When it comes to the best underrated cities in Europe, the Baltic capitals of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius have been on our radar for the last couple of years. However, getting between them all, from the tippety-top of Estonia down (across 789 km) to south-eastern Lithuania has taken quite some time – until now.
According to euronews, travellers will be able to travel between all three cities in just one day from this month, thanks to new railway connections.
Previously, the journey required multiple stops, changes, and likely ditching the rails to hop on a bus instead, which could take around nine hours for just one leg of the trip.
However, after Lithuania launched the Vilnius-Riga train in December, three Baltic rail operators (LTG Link, Vivi and Elron) have opted to coordinate their timetables, which has streamlined the entire journey – and made it possible for one ticket to be booked for the whole trip.
Travelling from north to south, the Tallinn train will depart at 10.25 am and arrive in Vilnius at 9.03pm, but in the other direction, you’ll leave Vilnius on the 7.05am train, reach Riga by 11.04am and then get to Tallinn at 5.34pm.
Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of LTG Group, said: ‘The entire LTG team is committed to providing passengers with more travel options in Lithuania and abroad. This is a strategic step and an example of collaboration between the three Baltic States. Our team strives to reduce transfers to just one.’
The full journey costs just €39 in second class, but individually, Vilnius to Riga will cost €24 and Riga-Tallinn will set you back €30.50 – not bad, right? Book your tickets on the Lithuanian Railways website.
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