Family Vacation in the Baltics

Vilnius with the Kids

For a fun day with the young ones, we recommend to check out the Museum of Illusions. It's fascinating, fun, and sure to be surprising, as it's full of creative illusions. The biggest indoor entertainment park in Lithuania - X-Planet, located in the Ozas Shopping Mall - features attractions, video games, rock climbing, and a rope park for kids. The Dream City (Svajonių Miestas), in the Akropolis Shopping Mall has a maze with hills, cannons, racing, trampolines, rope courses, and a soft play area for children. You can also head over to Telia Nemuziejus, which provides a high-speed journey through 700 years of Vilnius' history.

Discover the Best of Vilnius

Today you’ll be getting in touch with the real Vilnius, with help from an expert local guide. Your guide will show you the ins and outs of the city, regaling you with stories from the past and present. You’ll learn more about Vilnius’ Jewish, Polish, Russian and Lithuanian heritage while discovering the city’s most impressive sites, including Old Town, St. Stanislovas and Vladislovas Cathedral, Vilnius University, the Presidential Palace and more. Your guide will pick you up and drop you off at your accommodation, or can suggest areas for further exploration after your tour concludes.

Unique Uzupis

Take the opportunity to explore one of Vilnius’ most colorful neighborhoods, Uzupis. It goes back to 1995, when a group of artists erected a statue of Frank Zappa in the area and declared Uzupis an independent republic. Soon flags were being created and the energy of the place seemed to attract eccentrics from all over the country. Today the mayor of Vilnius actively supports the republic and often takes part in the many activities going on there. There’s plenty to do in the neighborhood, so don’t be afraid to explore, here you’re bound to find some very photogenic people and places.

Trakai Private Tour

Trakai, a string of lakes within forests, is Lithuania's ancient capital, and the medieval home of its Grand Dukes, who ran a kingdom extending from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The town still draws visitors thanks to its picturesque castle on its own island, unique Karaite community (Crimean Tatars following their own form of Judaism), and its famous Kibinai meat pies. Explore this unusual combination with a walking tour, followed by sailing around a lake, exploring the castle, or learning to make your own Kibinai.

Summer Skiing, Winter Swimming

Karosta Private Tour

A secret closed area during the Soviet era, the military port of Karosta dates back to czarist times, as is made clear by its Russian Orthodox church. Home to a once-infamous prison, you can now explore the district's ruins (including bunkers turned into islands by erosion) and past lifestyles without running into angry guards!

Youthful Riga

Traveling with children can be challenging in the best of times. Fortunately, Riga offers some great, educational distractions. The Zinoo is a fascinating children’s science centre in the Galleria Riga shopping center, which offers a number of interesting interactive exhibits about the natural world. Head down Miera Iela, the beloved bohemian "Peace Street," to the main Laima candy factory. There, you can find the Chocolate Museum, one reason Laima is the country's most popular chocolatier. If the weather's good, spend a relaxed day at the Riga Zoo, where you can visit hippos, lions, flamingoes, and more year round.

Introducing Riga

Today you’ll be exploring the beautiful city of Riga and its UNESCO-listed Old Town. Historically an important trading port on the Baltic Sea, Riga had a strategic advantage for invaders, which resulted in periods of Polish, German, Swedish and Soviet rule all leaving their mark. You’ll walk through the winding streets of the Old Town to take in the sublime architecture as your guide makes the past come alive for you with stories. Your guide will meet you at your accommodation for this 2-hour tour, and will bring you back to your accommodation, or suggest places for further exploration.

Entertaining Riga

Traveling with teenagers comes with its challenges, but Riga will keep them satisfied. The Go Planet Entertainment Center is full of distractions, from video game arcades to an 11-meter "free fall," from laser tag to a covered go-cart course. There are naturally rides for children as well. Jurmala is the city's most popular getaway, with its beaches, but you can also go for a swim at the Livu Water Park. The most beloved park within the city is Mezaparks ("Forest Park"), a large forest full of paths, with places for renting bikes and rollerblades.

Jurmala Private Day Trip

This tour is full of contrasts. You’ll see the beautiful beach and walk vibrant streets full of bars and cafes. You'll also see the other side of the city: quiet tree-lined streets, 100-year-old wooden mansions, Soviet-era eyesores and stunning nature reserves. Relax on the beach and take in the sun, hear tales about Jurmala's past residents and the people who live there today. Enjoy local foods, ice cream, cakes, and drinks and mix with the many locals and foreigners who flock to the "Baltic Riviera" in the summer.

Riga Canal Boat Group Tour

Back in the old days, before the Daugava rider was bridged, small boats used to transport locals across the river, and Riga's smaller waterways. The larger boats made up the "river tramway," while the smaller ones were "river taxis." Step aboard one of these historic vessels, and see boulevards, parks, squares, fountains, bridges, markets, and the old harbor as you cruise the canal that once formed the city's moat. For the tour's climax, you'll head down the river, taking in majestic panoramas of Old Riga’s spires and the modern and Soviet buildings of the left bank.

Get Sandy

Parnu's beach is likely the country's best, famed for its white sands, gentle nature, and various attractions. Whether you like to play mini-golf or try some windsurfing, there's always plenty to choose from. A curving path stretches along the sand, lined with fountains, park benches, and an excellent playground. Early 20th century buildings line Ranna puiestee, the avenue running between the beach and the formal gardens of Rannapark, an ideal spot for a summertime picnic.

Experience Authentic Estonia

Have Fun at the Lottemaa Theme Park

Pärnu is a fantastic place for a family vacation. If you've had enough beach time, visit the Lottemaa Theme Park, the largest family theme park in the Baltic States. There, over a hundred attractions, themed houses, souvenir shops, culinary experiences, and a beach are waiting to be discovered! Also known as "Lotte's Village," the park's theme comes from Lotte, the puppy-headed protagonist of a popular series of cartoons and animated films. You can easily fill a full day here. Located six kilometers from Parnu, you can take a 10-13 EUR taxi, or ride a city bus to the "Reiu Kool" stop, and either ride the tourist bus that departs the neighboring parking lot every 20 minutes, or walk the kilometer to the park yourself.

Jump Into the Past, or Waves

Tallinn offers plenty of opportunities for an active family vacation. The PROTO Invention Factory, located in a former submarine shipyard near the Seaplane Museum, is a VR-centric educational center, which brings historic inventions and vehicles to life with cutting-edge technology. When the weather isn't cooperating, another popular spot is the Atlantis H2O Aquapark. The country's largest waterpark, this indoor area has plentiful spa areas for parents.

Lower Old Town Show Private Tour

This journey will take you through Tallinn's beautifully-preserved Old Town, revealing the its medieval history, with tales told in a theatrical manner by costumed actors/guides. This interactive performance provides an unforgettable experience and will help you experience and remember Tallinn's long history.

Discover the Magical World of Puppets

The NUKU Museum for Puppet Art invites visitors of all ages to come and discover the magical world of the theatre. You can explore the history of puppet theatre and admire displays of puppets from Estonia and all over the world. In one of the museum's attractions, you can feel the air and see what is done in a puppet theatre with water, fire and earth. The ‘horror world’ of the museum's scarier puppets will thrill more daring visitors.

Lahemaa National Park Private Tour

Lahemaa National Park is renowned for its diversity. It is home to the most beautiful manors in Estonia, unique, traditional fishing villages, and some of the country's most pristine natural landscapes. You'll visit everything from the country's largest natural waterfall, to hidden old manor homes in Kolga and Sagadi, from mesmerizing forests to romantic little coastal villages like Käsmu and Altja. Bring your sense of adventure and be ready to hike (or in summer even swim) through the Viru bog, on a 3.5 km boardwalk. Ethereal places full of berries, dark waters, and stunted trees, bogs occupy a strong place in Estonian folklore for a reason.

Bog-shoe Hiking Private Tour

For something a bit more unusual, walk across one of Estonia's largest bogs with special bog-shoes (otherwise, you would sink right in!) Bogs are very dear to Estonians, and have always been part of its culture, so a visit to Estonia is incomplete without a bog walk. Visiting an Estonian bog is a strangely unworldly experience, with their calm pools of black (but drinkable!) water, stunted trees, and endless berry bushes. With the help of equipment akin to snowshoes, you'll visit otherwise inaccessible places. This tour will take you beyond the boardwalks and observation towers to normally inaccessible areas, home to more wildlife. Have an unforgettable adventure in Estonia and come to a bog-shoe hike in the picturesque Kõnnu Suursoo, less than an hour east of Tallinn. This tour is available year-round, as the bog has a different face to show every season.

Coastal Cliffs and Soviet Paldiski Group Tour

Discover hidden wonders amidst the wilderness along the coast west of Tallinn, including the Soviet Union's main naval training base. On this tour, you'll see Estonia's most romantic waterfall, coastal cliffs, the former garrison town of Paldiski, the otherworldly prison quarry of Rummu, and much more, such as the interior of a Soviet aircraft. You'll find places and stories you'd never stumble across on your own while learning what it's like to grow up in this area.

Matsalu National Park and Haapsalu Private Day Tour

Enjoy a beautiful journey down Estonia's picturesque coast to the historic resort town of Haapsalu (a favorite of the czars). Along the way, you'll pass through towering pine forests, and visit mysterious castle ruins, finding stories and places you'd never stumble across on your own. You'll learn about the Coastal Swedes at Noarootsi, and discover Estonia's medieval history amid the ruins of the Padise Monastery. You'll better understand the Soviet era's influences by visiting Ungru, where an abandoned manor and air base sit side-by-side. You'll visit several other manor homes, some restored and offering drinks, some offering hidden stories instead. Haapsalu itself is probably Estonia's most romantic city, with its ruined medieval castle in the center, next to unique wooden villas, and a charming seaside promenade and quiet coastline. Before leaving, you'll visit the local train museum, and the world's longest covered platform, built to keep the czar's entire retinue dry as they disembarked from his personal train during summer visits.