Chris

Hello! Hoping to get some advice on how to organize a great trip to the Baltics and St. Petersburg without using an agent. Has anyone ever traveled by train? Hotel recommendations? I hope to plan a two/three week trip for June. Thanks!

Gary

You will find St Petersburg very busy in June, book hotel early.

ron

I spent about 12 nights on a baltic sea cruise. It was better than I had anticipated. We spent several nights in St. Petersburg as well as several in Stockholm. There are many advantages to a cruise and several disadvantages. I'm a middle-age traveler and most of the passengers on the cruise were retirement age. It would depend on how much you want to worry about details of self-travel vs not worrying about much but what to order off a menu. Good luck.

Marc David Miller

You can get good information on the Baltics at<BR><BR>www.InYourPocket.com<BR><BR>As Gary mentioned, June will be very crowded hotel-wise in St. Petersburg. You will probably want to delay your arrival there till after 15 June. What type of hotels are you looking for? <BR><BR>I've taken an overnight train from St Petersburg to Tallinn, but you can also take the bus (which has a better schedule).

Ben Haines

<BR>In June and July five months ago I took a two-week trip from London to Tallinn and back, and greatly enjoyed it. I attach a copy of my report on the first week: I am afraid I never wrote about the second week. The main planning tools were the Lonely Planet guide books for Poland and for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and the Thomas Cook European Timetable: please see http://202.46.200.242/thomastimetables/home.htm. The Baltic countries have more busses than trains, but where you can find trains, especially overnight trains with sleepers, you can cover great distances in your sleep. Each night in first class, sharing with one woman costs you about 40 US dollars.<BR><BR>Hotels I like stand just beside the centres of cities, have friendly and well-informed staff, and cost me as single traveller 50 US dollars or less a night with breakfast, <BR>Berlin: Hotel Crystal on Kantstrasse berlin.hotelguide.net/data/h100066.htm<BR>Torun: Zajazd Staropolski www.newtravelage.com/europe/poland/torun/ zajazd_taropolski/zajazd_taropolski.htm<BR>Vilnius: Apia Guest House. [email protected]<BR>Riga bed and breakfast, with an Australian owner who is a journalist, and very pleasant: http://www.freewebz.com/rigabedandbreakfast/<BR>Tallinn hotel rooms above a restaurant high in the Old Town: Reeslitall, Dunkri 4, Tel: (+372) 631 37 55 Fax: (+372) 631 32 10 E-mail: [email protected]<BR><BR>I had just an afternoon in Kaunas: I would have enjoyed longer.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London

Chris

Thanks so much everybody for the speedy replies. I consider myself an &quot;adventure&quot; traveler, so I guess the cruise is out (but thanks for the tip!). I thumbed through Lonely Planet and it seems to have gobs of good info. Since I'll be flying for free, I'm going to seek out moderate priced hotels. And I thought over night trains might be a good option. Also, will not knowing a bit of the language hurt? I always seem to get by learning please and thank you and not much more wherever I go.