Russian Glories Baltic Treasures starting at $6990

2012 Prices From $6,990 for 14 Days – Tauck World Discovery

For further information and to book please call us at 1 888 204 0381 or email us at contact@exploretheworldtours.net.

Tauck’s Baltics and Russia tour offers an insider’s view of Old-World Baltic cities, as well as St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. Explore Helsinki, Finland; Riga, Latvia; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Tallinn, Estonia – with their age-old castles, medieval lanes, and incredible architecture. Travel by air (with an included flight from St. Petersburg to Moscow), coach, train and high-speed ferry. Visit Moscow’s Kremlin and Red Square, with a private presentation by an insider from the Soviet era. In St. Petersburg, visit Peter and Paul Fortress, enjoy high tea and an evening of Russian ballet, and a gala “Tchaikovsky Night” dinner. Tauck Exclusives include a guided visit to The State Hermitage Museum when crowds are fewer, and a guided tour of Stalin’s secret World War II Moscow bunker… with lunch!

Tour begins at 6:00 PM at Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Your transfer is included from Vilnius Airport to the Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel in the heart of Vilnius’ Old Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Meet your Tauck Director and travel companions at tonight’s welcome dinner.

Lodging

Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel

Old Town Vilnius and the castle of Trakai

Take a walking tour of Old Town Vilnius to appreciate its remarkable Baroque architecture, the city’s 16th-century cathedral and adjacent Cathedral Square. Wind your way along the Yellow Roads and go off-the-beaten path in Trakai, a picturesque town with a castle dating to the Middle Ages; return to Vilnius to explore as you please.

Lodging

Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel

Travel to Latvia via the Yellow Roads

Depart Vilnius and journey along the Yellow Roads through the pristine countryside of Lithuania; cross into Latvia and stop in seaside Jurmala on your way to the capital, Riga, an important trading center for Central and Eastern Europe from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Visit the city’s opulent 19th-century Opera House, which was painstakingly rebuilt in the 1990s and is a source of great national pride for the Latvian people. Your home for the next two nights is located in the heart of the old city.

Lodging

Grand Palace Hotel

Discover historic Riga, Latvia’s capital

Take a drive to Riga’s Art-Nouveau New Town, considered the best in Europe, for a guided walking tour; also check out Riga Market and the cobbled streets of Old Town, revealing buildings dating back 800 years, including Riga Castle, the Swedish Gate and the Three Brothers Medieval Dwelling House. This combination of period architecture has earned Riga’s Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. For those who wish, join us to explore some of the somber reminders of the tragic years of the Holocaust at the Jewish Museum and old Jewish Cemetery (holidays permitting). Enjoy an à la carte dinner at the hotel tonight.

Lodging

Grand Palace Hotel

Journey to Tallinn, Estonia’s capital

Depart Latvia and cross into Estonia this morning, stopping in seaside Parnu for lunch. Continue on to today’s final destination, the capital city of Tallinn, an outstanding example of a medieval Northern European trading center; explore the lower city on a walking tour with your local guide.  Overnight at your recently opened contemporary hotel, ideally located just minutes from Tallinn’s Old Town. Enjoy dinner à la carte tonight at one of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, the elegant Gloria.

Lodging

Swissôtel Tallinn

Toompea Castle & a ferry to Helsinki, Finland

Begin the day in Tallinn’s remarkably well-preserved city center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you’ll visit Toompea Castle. Then board a high-speed ferry to cruise first class across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. Finland’s capital city is an intriguing mix of parks, waterways, and various architectural styles, which you’ll explore on a sightseeing tour. Visit the extraordinary Temppeliaukio (The Rock) Church, built into solid rock in the 1960s; see the Neo-Classical Senate Square, the green cupolas and white columns of Helsinki Cathedral, the Sibelius Monument and Finlandia Hall. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant this evening.

Lodging

Hotel Kämp

To Russia with speed – St. Petersburg by rail

From Helsinki, your Baltics and Russia tour continues to opulent St. Petersburg via a fast train; the historic center of Peter the Great’s “Window to the West” is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Get aquainted with Russia’s cultural capital on an orientation tour that includes the imposing Peter and Paul Fortress, among the city’s oldest structures, built in 1703. Inside the fortress, Peter and Paul Cathedral, with a tall golden spire, contains the tombs of the Russian czars, including the city’s founder Peter the Great. Your home for the next four nights is itself a historic landmark – the celebrated Grand Hotel Europe on the famous Nevsky Prospekt.

Lodging

Grand Hotel Europe

A day around St. Petersburg and a night at the ballet

Today begins with a visit to St. Petersburg’s Grand Choral Synagogue (holidays permitting), then take an excursion to Peterhof (Petrodvorets, on the Gulf of Finland) for a tour of the summer palace of Peter the Great. A hydrofoil whisks you back to the city in time for high tea at your hotel, followed by a glorious evening of Russian ballet (schedule subject to change).

Lodging

Grand Hotel Europe

More treasures of St. Petersburg and environs

Journey to Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo) for a visit to the opulent Catherine Palace, expanded by Empress Catherine the Great in the mid-18th century, and its remarkably restored Amber Room. Back in St. Petersburg, take a guided tour that includes a visit to the 19th-century Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood, built as a memorial to Czar Alexander II on the site of his 1881 assassination. Spend the rest of the day exploring more of St. Petersburg on your own.

Lodging

Grand Hotel Europe

The State Hermitage Museum and Tchaikovsky Night

Today, Tauck has arranged an early morning visit – when crowds are fewer – to The State Hermitage Museum, boasting one of the largest collections of art and artifacts in the world. Displays include prehistoric cultures, classical antiquities, and Western European art; you’ll view celebrated ancient gold treasures on a special visit to the Gold Room. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure, then join us this evening for a sumptuous “Tchaikovsky Night” dinner at the L’Europe restaurant – accompanied by live music and a pair of ballet dancers from the Marinsky Theatre!

Lodging

Grand Hotel Europe

Fly to Moscow and visit Stalin’s bunker

Fly to Russia’s capital, Moscow, for a three-night stay in this ancient city. Upon arrival, enjoy an exclusive visit to Joseph Stalin’s hidden World War II bunker deep beneath Moscow, which was closed to the public for decades. Your Tauck group has been granted access by special permission; check out the central command room and Stalin’s personal effects in his private office, then contemplate your experience over lunch. Spend the next three nights with views of the Kremlin, Red Square and iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral from your room at the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow – just one of many great reasons to choose Tauck’s Russia tour!

Lodging

Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow

From the Tretyakov to the Kremlin

Begin the day by joining your local guide for a visit to the State Tretyakov Gallery/National Museum of Russian Fine Art, featuring 11th- to 20th-century paintings and sculptures by Russian artists. Have lunch on your own, then take a guided tour inside the 64-acre Kremlin, the center of Russian power for centuries and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the Armory Chambers, where you’ll see the treasures of the Czars, and Assumption Cathedral. Dinner is à la carte tonight at your hotel.

Lodging

Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow

Inside Red Square and Moscow’s Metro

You’ll have a unique opportunity this morning to meet a Kremlin insider from the Soviet era, who offers insights on Moscow’s past and how the city has adjusted to the 21st century – another exclusive you’ll enjoy when you travel with Tauck – before you explore iconic Red Square with a local guide. Later, tour part of the Moscow Metro; with stations built of wood, bronze, copper and marble and decorated with sculptures, reliefs and mosaics, it’s as much underground art gallery as transportation system. Spend the afternoon at leisure before capping Tauck’s spectacular Baltics and Russia tour with a festive farewell reception and dinner this evening.

Lodging

Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow

Journey home

Tour ends: Moscow, Russia. Your memorable Baltics and Russia tour concludes today; a transfer is included from the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow to Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo Airport. Please allow 3 hours for flight check-in.

Tour prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All hotel accommodations, motor coach transportation, the ferry service from Tallinn to Helsinki, train service from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, air travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow, special dinners, sightseeing, admissions, porterage and the services of your Tauck Director, local guides and drivers are included. Transportation from Vilnius Airport to the Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel is included, regardless of the time you check in to the hotel, provided you have furnished us with accurate flight arrival information at least two weeks prior to the start of your tour. If you are arriving into a local train station please retain a receipt for your transfer and submit it to your Tour Director for reimbursement. Transportation from the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow to either the Moscow Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo International Airports or the local train station is also included, when you check out of the hotel. Transportation to and from airports and train stations may be shared with other Tauck guests.

Hotel Accommodations – The tour price includes all hotel accommodations with private baths. Our standard is to provide the best available accommodations without sacrificing value. Although the quality may differ slightly from one hotel to another, our commitment to your comfort is unwavering. Two-bedded rooms are reserved in most hotels. Triples are usually two-bedded rooms plus a rollaway cot and are not recommended for comfort.

Meals – Most meals are included as specified in the itinerary. Bottled water will be included at all meals.

Tauck Director – Russian Glories, Baltic Treasures is conducted by a Tauck Director who remains with the group throughout the tour. Your Tauck Director is a professional, fully trained employee of Tauck.

Gratuities Included – All customary gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff and local guides are included.

No Options Sold – Your Tauck Director will assist you with information on free-time activities based on honest opinion and guidance but will not sell you anything. This means better value and a more relaxed and pleasant experience for you.

Departure Dates and prices