The Baltic Countries

[mom]

G'day! Does anyone have any advice or thoughts on motorhoming in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? My wife and I will be there in our VW T4 for 3 weeks in August (yes, I know, take the insect repellant!). I am particularly interested in wild camping and safety, as we will probably only spend a small portion of time in the major cities. mom

[Mel E]

We just visited all three on our way back from Norway/North Cape via Finland then on to Poland and west. First, the cities - really the best things to see. Tallinn old town is way ahead of Riga in interest, and the food is superb - we had an excellent 2-couse meal with wine at the Three Sisters Hotel for about £32 for 2. We did not visit Vilnius, so I cannot comment. But it's worth visiting the new Museum of Occupation covering the years from1941 when Latvia was successively occupied by the Soviets, Germany and then the Soviets again - a fascinating story of how to subdue an entire nation within a week or two. Next the countryside: both Latvia and Estonia are similar in being about 50% forest, 10% to 15% lakes or swamps, and the rest agricultural and very flat. Lithuania has the biggest land area and a lot of agriculture. Some (and I emphasise some) interesting scenery and places to visit, but the tourist brochures were getting increasingly desparate in their list. Most of the coast is sand and the huge inlet on the Estonian and Latvian coast surpisingly warm - but then the sea hardly moves here. Summer in all three states is quite short - the main season runs from early July to mid-August. Like Denmark, the schools are back in early August. It's also interesting to visit one or two other inland towns - especially in the two L states - which you will find dominated by Soviet-era concrete 'functional' tower blocks affording each person in a family the regulation 9 square metres of floor space (that's about 10 square feet!). So, frankly, in my opinion, not a lot to see unless you are really absorbed by the history of these three states. Finally to driving. I have no idea whether the locals have to pass a driving test (or have ever had to), but expect total madness (even slightly worse in Poland). Overtaking on solid white lines or double white lines (especially if there's a blind corner ahead) is almost de riguer. The problem is you might well meet domeone coming the other way round a blind bend on your side of the road. Next, the new EU members are flush with development funds, so they are rebuilding the road network, ripping up and relaying the roads (no motorway yet). Since, because of the cold winters, they have to do this in summer, they are much less interested in providing for the motorist. Estonia is furthest ahead. Latvia has only just started the main north-south trunk road, having elected to bypass all the major towns first, with bypasses miles away from the towns (to keep you from seeing the Soviet era architecture, I imagine), and Lithuania is also well behind. Result: we had over 30 Km of continuous single file traffic in Latvia - about half to 1 Km of single file alongside a dug-up carriageway, followed by the same distance in which to queue at traffic lights for the next stretch. The long stretches make rebuilding easier but also mean long waits between traffic flow reversals. And we were astonished on 2 or 3 occasions when we were near the front of the queue to see Mercs and BMWs just driving along the queue and pushing in at the front. We assume that the countries have no concept of queuing or that these were local Mafia chiefs! As for wild camping, I believe it is not strictly illegal and we did it once. But it's quite difficult to find suitable sites. And one German we met in a camp site who normally wild camps said he was just not sure enough of secuiry. One final thing: the summer is so short (and the winter so long) that all the Baltic nations tend to make the most of it. This means that there is no concept of a quiet period after 11 and at the camp site in Tallinn (Tallinn City Camping with superb facilities), the noise went on intermittently all night. Other places we stayed were almost empty in late June, so no problem. Hope this helps - ask if you want more or any specific answers.

[Mel E]

I forgot to note that the unimproved roads are, almost wholly, teeth rattling bone shakers with lorry ruts so deep, you almost can't see over the edge when you stand in them - so your motorhome will steer itself!

[mom]

Thankyou so much for your reply! I was after candid thoughts and you gave them! One last question if I may, did you feel that it is wise to book campsites ahead? We will be travelling in August. Excellent, thanks again! mom

[Mel E]

Not necessary, I would say, after about the first week in August as schools are back. I would not know how to about pre-booking anyway as I know of no useful guide to camp sites. Early August, just take pot luck - they'll squeeze you in. Never visited a full cvamp site yet!