There will be buffet breakfasts in the hotels offering plenty of choice including cold meats, cheese, eggs, bread, jams, juice and coffee.

Lunches will be a mixture of picnics bought from local shops and cafe stops.

Dinners will be taken in the hotel restaurants or in local restaurants and will be hearty meals. Cuisine in this area is often centred around pork, veal, fish, potatoes, sauerkraut, and soups such as borsch (beetroot soup). Dumplings are also popular and, in Trakai, large and delicious savoury pastries called kibinai are traditionally served.

Meet your tour leader and fellow travellers at a hosted welcome dinner in Vilnius. Share a meal while getting to know the group and hearing about the walks, islands and historic cities that feature in this journey through the Baltics and Finland.

This gathering offers an introduction to Lithuania’s capital and a chance to settle into the rhythm of a small-group walking holiday. It is the tour’s included dinner, rather than an additional meal to arrange independently.

See Trakai Island Castle rising from Lake Galve, its red-brick towers and walls reflected in the surrounding water. This is a visit to admire the castle and its lakeside setting; entry to the building is not specified as part of the tour.

Built as a stronghold of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently restored, the castle remains one of the country’s most recognisable historic sights. Its island position gives it a striking contrast with the lake and wooded shores.

Walk through Žemaitija National Park to Plokštine, where a former Soviet missile base now houses the Cold War Museum. Explore its underground spaces and learn how this concealed military site fitted into the wider Cold War.

The contrast between peaceful parkland and subterranean bunkers makes the visit particularly revealing. Exhibits place the base within the history of the Baltic region, giving context to a landscape that once served a very different purpose.

Explore Suomenlinna Fortress independently as an optional visit from Helsinki. A ferry from Market Square is the usual way to reach the islands, where you can walk among fortifications, historic buildings and parks while enjoying views across the water.

This UNESCO World Heritage site preserves a major chapter of Baltic military history. Museums and other attractions offer further ways to explore at your own pace. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; ferry travel and any admissions are not included.

Explore Vilnius on a guided tour of its historic centre, taking in the old town’s churches, Gates of Dawn, Vilnius University and Cathedral Square. The route introduces the landmarks that have shaped Lithuania’s capital across centuries of religious and civic life.

Vilnius is known for its extensive Baroque architecture, visible among the old town’s winding streets and varied church facades. The university, founded in 1579, adds another layer to a city whose buildings reflect its long history as a cultural crossroads.

Follow an easy circular walk through Karosta, Liepaja’s former military district. Forest paths, Baltic shoreline and the Fortress Canal frame views of the Redan fortification, other remnants of the tsarist fortress and later Soviet military structures.

Karosta’s layers of military history remain visible in its built landscape, while the golden domes of St Nicholas Naval Cathedral rise above the surrounding streets. The walk pairs coastal scenery with a close look at how successive armies reshaped this part of Latvia.

Walk through Riga with a guide to see Riga Castle, Dome Cathedral and St Peter’s Church, alongside the Great and Small Guild Halls. The surviving Swedish Gate and sections of fortification reveal the city’s defensive past.

The route also takes in Latvia’s Parliament building and the Freedom Monument, whose figure holds three stars representing the country’s historic regions. Together, Riga’s civic, religious and merchant landmarks tell the story of a Baltic capital shaped by trade and changing rule.

Walk from the White Dune at Saulkrasti towards town on sandy paths and wooden boardwalks. Seaside forest, old pines and openings towards the beach bring the Baltic Sea coastline into view along the approximately 3.7mi (6km) planned route.

The walk usually takes around two hours and offers an accessible introduction to Latvia’s coastal landscape. If weather and your tour leader’s assessment allow, there may be an opportunity to extend it by a further 3.7mi (6km) along the beach.

Hike a circular coastal route on Harilaid Peninsula in Vilsandi National Park, passing wind-shaped trees, dunes, sandy beaches and pebbled shores. Watch for seabirds and, with luck, seals while following the island’s exposed western coast.

The route brings Kiipsaare Lighthouse into view from the shore. Built inland, the tower now stands in the sea as the coastline has shifted around it; unstable ground has also given it a changing lean. The lighthouse is admired from a distance.

Walk the Sääretirp trail on Hiiumaa’s Kassari Peninsula, following mostly flat countryside and coastal paths towards a narrow cape reaching into the sea. Trees and shrubs give way to a pebbled shoreline, with sea kale flowering white beside the water in season.

The slender landform creates an unusually open sense of sea and sky. This is an easy-paced chance to experience Hiiumaa’s quieter coastal scenery; travellers who would like to swim can bring water shoes for the stony shore.

Visit Kõpu Lighthouse on Estonia’s Hiiumaa island, where its broad white tower rises above the surrounding forest. See a landmark that has guided mariners navigating the waters off the island for centuries.

Among the world’s oldest working lighthouses, Kõpu began serving as a daytime navigation marker by 1531. Its purpose was to warn ships away from dangerous shallows, making this visit a window into the Baltic Sea’s long history of trade and seafaring.

Explore Tallinn on a guided walking tour of its medieval old town, including Town Hall Square, Toompea Castle and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Continue through Kalamaja’s colourful wooden-house streets to Balti Jaama Market, where local products offer a glimpse of contemporary Estonian life.

Walls, towers and winding lanes preserve much of Tallinn’s medieval atmosphere. Kalamaja’s fishing-port heritage provides a different perspective, while the market brings the walk into an everyday gathering place for food and local goods.

Walk the Fiskträsk circular trail in Sipoonkorpi National Park, near Helsinki. The route passes forest, canyons and Ice Age-shaped rock formations, including a stretch through dense old woodland.

Sipoonkorpi brings classic Finnish scenery within reach of the capital: lakes, rugged crags and green forest define the park. The walk focuses on these varied natural features, with a possible trail extension depending on the group and conditions.

Walk through historic Porvoo, one of Finland’s oldest towns, and experience its streets on foot. The visit offers time to notice the scale and character of a place with a long civic history outside the bustle of Helsinki.

Porvoo’s old town is known for its traditional wooden buildings and riverside setting. Exploring at walking pace brings its preserved streetscape into focus and adds a small-town contrast to the journey’s capital-city tours.

Discover Finland’s capital on a sightseeing tour using included public transport. Travel past the harbours and along Mannerheim Street, taking in the Parliament Building, Finlandia Hall, Market Square, the Sibelius Monument, the Rock Church and Oodi Library.

The route shows different expressions of Helsinki’s design heritage, from civic monuments to Oodi’s glass, steel and wood architecture. Harbour views and central public spaces give a feel for a city closely connected to the Baltic Sea.

Discover Kernave’s five hill forts and walk the White Hill Educational Trail in Neris Regional Park. An observation platform opens up views of the winding Neris River, while the path leads through forest towards the historic earthworks.

Kernave was an important centre in medieval Lithuania, and its archaeological landscape is recognised by UNESCO. Walking between river viewpoints and wooded paths makes the relationship between the settlement and its natural setting especially clear.

Walk through Kuldiga’s UNESCO-listed old town, where wooden buildings and a historic street plan preserve the character of a Latvian trading town. Visit Venta Rapid, celebrated as Europe’s widest waterfall, and take in the broad sweep of water across the river.

Rather than a towering drop, the rapid stretches across a remarkable width, giving it a distinctive profile. Kuldiga’s streets and riverside setting make this a visit focused equally on townscape and natural landmark.

Visit a local winery near Kuldiga for a tour and tasting. Hear about the producer’s approach and sample its wines in a setting that offers a different perspective on Latvian food and drink culture.

This hosted tasting adds a personal encounter to the visit to Kuldiga. It is an opportunity to learn directly from a local producer, ask questions and notice the flavours and methods behind the wines, rather than simply stopping for a drink.