Cycle the Baltics

Most Inspirational Moment

hearing the personal stories of the locals

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent

Advice for Potential Travellers

Come prepared to listen and learn

Most Inspirational Moment

I just loved the old cities and the parks we cycled through. The Curonian Strip was magic.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fantastic. He worked 24/7 and never stopped being lovely.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Weigh up the health and safety aspects and if this is right for you.

Suggestions

Exodus has been warned many times about the Green Park Hotel. You only have to look at the reviews. We had the added delight of a burglar alarm going off outside our room all night on one night. Klaeipeda is not a small town, and has other hotels. Why is this awful hotel, and its surly staff still being used? We also had the added pleasure of no pillowcases for 2 nights. It is also a 10 day trip, and not 11 days, as advertised. There is usually a meeting late afternoon of the "first" day. This did not happen. Overall though, one of Exodus' better trips.

Most Inspirational Moment

Lina talking about her family history

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb - would highly recommend

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take your own bike

Suggestions

Just want to reiterate my disappointment about the bike quality.

Most Inspirational Moment

The highlight for me was definitely the cycling in the first country- Estonia. The cycling around the lake was just beautiful. Tallinn and Vilnius are simply stunning and I wish we had had more time in both to explore. The cycling in 'Little Switzerland' was also fun. In Riga, I recommend visiting the Sky bar at the top of the Radisson. The food (and view) was magnificent and actually cheaper and far far better quality than the tourist trap restaurants in the town centre.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I would say that Andrius is probably the most knowledgeable we have ever had on a cycling holiday. He made the trip about so much more than just the cycling and the scenery. It was a history lesson from start to finish. We have come away with so much knowledge about the region and it's history. He is also very funny, he kept us entertained throughout the holiday and had a fantastic rapport with the group. His taste in music is terrible, but apart from that, I wish I had a bigger suitcase as we would gladly have put him in that and taken him home!

Advice for Potential Travellers

I do have advice if you have tall women in your party. The bikes are not that great, they are Kross cycles and seem to come in two 'sizes' - Male and Female. My first bike was too small for me, and luckily I was given a spare man's bike which was better. Two other ladies in the group were not so lucky, their bikes were far too small for them which made cycling uncomfortable. I'm 5ft 8. Email Exodus a few weeks in advance of the trip and ask for a man's bike if you are as tall as me. The company that supplies them bring them to Estonia from Lithuania and need advance notice before they are loaded onto the trailer. I would also recommend booking an extra night in Vilnius at the end of the holiday because you don't get much time there and it is truly beautiful. We were the only people on the trip not on the group flight which came and left via Frankfurt. We were able to find direct flights both ways from Luton with Wizz and Ryan Air. Only a couple of hours both ways.

Suggestions

My advice to Exodus is to change the hotel in Riga. It's grim. A couple of the restaurants chosen for the group meals were very poor, expensive and touristy. The Riga meal stands out, we were glad to have a decent meal the following day. The 'Bear' restaurant in Vilnius was terrible. Over priced and just awful food. No-one at my end of the table enjoyed their meal.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling on the sand of the beach and the chilling feeling walking around a Cold War nuclear bunker.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andreas was unbelievably knowledgeable, intelligent and bang up to date with everything - be it the best brew or the latest technological trends. Andreas‘ humour kept the entire team motivated and amused, thus ensuring that we all had an excellent trip. Andreas always ensured everyone was happy - be it having all the detailed information they wanted (on whatever they needed), selecting the best cuisine in a remote cafe or ensuring they enjoyed the right beer (there are literally dozens of delicious Baltic ales from which to choose).

Most Inspirational Moment

This is hard! For cycling - riding next to the waves on a Latvian beach. For history - Andrius's stories of growing up when Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union. For culture - the art nouveau in Riga and the churches in Tallinn (see tip below). For food - the amazing mushroom soup and wild boar on our last night in Vilnius. For drink - my wife enjoying Latvian dark beer! For socialising - the music and dancing at the jazz cafe in Klaipeda.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrius was exceptional - one of the best guides of our 25+ group tours. Firstly he has a great sense of humour - the trip was full of laughter. Secondly he has a wide knowledge of the history of the three countries and, as someone who grew up during communism, he shares his personal experience. Thirdly - he picked some great places to eat and drink. And finally, he made the trip a five star experience - from his 'little fun surprises' to his proposed additions or adjustments that enabled us to see the art nouveau in Riga, explore Vilnius on our bikes and visit the Soviet missile base where the nuclear weapons were targeted on Germany, Norway and the UK. Thank you Andrius - you made the trip!

Advice for Potential Travellers

We were cycling in May/June and tended to have lunch in cafes rather than picnics (one day). The cafes were all good and some were a memorable part of the trip, e.g. the salmon soup in the ship museum in Estonia and the smoked fish lunch in the fisherman's garden on the Curonian Spit.

Suggestions

There is plenty to see in Tallinn which makes a great city break. We asked Exodus to book us two extra nights in the first hotel and to bring our flight forward two days. We enjoyed drinks in the lovely main square, Soviet Realist art in the KUMU gallery, going inside a British built submarine at the Seaplane Harbour, visiting various interesting museums and three amazing churches, especially the Niguliste Church which has a superb collection of medieval religious art. We bought a 48 hour 'Tallinn Card' that covered our various entry costs and our tram/bus travel that made it easy to get around the city. So, if you'd like more than a morning city tour, grab yourself a nice little city break!

Most Inspirational Moment

The trip is a series of discoveries and revelations that expand what you know and give context to many of the key events of the last century making us all too aware of how fragile our peace and security are. Visiting the nuclear launch site that is now a museum of The Cold War was a chilling reminder of this. But it was a trip filled with fun too. I loved swimming in the Baltic and cycling through the sand dunes. The cities were visited were lively and full of great bars and restaurants with people young and old enjoying life. Particularly memorable was the brilliant band in the Jazz club. I’m not sure if the dancing of Andrius and me did the musicians justice but we certainly had a great time.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrius was an excellent guide - intelligent energetic, informed, funny, opinionated and thoughtful - and good company at all times. I always felt that he was working really hard to make the trip enjoyable and rewarding for everyone in the group - a very challenging task when different people sometimes had very different expectations he had to balance. I think he did this with tact and good humour. He always kept us informed about his plans each day but also gave us scope for doing our own thing when this was appropriate. When he did have to deal with a very unfortunate accident involving one of the group members he managed it very sensitively, professionally and compassionately. The success of the trip was in very large measure down to him. Thanks, Andrius! Our driver, Mindaugas, was super too. Totally professional but always with a smile.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read the trip notes and you will be fully prepared. If you have wanted to try a cycling holiday but haven’t been sure about it, this would be a great trip to start with. I loved it and would now like to try something a little more demanding.

Most Inspirational Moment

The visit to the Soviet nuclear missile site. It brought it home what the Cold War was all about.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Andrius was a absolute star. His command of English was excellent and he also understood (I think) the British sense of humour. His knowledge of the history of the region was encyclopaedic and there were very few questions on almost any topic which he was unable to answer. He took great pains to arrange our itinerary so that we saw as much as possible within the limited time available and built in little "extras" where he could. His organisation was superb and the whole tour, which was action-packed, ran to schedule. Andrius made a big contribution to our enjoyment of the tour and we were very appreciative of his efforts. (By the way the driver was also a real star: hard working, always smiling and popping up in the right place at the the right time to load our bikes or replenish our water bottles.)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Wear padded cycling shorts. It might be worth while reading up on the history of the Baltic States although you will get a thorough briefing from Andrius on the day.

Suggestions

We arrived at 00.30 on Day 2 of the tour. The flight was delayed about 2 hours but the Trip notes suggest that we spend we afternoon of our arrival looking round Tallinn. Clearly, the Trip Notes are out of date and perhaps this is only an 10 day tour rather than 11, as advertised.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Group leader kept everyone together, had enormous knowledge, was very friendly.....had a weird taste in music....but made sure the holiday was brilliant.

Advice for Potential Travellers

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Most Inspirational Moment

The Hill of Crosses was quite exceptional, an amazing sight, unlike anything we've seen before, it's quite stunning and profound, difficult not to feel moved by such a sight. We also enjoyed the cycle along the Curonian Spit, the water on both sides at times, and the pine forests made for a glorious ride.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Lina was great; nothing was too much trouble, she really got the the British sense of humour and made each day fun and memorable. I liked that she took group photos every day, along with other pictures that she then posted on our group WhatsApp group. It meant we could enjoy the cycling and the scenery in the knowledge we would a record of our trip. She also posted details of where we had been so we didn't have to remember! We also appreciated she way she told us about the histories of all 3 countries without judgment, explaining the facts with care.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If travelling with cabin baggage only, be aware that if your journey involves a flight from Helsinki to Tallin, the cabin baggage has to be a smaller capacity. We got away with it on the way out but coming back we had to put our bags in the hold.

Suggestions

I cannot recommend this trip highly enough; such lovely, unspoilt countries, fantastic beaches, beautifully clean everywhere. I would do it again, if I didn't have so many other places on my to do list.........