I did a dazzling trip to Lithuania and Latvia by bike, 930 km from Vilnius to Rigafor two weeks at the end of April, with a itinerary and stages studied before departure. After the adventure in the Balkans alone, a crazy journey between Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia (here is the article with photos), I embarked on another cycling adventure, this time together with Lucia Miceli, touching the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Spit.
A dazzling experience, in the midst of endless woods, wild sea, ruins of the former USSR, unexpected encounters. And quite a bit of it too fatigue and those priceless sensations that exploring little-known places gives you again and again little frequented by mass tourism (especially in this period), where it matters the art of making do and the ability to adapt.
To say that I recommend it to those who love venturing into new places is an understatement. Here are my photos, the posts on Facebook and Instagram made during the trip, and some useful information.
Lithuania, Latvia and Courland by bike, itineraries and stages from Vilnius to Riga
It’s not an easy feat to do a trip like this by bike in April: many facilities are closed and (in theory) it’s cold, you’re pedaling in thin air and you don’t know if your destination is really close or not. But also for this reason, almost a thousand kilometers in these parts becomes a priceless adventurewhere you have to get by and find solutions that take you back to when you were a child or to those trips of the past.
To describe what a bike trip in spring between Lithuania and Latvia, across the Courland peninsula, nothing better than starting from the end, with Lucia’s words upon arrival in Riga.
“We finally arrived in Riga yesterday after having cycled 930km!!!
I didn’t think I would actually make it 🙂
2 weeks of truly intense travel full of a thousand things: millions of pedal strokes (of course), an unexpected summer, hated climbs, exhilarating descents, lashing winds both enemy and friend, remote villages, encounters with foxes, storks and many other animals, places in nowhere that open just for us, forests, rivers, countryside, white beaches, zero bars and restaurants for entire days, lunches on benches, sunsets over the Baltic Sea, many alus, many ačiū and paldies, dirt roads, borders, technical clothing , places that close very early, incitements, sleet, highways, hills with stairs, unlikely expenses in supermarkets, DIY sample salads, closed restaurants, sleeping in the middle of nowhere, complaints and outbursts, sore legs, atlas obscura, residues Soviets, couchsurfing meetings after 8 years, lots of greenery, wooden houses, ruined places, blue sky, high fives, tanned faces, Lithuanian birthday party, smoked fish, tiredness, shit, soups, ten straight hours of sleep, big cats, names unpronounceable, places that seem like mirages, roads, bus stops, selfies, lakes, hydroelectric power plants, castles, Russia in front, wind turbines, jumping fish, ugly Easter bunnies, street art, UNESCO heritage sites and much more.
(Thanks to Marco for supporting and putting up with me!)”
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What do you need to go to Lithuania and Latvia
Lithuania and Latvia are part of the Schengen Agreement no passport is required.
L’tourist office of Lithuania, based in Milan, helps tourists orient themselves before departure. We found very kind staff who provided us with lots of useful material, including maps that we used on the trip.
How to get to Vilnius or Riga
Simple, with a Ryanair flight departed from Bergamo. The return from Riga. By booking in advance, we spent 86 euros each.
Bike rental in Lithuania and Latvia
The bicycle is a very popular means of transport in the Baltic countries and you can easily find shops that rent them. We turned to velovilnius.lt and we rented excellent quality touring bikes, equipped with bags and repair kits. The owner, also a cycle tourist passionate, he proved to be extremely available, prepared and provided us with excellent solutions maps for travel with GPSdefinitely better than the guides.
Where to sleep on a bike trip between Lithuania and Latvia
A bit wherever it happens. Especially nin private homes, in some hotels in the larger centres. We used Booking and also Google, improvising day by day. Since it’s out of season, many facilities were closed, so it’s best to try plan your trip ahead of time and plan your accommodation accordinglybut you will always find a place, because people willingly open their houses to tourists.
Larger cities and those on the coast offer more options.
Where to eat along the road between Vilnius and Riga
In the summer season they are there bars and restaurants (few) for refreshment. But in April…everything closed? On the other hand, there are supermercatinipresent in every town and local “meeting place”.
See moose in Courland
The Courland peninsula is an outdoor paradise, a UNESCO heritage site where if you are lucky you can see moose in the morning. It is no coincidence that there are more people here than elsewhere, given that it is a tourist destination for all Balts. And by the way, it’s right here the only real cycle path we encountered during the entire holiday: more than 100 km, which reaches almost 200, if you continue until after Klaipeda, inside a national park.
Lithuania and Latvia by bike, the guide
There isn’t much available among the guides: we used Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from Lonely Planet.
From Vilnius to Riga, itinerary and stages
We started from Vilnius, we cycled in the middle of an early summer: usually in these parts in April May it freezes, but spring 2019 was anomalous, with temperatures above 25 degrees and a tanning sun. But in the end, in Riga, there was snow and 2 degrees below zero!
Photo Marco Biella Facebook e Instagram
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