Self-Launched Baltics Bike Adventure: Vilnius to Tallinn

Fly into Vilnius (VNO) and take the public bus #1 or #2 into the centre (~€1, buy a 30-min ticket from the driver or app) instead of the €39 private transfer the operator's guests complained about. Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in or just outside the UNESCO-listed Old Town. Spend the afternoon walking the cobbled streets — Cathedral Square, Pilies Street, the quirky Užupis self-declared republic — then join a free walking tour (pay-what-you-want, ~£5 tip) or simply self-guide with a map. Evening: pick up your rental bike for the week (booked ahead with a Vilnius bike shop, ~£12–15/day or ~£80–100/week for a trekking bike) and test-ride it round the old town. Cheap local dinner of cepelinai or kibinai (£7–9) and a beer in a courtyard bar.

🚌Airport bus #1/#2 to centre ~£1; rental bike pickup in town

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Vilnius Old Town (~£18/night, dorm £12)

• →Free walking tour of Vilnius Old Town (tip-based)
• →Pick up and test rental trekking bike
• →Užupis district and Cathedral Square wander

Morning cycle loop through Vilnius Old Town and along the Neris before heading west. Ride the signed cycle route out to Trakai (~28 km, flat, mostly on quiet roads and paths) to see the fairy-tale 14th-century red-brick Island Castle on Lake Galvė — pay the small castle entry (~£7) yourself rather than relying on a group stop. Lunch by the lake. From Trakai take your bike on the regional bus or train to Kaunas (~1 hr, £3–5 — bikes go free on Lithuanian trains outside rush hour, small fee on buses). Check into a Kaunas hostel or budget hotel near Laisvės Alėja. Evening exploring Kaunas Old Town and the street-art district of Šančiai.

🚌Own bike; Trakai–Kaunas train or bus ~£3–5 with bike

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in central Kaunas (~£16/night)

• →Self-guided cycle Vilnius → Trakai (~25–30 km)
• →Trakai Island Castle entry (~£7, book on site)
• →Kaunas Old Town evening walk

Take the morning train Kaunas → Klaipėda (~3.5 hrs, ~£10–13, bike carriage available — book the bike space online with LTG Link). On arrival, ride the flat cycle trail out along the Nemunas delta and Curonian Lagoon towards Zapyšķis to see its striking 14th-century Gothic red-brick church (free to view from outside, small donation to enter). Pack your own picnic from a Klaipėda market (~£4) instead of the operator's included lunch. Ride back into Klaipėda and check into a hostel or guesthouse in the Old Town — the half-timbered Fachwerk quarter here is genuinely lovely and much cheaper than the operator's 4* Mercure.

🚌Train Kaunas–Klaipėda ~£11 with bike reservation

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Klaipėda Old Town (~£17/night)

• →Nemunas delta / Lagoon cycle trail (~30–40 km)
• →Zapyšķis Gothic church visit
• →Klaipėda Old Town Fachwerk quarter wander

Catch the local passenger ferry across the lagoon to Smiltynė (~£1.50, bikes allowed) then either ride the spit south or hop the seasonal bus/minibus to Nida (~1 hr, £3–4 with bike). The Curonian Spit is a UNESCO World Heritage sand dune landscape — cycle the flat pine-lined path between Nida and the Dead Dunes (Parnidžio kopa), climb the Parnidis dune for the famous drifting-sand views, and visit Thomas Mann's summer house (small entry ~£3). Fish smoked on the spot for lunch (~£5). Ferry back to Klaipėda in the evening and eat at a local brewery or canteen (~£9) instead of the hotel's set dinner.

🚌Local lagoon ferry ~£1.50 each way; optional spit bus ~£3.50

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Klaipėda (~£17/night)

• →Ferry to Smiltynė and Curonian Spit cycle (~40–50 km round trip)
• →Parnidis / Dead Dunes viewpoint
• →Nida village and Thomas Mann house

Early flat ride north along the coast to Palanga (~25 km) — seaside promenade, the pier, and optionally the Amber Museum in the Botanikos-type palace gardens (entry ~£6) or the Botanical Garden. Load the bike and take a coach from Palanga/Klaipėda towards Šiauliai (Lithuania's bus network, ~£7–9, bikes usually allowed in the hold for a small fee). Stop at the Hill of Crosses just outside Šiauliai — free to visit, atmospheric and unlike anything else in Europe, 15 mins by local bus or a 3 km ride from town. Continue by bus or train to Riga (~3 hrs from Šiauliai, ~£9–12). Check into a hostel in Riga's Old Town or the quieter Miera Iela / Āgenskalns area (~£17/night).

🚌Bus Palanga–Šiauliai ~£8; bus/train Šiauliai–Riga ~£10

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Riga (~£17/night)

• →Palanga pier and seaside cycle
• →Optional Palanga Amber Museum (~£6)
• →Hill of Crosses at Šiauliai (free)

Morning free walking tour of Riga Old Town (tip-based, ~£5) covering the House of the Blackheads, St Peter's Church tower (lift up ~£6 for the view) and the Art Nouveau district along Alberta iela — or self-guide with a map and the excellent Central Market (huge hangar food halls, £3–5 for a hearty lunch). Afternoon options: ride the flat 25–30 km cycle path out to the seaside resort of Jūrmala and take the train back with your bike (~£2), or just relax in Riga. Evening in the Miera Iela craft-beer and café quarter (~£10).

🚌On foot and by bike; Jūrmala train return ~£2

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Riga (~£17/night)

• →Free walking tour of Riga Old Town (tip-based)
• →Riga Central Market
• →Optional cycle to Jūrmala with train return

Take a Lux Express or Ecolines coach Riga → Pärnu (~2h15, £8–11, bike in the hold for a small extra fee — book online in advance). Pärnu is Estonia's summer capital: long sandy beach, wooden villas, and the seaside promenade. Dump bags at a guesthouse or hostel (£15–18) then ride the signed Baltic coastal cycle route north or south of town (~30–45 km of flat, car-free-ish paths and seaside tracks). Evening: Pärnu's spa-town cafés and a fish dinner (~£10).

🚌Lux Express/Ecolines coach Riga–Pärnu ~£9 with bike

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Pärnu (~£16/night)

• →Cycle the Estonian Baltic coast from Pärnu
• →Pärnu beach and promenade
• →Rannahotell / villa architecture walk

Ride or bus to Virtsu (~1 hr from Pärnu by bus, ~£4) and take the free public ferry (praam) across to Muhu island — one of the great value moments of the trip, pedestrians and bikes go free. Ride across the causeway onto Saaremaa and cycle ~40–50 km of quiet island roads via the Angla windmill hill (free) to the Kaali meteorite crater field (small entry ~£2). Base yourself in Kuressaare, the island capital, in a hostel or guesthouse (£16–20). Book your Saaremaa accommodation early in July/August — it fills up with Estonian holidaymakers.

🚌Bus Pärnu–Virtsu ~£4; free ferry; own bike on island

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Kuressaare, Saaremaa (~£18/night)

• →Free ferry to Muhu/Saaremaa
• →Angla windmills
• →Kaali meteorite crater
• →Kuressaare evening

Full day loop ride south-west to the Sorve Peninsula (~60–70 km round trip from Kuressaare, flat, or take the local island bus part way with your bike) — windswept juniper scrub, WWII coastal defences and the 1960s Sorve lighthouse at Estonia's southernmost tip (entry ~£2). On the way back, visit the remarkably intact medieval Kuressaare Episcopal Castle and its moat (entry ~£8). Back in town, dinner at a local fish restaurant (~£11).

🚌Own bike; optional island bus with bike ~£3

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Kuressaare (~£18/night)

• →Sorve Peninsula cycle and lighthouse
• →Kuressaare Episcopal Castle and moat
• →Island bus back-up option

Morning ferry and bus combo back to the mainland and on to Tallinn (~5–6 hrs total, ~£14–18; direct Saaremaa–Tallinn buses exist via the ferry). Alternatively drop off the bike in Kuressaare if you rented locally. Once in Tallinn, if time and energy allow, ride west out of the city to the Keila-Joa waterfall and the Türisalu coastal cliffs (~30 km round trip, or take a train to Keila and ride the rest). Check into a hostel in Tallinn's Old Town or Kalamaja district (£18–22). Evening: skip the operator's farewell dinner and eat at the Balti Jaam market street-food hall or a Telliskivi restaurant (~£12) with new hostel friends.

🚌Saaremaa–Tallinn bus via free ferry ~£16

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Tallinn (~£20/night)

• →Bus/ferry hop to Tallinn
• →Optional Keila-Joa waterfall and Türisalu cliffs ride
• →Telliskivi / Balti Jaam market evening

Final morning: free walking tour of Tallinn's UNESCO Old Town (tip-based, ~£5) — Toompea hill, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the medieval town walls and St Olaf's Church tower climb (~£4). Grab a last cheap lunch (£6) and return the rental bike if you didn't drop it earlier (Tallinn shop drop-off ~£10 fee). Bus #2 or the tram from the centre to the airport (~£1.50) or walk to the port if heading onward by ferry to Helsinki. Trip done — same route as the guided tour, a fraction of the price.

🚌Public bus/tram to Tallinn airport ~£1.50

🛏None — depart

• →Free walking tour of Tallinn Old Town (tip-based)
• →St Olaf's Church tower climb
• →Bike drop-off