Cost report – how much are 7 Days in Riga and Tallinn?
Dere!! I’ve visited Estonia and Latvia only recently and stayed mostly in the capital cities Riga and Tallinn. I have to admit: I was pleasantly surprised by everything! Both cities are not only beautiful, but also culinary highlights. And the very best: the Baltic states are still rather cheap 🙂 That I already knew because of a trip to Vilnius last year. But now I’d like to show you what I did and how much I spent – I wrote down every single cent.
The Itinerary
Day 1: Flight Vienna – Riga, short trip from Riga to the beach Yurmala
Day 2: Free guided city tour, afterwards wandering through the city
Day 3: Day trip to Sigulda, visiting some castles, night kayaking tour in Riga
Day 4: Visiting the Central Market, taking the bus from Riga to Tallinn
Day 5: Fre guided city tour, afterwards wandering through Telliskivi
Day 6: Guided tour through the KGB hotel, afterwards exploring the city
Day 7: Flight back from Tallinn via Riga to Vienna
Travel Style
- Transportation: buses and trains in Estonia and Latvia are great, reliable and cheap. There is no need for taxis.
- Accommodation: I stayed in hostels – the one in Riga (Cinnamon Sally) was an excellent choice. But the Hostel in Tallinn (Kohver) was the worst hostel I’ve ever stayed at. (Reason: bad small, no lockers in the dorms and the showers were disgusting and dirty.
- Food: I chose to eat one large meal a day in a restaurant. The food was excellent, the plates were full and rather cheap.
The Cost Report for a week in Riga and Tallinn
| Flight Vienna - Riga; Tallinn - Vienna with luggage | 280 |
| Day 1: Vienna - Riga | 28 |
| Hostel | 11 |
| Bus | 2 |
| Zug | 1.4 |
| Zug | 1.4 |
| Water | 1.2 |
| Food | 11 |
| Day 2: Riga | 29 |
| Hostel | 11 |
| Food | 13 |
| Tip for Free Tour | 5 |
| Day 3: Daytrip Sigulda | 59.5 |
| Hostel | 11 |
| Sigulda Bus | 5 |
| Cable car | 7 |
| Castle 1 | 1 |
| Castle 2 | 2.5 |
| Supermarket | 2.6 |
| Food | 5.9 |
| Bus Sigulda | 0.5 |
| Night Kayak Tour | 25 |
| Day 4: Riga - Tallinn | 55.2 |
| Hostel | 12 |
| Bus | 16.2 |
| Food | 11 |
| Brunch | 6 |
| Day 5: Tallinn | 43.1 |
| Hostel | 12 |
| Tip for Free Tour | 10 |
| Food | 12.6 |
| Water | 4 |
| Brunch | 4.5 |
| Day 6: Tallinn | 22.8 |
| Hostel | 12 |
| KGB Hotel Tour | 10 |
| Food | 11.8 |
| Day 7: Tallinn - Vienna | 5.6 |
| Bus to Airport | 1 |
| Sandwich | 4.6 |
| Total | 525.2 |
Currency Euros.
Concluding: 75.07€ per day including the flight or only 35€ per day without airfare.
Travel Tips
- Flights: I noticed that multi-stop flights from Vienna are actually cheaper than round trip tickets to Riga and Tallinn. That means Vienna to Riga and back or Vienna to Tallinn and back was more expensive than Vienna to Riga and Tallinn to Vienna. The funny thing is that the flight back really went like this: Tallinn to Riga and Riga to Vienna. Can someone explain that logic please? I chose to fly AirBaltics because they were the cheapest. But they are one of those that charge extra for checked luggage… 70€ 🙁
- Buses between Riga and Tallinn: there are several buses, but I chose Luxexpress and booked it online. If you are under 26 yrs the ticket is even a few Euros cheaper.
- Accommodation: chose wisely and read the reviews. The hostel in Riga was wonderful and there were free waffles for breakfast. I had some bad luck in Tallinn – it was the worst hostel I’ve ever seen…
- Public transportation: is cheap, reliable and you can see so much just by hopping on.
Have you been to Estonia or Latvia? What was your experience?
Keep on travelling,
Viki
