How to find the best hiking route in the Baltics

Text by Valdis Čeičs, photos by Solveiga Kaļva, www.solveigakalvaphotography.com

How to find the best hiking route in the Baltics? Hiking routes in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are unknown to many hikers from Europe and overseas. In this article, I explain how to find the best hiking paths in the Baltics.

What do you need to know before planning a hike in the Baltics?

The best about hiking in the Baltics – it is quite easy and doesn’t require almost any extra physical preparation beforehand. The average elevation is 86 m above sea-level, which means no ascending routes of an extensive length, but you might experience a lot of small uphills and downhills, depending on the route you choose.

The most challenging part is maneuvering through the dense forests and avoiding making your feet wet on the marshlands. 60% of the whole territory of the Baltic States is covered by forests, but more than 20% – by swamps.

Find the best hiking route along the water

The population density in the Baltics is one of the lowest in Europe – 36 people per km², but all three countries offer a rich variety of cultural sites that can be easily combined with hiking in the wilderness. Most of the cities, towns, and villages in the Baltics are built next to a river, lake or the sea. A great way how to start planning your hiking route is finding a body of water you would like to visit and connecting it with the nearest town. Many national parks offer large territories of beautiful nature, marked hiking trails, rivers, lakes, and cultural monuments.

Baltic Nature Travel organized hiking tours

Private Haking Tours

Hike along three lakes and the sea

Hike in Kemeri National Park – Romantic Town Green Dune, Bog And Sulfur Water

Hike in in Latvia’s wilderness – along Rivers Loja and Gauja

Hike In Gauja National Park – Up And Down The Switzerland Of Latvia

Group Hiking Tours

Meditation along three lakes and the sea

Hike Kemeri – Romantic town, green dune and sulfur water

Two rivers, sandstone outcrops and the breath of history

Up and down hills of the Switzerland of Latvia

Fishermen’s spirit, fine sand beach and reed jungle

Multi-day Hiking Tours

Hiking Adventure in Gauja National Park

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What travelers say about us

EXCELLENT

36 reviews on

Jane Bower

2024-09-30

My partner and I (69 and 75) are just back from a 17 day self-drive tour put together with the help of Valdis from Baltic Nature Travel. It was an absolutely delightful and fascinating experience. We asked for quirky or unusual accommodation and a mix of hotels and self-catering - great fun. We went at our own pace and chose what to see. Everything was beautifully organised - a couple of small hitches were dealt with straight away on the phone. We are well-travelled but didn't know these stunning countries at all. Our overall impression is CLEAN and GREEN. Thank you, thank you for such a unique and special holiday.

Andrew Golding

2024-09-16

First Class Personal Tour of the Baltic Republics organised by Valdis: a bespoke, friendly, intelligent, safe and varied introduction to this wonderful part of the world. Wholly recommended.

David Morris

2024-09-10

Excellent booking experience - very easy and all the information we needed. Hire car arrived at the hotel as arranged and the handover was excellent. All the hotels that were booked for us were great and the itinerary was really wide-ranging and interesting. Estonia people were almost always friendly and helpful, and the restaurant food was great. Would definitely recommend Baltic Nature Travel and Estonia as a destination

Karen Green

2024-07-23

Valdis, the owner of Baltic Nature Travel, is a terrific tour organizer. His advance communication and arrangements were unfailingly responsive, prompt and helpful. On the trip, we had different guides as well as drivers in the different cities (Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.) In each case, they were well-informed and on time at the meeting point. We never needed to worry or contact the guide (though we were provided with their information.) Every hotel Valdis chose for us was of a very good standard, well-run, clean, exceptionally well located, and with wonderful breakfasts. The restaurants he recommended were also excellent – we learned to just go where he suggested! The tour was an exceptionally good value. In sum, we couldn’t have been more pleased. Our trip was wonderful and we left wanting to see more of the Baltics' beauty. If we do go again, we would unquestionably work with Valdis. In the meantime, we will recommend him to all of our friends.

Lucía Gómez

2024-07-17

Fantastic Self-Guided Hiking Experience! We recently completed a self-guided hike in Gauja National Park, which was wonderful. The trails were serene, and we rarely encountered other hikers. The provided materials and app were excellent and highly accurate. The hotels, luggage transfer, and overall transportation arrangements were flawless. Highly recommend this experience!

Paul Green

2024-07-12

Anna Brish was a fantastic tour guide for understanding Jewish history and culture in Vilnius. She was friendly, deeply knowledgeable, eager to answer our questions and accommodate our specific interests. Anna does other tours and we would take any of them, she’s amazing!

James Cornez

2024-07-11

Myself and my best friend came across this company whilst researching options to travel in Latvia and we are very pleased we did. Valdis was very amenable during the planning process by arranging video calls with both of us so we could better understand what was on offer for us to do. He compiled an 8 day itinerary for us that did not disappoint starting in Riga for 2 days. We paid for an optional 3hr walking tour which was very worthwhile to see the main sites of the city. Janis took us on the tour who is a great guy that gives you plenty of interesting information, ready to answer any questions regarding Latvian history/culture. We chose the self driving option to see as much of Latvia as possible which I would definitely recommend if you want to have more than just a city break. It took us to varied places ranging from the heavily forested and pretty areas of Sigulda (where we did a fun kayaking tour on the Gauja river) and Cesis to the pleasant coastal cities of Liepaja and Ventspills. Overall, definitely the company to approach if you want to authentically explore Latvia!

Esther A

2024-06-21

Valdis and his team helped us to organise a guided 16 day trip across Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Helsinki. We had a very enjoyable experience! Coming from Singapore and not knowing Valdis beforehand, we were initially worried about language and logistical challenges. All these were unfounded as Valdis and his guides were not only knowledgeable but also responsive, helpful and flexible. We had some minor hiccups during the trip but Valdis was able to resolve them very promptly. I would highly recommend engaging Valdis for your next trip!

Annette Ihrman

2024-06-16

The tour was very versatile and a good addition to our trip to Riga. We can recommend it!

K G

2024-04-06

I joined Valdis for Gauja national park tour and experience breathtaking views, beautiful cave, Plus the experience to see the inside of luge and skeleton track. It’s an unforgettable experience to see something outside the Riga! Highly recommended!!!

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