Estonia Holidays

Hi Inga,

We really enjoyed our trip through the Baltic States. It was an interesting part of the world to visit with so much history and I enjoyed the tales and experiences about the Medieval times.

Below is some feedback and I have attached a few photos.

• The standard of accommodation was good – particularly in Riga.
• We enjoyed the New Year’s Eve Gala night
• The city walking tours were very good and the local guides in each city were outstanding and passionate about their cities.
• The accompanying guide throughout the trip appeared inexperienced, uninterested and uninteresting. However, this did not dampen our experience. (He was from Latvia & called Valdan, or something like that, but we just called his ‘where’s Wally??’)
• Our respective airport transfers did not arrive at our Hotel to collect us for the airport on 5^th January so we made our own way to the airport which was very close. (I think my driver thought he was in a James Bond movie the way he was driving J )

Many thanks to you for all of your efforts in putting this trip together for us – it has been greatly appreciated.

Regards

Maria S

Daina – Good Evening,

I just wanted to let you know how much the Arnotts and Deans enjoyed their trip to Tallinn recently.

Beautiful unspoilt city and we loved the Opera.  My only comments were that we found the Christmas market disappointing in terms of retail offering.  The 3 Sisters was fine but no cosy comfortable room downstairs to sit and relax.  That said we had a lovely time and thank you for arranging things for us.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas,

Best wishes

John D

Dear Lena

We enjoyed the holiday very much, thanks. Riga and Tallinn in particular were exceptional. We enjoyed a number of really first class meals, including at Vincent's in Riga and restaurant Tchaikovsky in Tallinn. 

Our guide in Riga, and who stayed with us until we reached Tallinn, was particularly good. She was a similar age to ourselves and, having lived through the Soviet occupation, was able to speak first hand about what life was like then which we found very interesting.

We will remember the Baltics with pleasure.

Kind regards

Robert

Hi Saija,

Had a great time on the tour - first of all we were so lucky with the weather, I was a bit worried going so late in the year but the skies were blue and it was really warm right through to Friday. The hotels were very good although in Vilnius and Tallinn a little way from the centre.

Sightseeing highlights were the Hill of Crosses and the Art Nouveau district in Riga which was also my favourite city of the 3 - beautiful parks, squares and walking. 

Through Facebook, 2 American ladies on the tour have kept me updated on their continuing travels in Helsinki, St Petersburg and Moscow.

Finally, please pass a big thank you onto our tour guide Alina Osmolina.

Thanks,

Ian

Dear Lena,

My holiday to Tallinn went very well.  I thoroughly enjoyed this very interesting, historic city.  I visited the art museums in Kadriorg Park, the TV Tower, Lennusadam and the museums and historic sites of the Old Town, including the very interesting Museum of the Occupations.

The My City Hotel was excellent.  The location in the Old Town was very good as all the places I visited were either within walking distance or could be reached easily on public transport.  The breakfast in the hotel was great, with a wide choice.  The hotel staff were excellent and very helpful.  They upgraded me to a superior room because I was staying with them for a week.  The room was in a quiet location, was large, well furnished and clean.

The airport/hotel transfers were very efficient and prompt.  The Easyjet flights were fine.

Overall, it was a very relaxing and trouble free holiday.  I did not eat at the hotel in the evenings, but I found many excellent Estonian restaurants nearby - all of which served very good, freshly prepared meals.

Very many thanks.

Regards,

Jonathan K

Dear Inga,

Sorry not to get back to you sooner.  My holiday was not the most successful I’ve had for the following reasons:

-          I was ill-prepared for my visit – partly because I booked it a bit too close to my departure and hadn’t read enough about the two cities (Riga and Tallinn) I was visiting;

-          Also because a 92-year old friend collapsed the week before and a spent a whole day at the hospital with her and paid her several visits during that week.

-          Also because I had a bad stomach upset which started on the Friday night before I went on holiday, i.e. Friday 7^th- Saturday 8^th.   By Sunday evening, things seemed more or less ok when I left for Stansted and Riga the following morning.  However, I had a couple of really  bad days in Riga – one day when I had to stay in my hotel room all day.  However, by eating mostly bread and plain biscuits and drinking water, I got through the rest of the week. The available food was either very rich, or smoked or very heavy.  So, not my most successful holiday.  I did get out and about but not very far and not very fast as I felt quite weak some of the time.  My digestive system is still not quite right but improving and I have  very little energy.

At some point in the future, I would go back to Tallinn – lovely people and environment but found people in Riga less friendly and communicative. 

So, this was not a typical holiday for me – I spent most of my time quite close to the town centre and my hotel, apart from my final day in Tallinn when I went to the open air buildings museum.

The arrangements made by Baltic Travel all worked very well, apart from the taxi to the airport in Tallinn.  The driver was about five minutes late.  He was very apologetic – he had been helping a friend whose taxi had broken down.  We were in plenty of time to get to the airport but it is not the sort of thing one wants when one is going for a flight! 

With my thanks to you in particular, and your colleagues, for arranging my holiday so efficiently.

Kind regards,

Deborah

PS:  I will send one or two photos shortly.

Dear Daina

Re the holiday:

1 Everything went perfectly - all drivers and guides turned up as scheduled...great.

2 Flights were fine

3 Hotels were excellent in terms of comfort and position...best one Tallinn. 

4 Guides were excellent especially the Riga one.

5 The restaurants were great - we had some wonderful meals in all 3 cities. 

6 Museums good but some were first class. Linda ( my achilles tendon was playing up after so much walking the day before so I rested)  went to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia in its temporary quarters. She said it was fantastic. It is difficult to be cheerful after seeing how Stalin treated these peoples.

The only slight problem was that you told me we could not go direct to St Petersburg from Tallinn (we went via Riga) but there were flights announced doing this. Am I correct?

Thank you very much for arranging an excellent holiday..we now have to write my 45 minute talk on the Baltic States! 

Hugo 

Hello Inga 

Sorry for not responding sooner. We had a really good trip, everything went very smoothly and it was so relaxing. I will send you a few photos. 

We were very impressed with the inter-city buses, so comfortable and quick.

Padaste Manor was fantastic, and the hotels in Vilnius and Riga were good and in excellent locations. But we were not impressed with the Merchants House in Tallinn, although again in a good location it really does need some care and attention. The staff were pleasant but the first bedroom we had was really dark and gloomy, then they kindly moved us to another floor so we had more light and a proper shower. But the breakfast is taken in a horrible dark basement like a dungeon, and the main sitting room where the reception desk is located is totally uncared for and would not be a nice place to sit. 

Kind regards

Francesca

Hi Inga,

Thank you for your email. Sorry for the late reply, I've been very busy last week and didn't get a chance to reply earlier. The holiday was very enjoyable indeed, the guides were very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, the hotels I stayed in were very nice and well located, and the coach we travelled in was very clean, modern and comfortable. The size of the group on the tour was also a good size that was not too big. The flights you helped to arrange were also great, departing/arriving at confortable times that weren't super early in the morning or late a night.

One thing I would have liked is if we could have spent a little more time at some of the sites (especially the beahces at the resort towns of Jurmala and Parnu) but given the schedules and the time required to drive between sites I'm not sure how practically feasibly this would actually have been.

Kind regards,

Younan

Dear Daina

We are sitting in Tallinn airport about to board our flight home. We had the most fantastic holiday. I will write with more feedback in a few days.

Thanks so much for organising this excellent trip!

Helen

Dear Daina!

Sorry I am so slow responding, we just returned from Ireland yesterday.  

As for feedback, we were very happy with the tour and would recommend it to others.  The tour guide was really nice and did a fantastic job, the driver was also really nice and reliable, and the hotels and food were all good, and everything was really well-organized.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!

Best regards,

Kristen

Hi Daina

Thanks for getting in touch and yes we are back and settled and all went very well except I picked up a cold half way through but then got back to London and everybody seems to have one here as well!  We had a very enjoyable time and were really impressed with the efficiency of you and your colleagues because everything went very well – flights on time, taxi driver waiting at the airport, transfer yesterday and the hotels and internal travel.  We were particularly impressed with our regular guide, Lamya (not sure I have spelt her name correctly) who had a great personality and organised everybody so well and our walking guide in Vilnius and Riga, Yanis (not sure that’s right either) who was really informative and also answered lots of questions so we learnt a lot from him.  The only minor criticism was it was a shame we couldn’t have got an earlier flight out because we ended up getting to the hotel in Vilnius about midnight so we missed the welcome meeting and then of course were both very tired the next day as we were up early for breakfast before the walking tour so had very little sleep and it slightly lessened our enjoyment of the day. 

However we have both agreed we would very much like to do another Baltic Travel tour so will be checking out other options for future trips in due course.

Thanks very much for organising and have a good week.

Best regards

 Helen M

Hello Saija

Thank you.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the Baltic States.

The best of the hotels was the Radisson Blu in Vilnius but those in Riga and Tallinn were very comfortable.

The geographical location of each of them in terms of old town accessibility was superb.  The choice of restaurants everywhere was mind-boggling.

We enjoyed the inclusive on-foot city tours with knowledgeable and interesting guides.  Our guide, Petros, who escorted us from Vilnius to Tallinn was especially deserving of praise. 

The full complement of tourists on this particular holiday totalled 15 which was excellent when it came to managing walking tours.  It also provided lots of space on our 42 seater coach!

We learned to say 'thank you' in three completely different languages.  Most confusing!

This was a great, relaxing way to visit the Baltic States and we highly recommend it. We are also grateful for the attentive and professional way you helped us prior to our departure.

Best wishes.

Thank you.  Aciu.  Paldies.  Aitäh.

Terry 

We enjoyed the holiday very much, thanks. Riga and Tallinn in particular were exceptional. We enjoyed a number of really first class meals, including at Vincent's in Riga and restaurant Tchaikovsky in Tallinn.

Our guide in Riga, and who stayed with us until we reached Tallinn, was particularly good. She was a similar age to ourselves and, having lived through the Soviet occupation, was able to speak first hand about what life was like then which we found very interesting.

We will remember the Baltics with pleasure.

Kind regards

Robert

Happy new year to you too!
The holiday in Tallinn was a great success - everything went as planned and we all enjoyed it. A great start to 2017.
Many thanks
Denise

We just got home last night from our wonderful trip to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland!  We have been lucky enough to have traveled all around the world but this was the only trip where things worked perfectly. We were accustomed to queuing up for taxis at airports and feeling uneasy about whether the meter was fair, to accidentally taking the wrong bus, or to being disappointed because the hotel that looked so great on the internet did not look great in person.  We have stayed in towns that literally closed down on Sundays and there had been no mention of that on-line.  We ate dinner from a vending machine because no restaurants were open.  Those glitches didn't ruin our trips - we just figured they were part of traveling.  Now we know better!  On the trip Baltic Travel arranged for us we were picked up at and delivered to every airport or bus by our own drivers.  What a luxury!  And in each city we enjoyed local tour guides arranged by Baltic Travel.  We learned so much from them.  The hotels were clean and beautiful and all were located within walking distance of art museums - something important to us, and they all served fabulous free breakfasts.  We were traveling on my 70th birthday and the reception clerks all wished me a happy birthday and some hotels even had a treat waiting for me in our room!  Everything was first class.  We will definitely recommend you to our friends.  We can't thank you enough for all the wonderful memories!

Very best wishes!

Hap and Jo

I have been meaning to contact you.  We had a great time and loved the places we visited. Thank you for your support during the trip as contact with the in country rep wasn’t that easy unless you went on a lot of the excursions, which we didn’t as we like to do own thing, in our own time.

I would recommend the trip to others – in fact I already have.

Paul

We had a really good time, Daina. All the arrangements worked perfectly, the car transfers at each end, the hotels, the coaches, especially the three local guides and most especially the one based at Riga who came with us from Vilnius to Tallinn were all excellent. We would have forgone the diversion to see the Hill of Crosses, as we heard would most of the other guests, but that was our only downside.
We thank you and Baltic Travel for all your arrangements and we have no hesitation in recommending you.

Thank you.
Richard and Lynda

We had a great holiday, the Hotels in Vilnuis and Tallinn were first class, the hotel in Riga could do with a bit of sprucing up.
All three local guides were very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.
The itinerary was just right, having included tours but then options of extra tours or time to do your own thing.
We had bed and breakfast and there was so much choice at each of the hotels then on an evening we found some lovely restaurants and had really good meals.

We have already recommended this holiday to friends and family.

Thanks
Janice

Many thanks for your help with our trip.

We just returned from Tallinn.  We had a great time.  The hotel was first class, transfers were on time, no problems at all.

Thanks again!

Maarten

Dear Inga
 
Many thanks for all the help that you gave us before  we went on holiday - especially the extra help the day we left.  We had a brilliant time - you even arranged perfect weather for us.  We don't know how you did it but are very grateful!
 
Thanks again, Inga, for all your help.
 
Best wishes
 
Tina

Dear Inga
We are back and I am pleased to say that all your planning worked perfectly. The guides were excellent, the hotels as good as could reasonably be expected and we enjoyed our tour very much.
If it were useful I can give you detailed feedback in particular on the degree of accessibility we found for wheelchairs in each location. It is obvious that at the moment there is very patchy provision for wheelchairs. Museums were bad in Riga and churches in Tallinn. Overall Vilnius was the best city.
It was very difficult to find public disabled toilets in Riga, only one in the whole old city.
As for our next trip, I am interested in a tour to northern Pomerania in Poland, former Prussia, where my wife's family come from. I have researched this area for many years and known the names of places that her ancestors lived in for over 300 years.

Best wishes
Roger

Hi Lena, we have had a most wonderful time, and everything else worked liked clockwork........the hotels were beautiful (all quite different) and we have totally fallen for Riga and Tallinn especially ! Everyone was so very friendly ! We will definitely be going back to visit again, so thank you for your help, and wishing you a very Happy Christmas !
Kind regards, Jane

I just wanted to thank you very much for organising a terrific trip for Don and I through the Baltic Region.
All your arranging worked extremely well, with all transfers being on time, friendly and efficient.
The hotels we stayed in offered a variety of styles and all clean, central and a pleasure to be in.
Our guides were friendly and shared their wealth of knowledge of the area with us.
 
If you could pass on our thanks to the people involved that would be appreciated and a special thanks to yourself.
 
Don and I are now back home in Australia and have already recommended your company to a few people.
 
Kind Regards
from Jenny and Don

A somewhat belated but sincere thank you for the arrangements for our trip to Tallinn.

Everything ran perfectly and, as you said, the town was well worth the visit.

The Hotel was perfectly positioned and faultless. All in all it was an excellent short break.

If you have any other ideas for similar visits we should like to hear of them!

With best wishes,

John

Just to let you know we all really enjoyed our time in Tallinn.   The Hotel Von Stackelberg was excellent and the staff very helpful.

Thank you for all your help.  Hopefully we will be asking for your help for another short break before long!

Kid regards,
Mrs Rice

Just to let you know we all really enjoyed our time in Tallinn. The Hotel Von Stackelberg was excellent and the staff very helpful.

Thank you for all your help. Hopefully we will be asking for your help for another short break before long!

Kind regards,
Mrs Rice

We’d just like to say how much we enjoyed our recent tour of the Baltic States and to thank you for your help. It was very nice to be able to pick up the phone and deal direct with an actual person. We also very much apprectiated your checking us in for our Easyjet flights.

All the arrangements at the other end worked smoothly (except for our very first taxi transfer from th airport - he was stuck in traffic or something), the hotels were nice and the guides very good and informative. Everything was as we’d been led to expect when booking, and in the itinerary. It was useful that we didn’t have to make up our mind about the optional trips at the start of the holiday, but could book them nearer the day they were due to take place.

We filled in the questionnaire that Baltic Vision asked us to complete before leaving Tallinn, but we thought we’d like to thank the office at the London end too.

Best wishes,
Mr & Mrs Death

We had a great Baltic holiday. Everyone in my family really enjoyed it!

We don't have any negative comments. The Radisson Blu hotels were all excellent. The tour guides were all very good. The tour was very well organized. And we loved the various cities that we visited, especially Riga.

The only small comment we do have is regarding the lunch stop on the journey between Vilnius and Riga. We stopped for one hour or so in a quiet, dull shopping mall. Perhaps it would be better to stop at a nice village restaurant, or provide a picnic stop in a nice park?

Anyway, thanks again for a great holiday. Keep up the good work!

Ed

We had a wonderful trip. Everything beautifully organised. Accommodation excellent apart from Dikli Manor.

A beautiful building and grounds.

Hope these comments are helpful.

Best wishes

Marilyn

It was a great trip, thank you. Wonderful cities. Everything ran to plan. Travel and transfers all good. Accommodation very satisfactory.

We are talking about another Baltic trip next summer and, if we go ahead, I will most certainly use your company again.  I will also happily recommend you – indeed I have already done so!

With kind regards, Bill

I would like to compliment Daina on her excellent organisation of our holiday to the Baltic.  It was perfect.  When there was an odd hiccup she responded immediately with all the necessary information.  The fault lay with the guide and not Daina.  She will be the reason why I wil be booking further holidays with your company.  Please complement her on our behalf.
janet

Hi Inga!
 
Just to let you know how very much I enjoyed my stay in the beautiful Baltic states!
 
The itinerary you suggested was superb and worked perfectly; every hotel was expecting me, cars arrived at the right place and at the right time - your organisational skills are excellent!
 
Of the four capitals I visited, it is impossible for me to say which of Vilnius, Riga or Tallinn was best - they were all terrific in their own way!
 
Also, Nida, Trakai and Tartu were all excellent and interesting!
 
The ferry ride from Tallinn to Helsinki was enjoyable, as was the "cruise" round the harbour.
 
Helsinki itself I felt was a little bit too much like many other Western European capitals I have seen - same shops, same cafes, same MacDonalds etc., so if I ever go back to Finland I would probably go up-country.
 
Anyway I was entirely satisfied with the entire trip and thanks to you everything went like clockwork. I had a great time and would go back again any time.
 
If anyone asks me, I will recommend Baltic Travel Company - and Inga in particular!
 
Thanks again and best wishes,
 
Richard

Dear Inga
We have just returned from our Baltic Highlights Tour (with Helsinki addon) booked through yourself. As with our previous trip to Iceland arranged by Baltic Travel Company the service was once again exceptional and an example to other travel companies of how to provide clear and excellent customer service.At every point in our trip arrangements were as specified and we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday, knowing that we were being taken care of by a company who is clearly an expert in their field.Many thanks once again for all your patience and assistance. We would not hesitate to recommend you to others planning the same trips and indeed have already done just that.Should we be looking at any of the other destinations you offer, we will definitely use your company again.Other organisations within the travel industry should take note of the work that you do.

Hello Iveta

We would just like you to know how much we enjoyed our holiday in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. The hotels were all super, all the arrangements that you made for us were great, and I suppose that nobody can help Ryan Air, who did leave something to be desired at Stansted on our outward journey!

With our very best wishes
Neville and Joyce

Dear Veronika

I want to say thank you for arranging our trip it all went very smoothly.  On the downside we felt we didn't have enough time in Vilnius, and on the tour many of the hotels were a long walk into town, while the room in Tallin at the end was far better placed but  very, very small.  We loved our time in Riga and Tallin and the icing on the cake was ending the trip in Kuressaare.  We loved the Baltic countries and thank you for your patience!

Kind regards
Jackie H

The trip was wonderful, we really enjoyed it and feel everything you did to set it up was first class. Thank you

I will be more than happy to recommend you and your company should I have the opportunity. I have already told a number of people what a great trip it was and how they should go to the Baltics. Perhaps some will. Thank you again

Hi Daina, we have returned home after a truly wonderful tour. We want to thank you once again for all of your care and attention which resulted in us having a great time. It was a small group and surprisingly there were two other australian couples who had booked with you. The guides we had with Baltic vision were first class and the accommodation very good indeed. As it happened we were the only people left on the group going on to moscow from st petersburg so we had hands on care. We were able to spend our last day in London amid the buzz off the para games and managed a ride on the london eye. Thank you once again, John & Sue

Dear Daina, We have enjoyed our tour in Estonia very much. The hotels were excellent. The food was very good and the rooms and facilities very comfortable. We learnt a lot about Estonia and its recent history. We were the only English tourists in a group of about 16. The remainder were all German-speaking, but we got on well with all of them. The german-speaking guide was very experienced and very good, but while I do speak some German, my wife does not at all, so we were reliant on our English-speaking guide, who, while she did her best, was not as good as the other. It was better when we were not in the coach, but walking about. However, this was our only niggle, and it didn`t really spoil our enjoyment of the holiday. It might be worth suggesting to any future travellers on this particular holiday, that they take some insect-repellent with them, especially to the last stop, at Vihula Manor- we were both bitten quite a lot!
Crispin R.

Dear Daina

My apologies for the delay in sending a quick e-mail of thanks to you. Our trip to Tallinn was fantastic; the travel arrangements were perfect and every part of the journey worked like clockwork. The Hotel Telegraaf was delightful and the people we met there very friendly and eager to make our stay as comfortable as possible. Tallinn itself is, as you know, beautiful and fascinating - we were not disappointed with anything about it.  It is the perfect size for exploring on foot and of course is blessed with plenty of great places to take refreshments!  The people of Tallinn and Estonia were charming and friendly and made kind allowance for my very poor attempt at the language! All in all we had a fantastic time, made possible with your help. Thank you.

Kind Regards
Ian and Fiona

Dear Iveta – we’ve now returned to Saudi Arabia after our holiday in the UK and Estonia. Just to let you know that we really enjoyed our trip to Tallinn, and thought the Hotel Telegraaf was lovely – we both said we’d go back again, maybe when the weather is a little better and we could hire a car and visit some more places.  

Thank you so much for your help in arranging our trip.

Kind regards,
Janet H.