Guest alanp45 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 we are planning to head to estonia, latvia and lithuania in july of this year. any advice on travel in these countries would be much appreciated. sites we shall be looking at are the acsi listed sites, we assume that these having been inspected will be of a decent standard. as it is world cup final month in july has anyone experience of television reception in that part of europe, or will it have to be satellite reception? thanks in anticipation alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Welcome to the forum it sounds a exciting trip you are planning, I am sure some one on the forum will have some information. Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amazon20RB Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Hi Alan, Sorry, I've only just seen your posting but hope this might be helpful. We spent a month or so (late August onwards) travelling through the Baltic States on our way back from Nordkapp last year. I recommend you read Barry and Margaret Williamson's notes at http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/890/216/. Our experience and observations are almost exactly the same as theirs but with the following three additions: 1. Don't assume that ACSI inspection necessarily means uniform facilities or cleanliness at sites. We found them very variable in both what was on offer and how often it was cleaned, if at all. 2. Beware weddings! Guesthouse/campsites are frequently the chosen location for wedding celebrations which can go on for at least 24 hours and can be extremely lively. On one Latvian site the owner recommended that we move to a field further away from the buildings as he was firing up the outside hot-tub in anticipation of a wedding party that night. We're glad that he did - even from there it was still extremely noisy! We left another site as soon as it became apparent that they were also preparing for a wedding (we hadn't paid anything at that point). 3. Water everywhere, in all three countries, tastes and smells of metal. I imagine it's safe to drink but it's very unpleasant. We bought bottled water for drinking. They are fascinating countries to travel in. We wouldn't hesitate to go back. Enjoy your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Not taking the van but flying to Vilnius in Lithuania on 15th Feb got a few day work there & wife is flying out on the Thursday so we can have a few days site seeing. We are looking at having a couple of weeks in Ireland in June but for our main holiday at end August/September may look at the Baltic states the way the Euro is at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 alanp45 - 2010-02-02 1:30 PM as it is world cup final month in july has anyone experience of television reception in that part of europe, or will it have to be satellite reception? thanks in anticipation alan Even on satellite you will only get Hotbird or Eurosat that's all you can get on the Geman Baltic coast to far east for the Astra sats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Hi, Just though I would say hello from Vilnius, Lithuania, not in the van. Weather variations can be quite sudden been told last week it was -27 c & last Saturday a foot of snow, it's warm at the moment -7 c. Most people appear to speak some English. My wife is flying out today & will get a couple of days site seeing. A few poor quality pics one taken through glass the others at night too dark for the camera to focus, Tuesday was a bank holiday & they celebrate the end of winter, if this is the end of winter I don't think I want to be here in winter. Forgot to mention Diesel is about 3.30 Litu/Lt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggy Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Hope you have a great trip, we did these countries 5yrs ago on motorcycles, we were told we couldn't get insurance (green card) for lithuania so just rode staight through non-stop, may have changed now, but on our return one of our group had his BMW stolen from outside a hotel in Latvia (£12,000 worth), the police asked "why on earth do you come to our country with bikes like that" the hotel in Estonia we stayed at had a 24hr guarded fenced-in car park that even coaches were parked inside. So I would only camp on proper sites and take as many security measures as possible. One B&B we stayed at, the owner told us to park our bikes in his garage and he parked his car right up to the door, this was on the way there, but we did not take the hint that our bikes were at such a risk. Anyway we did have a great time out there and the people were very friendly. Eggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Lithuania is in the EU & has I think the lowest crime in the EU, People very friendly & helpful. Can't say I know anything about the other Baltic countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Raindrop Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Should anyone be going to countries with motorcycles where they think they may be stolen might do well to enquire or join the VMCC (Vintage Motorcycle Club) regarding contacting friendly motorcyclists in that country for information on and possibly overnight storage and even accommodation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 I have recently had communications with the Lithuanian Embassy in London regarding Green Cards there. They said a GC is needed but they've been in the EU since 2004 and current UK Certificates of Insurance include cover in all EU countries....... so the cost of a GC is unnecessary?!?My MEP confirms that there is misinformation/confusion re GC's in Lithuania and has written to the European Commission asking that this issue be raised with the Lithuanian Government. I'm awaiting my MEP's response. The Lithuanian Tourist Office in London is more helpful than their Embassy - here is an extract from their last e mail. QUOTE "From all information I’ve gathered, I believe that your insurance will be valid in Lithuania and no green card is required. I know that there is a sort of misunderstanding regarding green card and I will make sure to raise this matter with Tourism Department in Lithuania." END QUOTE My policy is Comprehensive and is such throughout the UK (by Axa). Check your own cover within EU. Of course maybe your insurer will make no charge anyway for a Green Card so the confusion is irrelevant. Good luck - may bump in to you - not literally - in the Baltic States though we will be there May/June Arthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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