Walks of the Baltics and Finland — Self-Launched

Fly into Vilnius (or arrive by Lux Express bus/train from Warsaw or Kaunas). Check into a budget guesthouse in or beside the Old Town, then spend the late afternoon on an orientation wander: Cathedral Square, Pilies Street and the Republic of Užupis. The Vilnius Old Town is one of the largest baroque old towns in eastern Europe and is entirely walkable. Grab a cheap dinner of cepelinai (potato dumplings) at a local canteen — a 'self-launched' welcome meal with whoever you've linked up with via backpacker groups.

🚌Flight into Vilnius Airport; bus 3G/1 to city centre ~£1, or Bolt ~£5

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel private room in Vilnius Old Town (~£25-35)

• →Self-guided wander of Vilnius Old Town and Cathedral Square
• →Optional evening: Vilnius pub/craft-beer crawl

Morning: join a pay-what-you-want or small-group Vilnius walking tour (book via GetYourGuide, ~£12-15) covering the Gates of Dawn, Vilnius University and the old town's main churches. After lunch, take a local bus to Kernavė (~1 hour) — five hill forts in a bend of the Neris with sweeping river views. Walk the White Hill Educational Trail in Neris Regional Park (~6 km, easy, riverside forest). Finish at Trakai: bus 1G/1 from Vilnius, then walk or cycle to the fairytale island castle on Lake Galvė — entry to the castle is a few euros.

🚌Local buses Vilnius–Kernavė and Vilnius–Trakai, ~£2-4 each way

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel private room in Vilnius Old Town (~£25-35)

• →Vilnius old town walking tour (GetYourGuide)
• →Neris Regional Park White Hill trail (6 km)
• →Kernavė hill forts
• →Trakai Island Castle

This is the long day — the guided version drives 300 km, so do the same on public transport: bus or train Vilnius to Plungė (~3.5-4 hrs), then a short local bus/taxi to Plateliai and into Zemaitija National Park. Hike out to Plokštinė, the former Soviet underground missile base and now the Cold War Museum — you can go inside the bunkers and see the launch silos (entry ~£5). Walk a loop of the park's lakes and pine forest (~8 km). Continue by bus Plungė/Šiauliai to Liepāja for the night.

🚌Train/bus Vilnius–Plungė, local bus to Plateliai, then bus toward Liepāja — approx £18-22 total

🛏Budget guesthouse in Liepāja (~£25-30)

• →Plokštinė Cold War Museum
• →Zemaitija National Park forest and lake walk (8 km)

Bus from Liepāja to Kuldīga (~2 hrs) — often billed as Latvia's prettiest town. See the Venta Rapid, Europe's widest waterfall at roughly 250 m, and walk the width of the river above the cascade; in spring and autumn you can watch fish leap the rapids. The 1874 brick bridge running parallel is the classic viewpoint. In Kuldīga's old town you can do a self-guided wine or cider tasting at a local producer instead of the tour's arranged vineyard stop. Evening bus or train to Riga (~2.5 hrs).

🚌Bus Liepāja–Kuldīga ~£5, Kuldīga–Riga ~£6

🛏Hostel or budget hotel near Riga Old Town (~£20-28)

• →Venta Rapid and the walk across the river width
• →Kuldīga old town self-guided stroll
• →Local berry wine/cider tasting

A relaxed city day. Book a 2-3 hour Art Nouveau walking tour of Riga (GetYourGuide/Klook, ~£14) focused on Alberta Street and the Jugendstil facades of the early 20th century — one of Europe's densest concentrations of Art Nouveau architecture. Afternoon is free: Riga Cathedral, the 16th-century House of the Blackheads, Riga Castle and the riverside, or the Riga Central Market maniacs (huge hangars built from zeppelin sheds, fantastic and cheap for smoked fish, grey peas and rye bread).

🚌All on foot; tram or trolleybus ~£1.20 if needed

🛏Hostel or budget hotel near Riga Old Town (~£20-28)

• →Art Nouveau district guided walk
• →Riga Old Town and Cathedral
• →Riga Central Market food crawl

Take a suburban train or bus from Riga to Saulkrasti (~1 hr) and walk the seashore boardwalk and dunes of this quiet coastal town (~7 km). Continue by Lux Express bus to Pärnu (~1.5 hrs) for lunch by the beach in Estonia's summer capital. Then bus Pärnu to Kuressaare via the Virtsu–Kuivastu ferry to Muhu and the causeway onto Saaremaa (~4 hrs) — book the through ticket online. Overnight in Kuressaare, the island's only town.

🚌Train Riga–Saulkrasti, Lux Express bus to Pärnu, then bus + ferry to Kuressaare — approx £20 total

🛏Guesthouse in Kuressaare (~£25-35)

• →Saulkrasti coastal boardwalk and dunes walk (7 km)
• →Pärnu beach stroll
• →Ferry crossing to Saaremaa island

Ferry from Heltermaa side across to Hiiumaa, Estonia's second-largest island and part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — no light pollution, no noise. Walk the Sääretirp trail out along a thin headland to the tip (honeysuckle, sea kale and stunted trees; bring water shoes, the shore is rocky). Then head to Kärdla, the island's only town, built inside a crater from a meteorite impact ~455 million years ago. Walk out to Tahkuna lighthouse (Estonia's tallest at 42 m) and Kõpu lighthouse, among the oldest continuously operating lighthouses in the world — climb to the top for panoramic views. Last ferry back to Saaremaa.

🚌Ferry Saaremaa–Hiiumaa ~£4 each way; local buses on the island ~£3

🛏Guesthouse in Kuressaare (~£25-35)

• →Sääretirp headland trail (4 km)
• →Kärdla meteorite crater town
• →Tahkuna and Kõpu lighthouses

Before leaving the island, tick off its best bits by local bus: the Kaali meteorite crater (~7,500 years old), the Angla Windmill Park with its 1927 Dutch-style mill, the 13th-century Karja Church and the Kuressaare Episcopal Castle, the moated symbol of the island. Then the long bus back to Tallinn (~4.5 hrs, with a change and the ferry to the mainland). Arrive Tallinn by evening — walk Viru Street, browse the Old Town, or check out the Seaplane Harbour maritime museum if you have energy.

🚌Island buses ~£4, Kuressaare–Tallinn bus + ferry ~£12

🛏Hostel or budget hotel near Tallinn Old Town (~£22-30)

• →Kaali crater
• →Angla windmill park
• →Karja Church
• →Kuressaare Episcopal Castle

Join a small-group or free walking tour of Tallinn's medieval Old Town (book on GetYourGuide, ~£12-15) — Toompea Castle, Town Hall Square and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, with 14th- and 15th-century walls and towers intact. Then continue on your own into Kalamaja, the hipster district of colourful wooden houses beside the old fishing port, and to the Balti Jaama market. Shop the market for Vana Tallinn liqueur, Kalev chocolate, Estonian craft beer from Põhjala/Tanker, smoked Võru cheese, Baltic amber, bogwood carvings and juniper products. Free afternoon for Fotografiska Tallinn or the Kadriorg Palace and Park.

🚌On foot; tram ~£1.20

🛏Hostel or budget hotel near Tallinn Old Town (~£22-30)

• →Tallinn Old Town guided walking tour
• →Kalamaja district self-walk
• →Balti Jaama market food and souvenir shopping
• →Optional: Fotografiska or Kadriorg Palace

Morning ferry across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki (Tallink/Eckerö Line/Viking, ~2h 10m; book online in advance for the best fares, from ~£18 foot passenger). From Helsinki, take the local bus/U-line out toward Sipoonkorpi National Park and hike the Fiskträsk circuit — lakes, forest and Ice Age rock formations with a stretch of primeval forest (5-6 km, extendable). Then bus to Porvoo (~1 hr), Finland's second-oldest town, for the riverside red wooden warehouses and cobbled old town. Return by evening bus to Helsinki.

🚌Ferry Tallinn–Helsinki from ~£18; local bus to Sipoonkorpi and Porvoo ~£8-10

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Helsinki (~£30-45)

• →Sipoonkorpi National Park Fiskträsk trail (5.3 km)
• →Porvoo old town and riverside warehouses

Morning: a self-guided or small-group Helsinki city tour (GetYourGuide, ~£15) or use the HSL day ticket to hit Senate Square and the white cathedral, Temppeliaukio rock church, the harbour market and the Suomenlinna sea fortress by public ferry (included on the HSL ticket). Free afternoon: Oodi central library, the Design Museum, or a sauna — try Löyly or a public sauna for a proper Finnish experience. Eat lohikeitto (salmon soup) and cinnamon korvapuusti somewhere cheap.

🚌HSL 24-hour day ticket ~£8 (covers ferry to Suomenlinna)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Helsinki (~£30-45)

• →Helsinki highlights walking tour
• →Suomenlinna fortress ferry
• →Optional Finnish public sauna

Departure day — breakfast and onward travel. Helsinki Airport is 30 mins from the centre by P-train (HSL ticket covers it, or the Finnair City Bus). If you've time, the Baltic is easy to extend: ferries run to Stockholm, and you can loop back to Tallinn or take a bus/ferry onward to St Petersburg-free Nordic routes. Or fly home.

🚌P-train Helsinki centre–airport ~£4, or Finnair City Bus ~£6

🛏Not included — onward travel or extra night if needed

• →Departure
• →Optional: Helsinki harbour market and Esplanadi park