard the reminders of their occupiers. However, there are a number of beautiful brutalist architecture located around the capital which you can appreciate.
• We grab a coffee along our communist architecture era walking tour.

Afternoon

• Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights -Informally known as the KGB museum. The building was the headquarters for the Gestapo during Nazi occupation, then KGB HQ after WWII. Over 1000 dissidents were executed by the KGB in the basement.
• We’ll head out to dinner in Vilnius to our favourite restaurant, serving traditional cuisines. We recommend trying the boiled pigs ears with peas and zeppelin. There are plenty of vegetarian dishes also.
• Once we’re ready, we’ll head to old town for some refreshing locally brewed beers.
• Overnight stay in Vilnius.

Thursday 21st August – Vilnius

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel and we’ll depart at 8:00am.
• We’ll take the scenic journey towards the Belarusian border. We’ll make stops along the way to stretch our legs and enjoy the heavily forested scenery.
• Once we reach Grūtas Park, unofficially known as Stalin’s World – we’ll have time to explore the grounds. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many former republics destroyed/sold their Soviet era monuments. However, one businessman decided to save the monuments in Lithuania. There are only 3 Soviet monument parks in the European Union, with thisone being the largest.
• After exploring the park, museum and zoo we’ll meet up in the café for lunch. Before we leave, we’ll get an epic group picture in front of the Monument to Soviet Partisans and Underground Workers!

Afternoon

• Return to Vilnius making necessary rests stops along the way.
• On arrival we’ll explore old town and micro nation Užupis which means “beyond the river” in Lithuanian. The district declared itself an independent republic (The Republic of Užupis) in 1998. You can request for your passport to be stamped the coat of arms of the republic here.
• Continuing exploring the city where you may purchase gifts at the markets and capture some pictures around old town.
• We’ll make our way to the Old Town for evening dinner and drinks.
• Overnight stay in Vilnius.

Friday 22nd August – Vilnius – Kaunas – Riga, Latvia

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel, check out and depart at 8:00am.
• We start our journey heading to Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania and arguably the most beautiful. We’ll make stops along the way to pick up supplies.
• On our arrival we’ll head to the Ninth Fort memorial. This powerful memorial is dedicated to the 45,000 Jews massacred at this site during the Nazi Germany occupation.
• Onwards to Riga, we’ll make a couple of stops to stretch our legs and enjoy the natural scenery.
• Next, we’ll visit the Hill of Crosses – a pilgrimage site since 1831. The site gained more purpose during the Soviet occupation as a symbol of independence resulting to it being destroyed a number of times. However, Lithuanians kept placing crosses on the hill as a move to defy the Soviets. Today, there’s over 100,000 crosses, with pilgrims coming from all over the world.

Afternoon

• Continue our way to Riga, stopping for lunch on the way, We recommend trying solyanka, a delicious Eastern European soup severed with rye bread.
• On our arrival to Riga, we’ll check into our hotel. We’ll have time to relax and freshen up before we head out.
• Explore Riga old town and UNESCO World Heritage, seeing the House of Blackheads, and the Rifleman monument. Only recently the Monument dedicated to the Soviet liberators was taken down, we’ll head there to see the remains of the huge memorial complex. We’ll continue exploring Riga heading in the direction of Cathedral Square where we’ll see Latvijas Radio (Latvia Radio Station), which is always a great spot to have a beer.
• For dinner, we’ll visit our favourite restaurant which serves amazing Latvian cuisines with locally brewed beers. Here you can sample the traditional black pudding with sauerkraut accompanied by a porter. There are plenty of vegetarian dishes also. For those wishing to stay out, Cathedral Square has excellent choices for bars.
• Overnight stay in Riga.

Saturday 23rd August – Riga – Salaspils – Liepaja

Morning 

• Breakfast at hotel, check out of hotel and depart at 8:00am.
• We’ll leave Riga and head towards Salaspils camp commonly referred to as camp Kurtenhof by the Germans. During Nazi occupation the camp was held prisoners without trial. Up to 12,000 inhabitants faced forced labour and starvation while 2000 died due to the conditions. You’ll have sometime to explore the camp, it’s still a painful site for many Latvians and Russians, due to the treatment of children.
• Continue onwards to Liepaja – a charming city on the Baltic coast. We’ll take a break along the drive for lunch.

Afternoon

• Visit Karosta prison – here you’ll be met by a local guide dressed as KGB officer. The prison was originally built to be an infirmary but ended up playing a much darker role as it was used as a military prison by both the Nazis and Soviets. Labelled as ‘’one of the most haunted places on earth”, within these walls hundreds of Latvians were detained, sent to solitary confinement, tortured and shot dead.
• After the hard-hitting tour, we’ll head back to Liepaja, and on our arrival we’ll check into our hotel. We’ll have some time to relax and freshen up or simply enjoy a cool beer.
• Once we’re ready we’ll head into the historical part of town to our local restaurant, which serves great dishes and cold drinks! For those inclined for a few more refreshments, this is the perfect place.
• Overnight stay in Liepaja.

Sunday 24th August – Liepaja – Irbene – Riga 

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel, check out and depart.
• We’ll head to the naval base of Liepaja – this city became a top-secret area completely closed to outsiders and commercial maritime traffic. This was where the Soviets built their vital Baltic naval base stocked with nuclear weapons. A total of 26,000 Soviet military staff were based here which made up more than a third of the city’s population. We’ll explore the former Soviet bunkers and remains of the submarine compounds.
• We’ll next visits one of the most epic Soviet military sites in the Baltics, RT-32. The former Soviet radio installation was known as Zvezdochka which means “Little Star”. Its purpose was to listen in on Western communication. Still functioning we’ll have a private tour of the facility and area including the underground tunnels.
• Before we leave the radio centre, we’ll visit a huge Yuri Gagarin monument. An amazing tribute to the first man in space! A perfect opportunity for an epic group photo!

Afternoon

• We’ll start making our way return to Riga and along the way stopping for lunch.
• Late arrival into Riga. Check into our hotel. Before heading out for the evening you’ll hear a story about the famous Black Cat of Riga and have some interesting Soviet relics in old town pointed out to you.
• After a busy day, we’ll head to a local restaurant for some delicious Latvian food and a few drinks. We recommend trying the Kartupeļu pankūkas – potatoes pancakes with the various side dishes to choose from.
• Overnight stay in Riga.

Monday 25th August – Riga – Ligatna – Tartu, Estonia

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel, check out and depart at 8:30am.
• We’ll take a road trip to Ligatna, along the scenic journey we’ll take breaks to stretch our legs and pick up supplies.
• Ligatne Bunker, built during the Cold War when the Soviet Union maintained constant high alert for a Western nuclear attack. Built under a sanatorium for discretion, it was designed to protect the Communist elite of Latvia in the event of nuclear apocalypse. The bunker was supplied with everything necessary to survive several months after a nuclear fallout.
• We’ll descend deep underground and enter through a blast proof door to privately explore the entire bunker system with a local expert.
• The Soviets left this bunker in a hurry so all of the interior is completely original, from the government phones with a direct line to Moscow to military canteen with peeling propaganda posters on the wall.
• After a few hours in the bunker complex, we’ll ascend to ground level and enjoy lunch at the sanatoriums Soviet style canteen with great food.

Afternoon

• Once we’re ready, we’ll start heading to Tartu. Along the way, we’ll stop at Zeltini, a secret nuclear missile base. The top-secret facilities housed ballistic missiles ready to attack the West when ordered. We’ll also find the second largest Lenin head in the world!
• We’ll continue our journey to beautiful city Tartu, the second largest in Estonia. Once we arrive, we’ll check in and head straight out to make the most of the evening.
• Tartu is packed full of restaurants and bars. We’ll head to a local establishment for dinner and a few drinks.
• Overnight stay in Tartu.

Tuesday 26th August – Tartu – Narva – Tallinn

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel and depart towards the Russian border at 8:00am. Our road trip will be along the Eastern border of Estonia, neighbouring Russia. We’ll be passing dense woodlands, hopefully we’ll see some wildlife along the way. The highway we’ll travel on towards Moscow was built during the 1980 Moscow Olympics to ease congestion.
• On arrival to Narva, we’ll explore the castle and peer over Russia. This is where the West meets Russia. The region has a high population of Russian speakers. Since the Ukrainian invasion many Soviet relics have been removed including a Lenin statue and T-34 tank memorial. It still remains a sensitive subject.
• Before we set off, we’ll have lunch in Narva and enjoy our surroundings.

Afternoon

• We’ll start making our way to Tallinn, along the way we’ll visit Sillamäe, a city which didn’t appear on maps until the collapse of the Soviet Union. The city famous for its Stalinist architecture and uranium mining.
• Once we’re ready we’ll head to Viivikonna, an abandoned village. We’ll explore the area and capture some eerie pictures.
• We’ll continue to Tallinn arriving in the evening. We’ll check into our hotel, relax and freshen up.
• As it’s our last night, we’ll head to Hell Hunt, a local brewery that serves excellent Estonian cuisines. We’ll enjoy a few drinks and share our highlights of our Baltic adventure together.
• For those inclined for a few more drinks, we’ll head to Depeche Mode Bar! The bar is totally dedicated to 1980s band, only playing their tracks!
• Overnight stay in Tallinn.

Wednesday 27th August – Tallinn, Estonia

• Breakfast at hotel and depart from our hotel. We can leave our bags in secure storage room.
• Once we’re ready, we’ll start making our way to the KGB museum. Here we’ll learn about how Estonians lived under Soviet occupation and tactics the that we’re used to spy on the public.
• We’ll then explore Tallinn’s old town and UNESCO World Heritage. We’ll visit a small tavern that serves ale in clay cups. We’ll continue to the view point overlooking the town and capture a final group picture.
• After the tour, we’ll have our farewell lunch together. There are a number of museums around Tallinn which you can continue to explore. A number of Soviet memorials have been removed, your guide will provide you with the latest information.
• Tour concludes. YPT can arrange additional nights in Tallinn and airport transfers for a fee. We are more than happy to provide advice for ongoing flights or the ferry to Helsinki, Finland.

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