Cycling the Baltic States guided & self-guided tours 2017 Lithuania Latvia Estonia Poland Russia Belarus www.balticbike.lt TABLE OF CONTENTS Tour Code CONTENT Page Tourist information and our bike tour services 4 Guided bike tours in the Baltic Countries (guaranteed departure dates) G1 Cycling the Baltics (Lithuania – Latvia – Estonia) with Curonian Spit & Saaremaa Island (11 days / 10 nights, from Vilnius) 6 G2 Cycling tour in Lithuania & Latvia with the Curonian Spit & Gauja national park (8 days / 7 nights, from Vilnius) 7 G4 Cycling tour in Latvia & Estonia with Tallinn, Saaremaa Island and Lahemaa National Park (9 days / 8 nights, from/to Riga) 8 G5 New! Cycling tour in Lithuania, Poland & Belarus with Dzūkija National park (10 days / 9 nights, from/to Vilnius) 9 Short guided and self-guided nature and city bike tours in Lithuania GX1 Vilnius Bike Tour “All sides of Vilnius” (2-3 hrs. or 4-6 hrs., guided) 10 GX2 Klaipeda (Smiltyne) – gateway to the Curonian Spit (4 hrs., guided) 10 GX3 Žemaitija National Park – the land of lakes and forests (1 day, guided or self-guided) 11 GX4 Bike & boat tour of the Curonian Spit National Park (1 day, guided or self-guided) 11 Self-guided bike tours in the Baltic Countries (with luggage transport) SG7 Cycling the Baltics (Estonia – Latvia – Lithuania) with national parks Lahemaa, Gauja & Curonian Spit (11 days/10 12 nights, from Tallinn) SG11 New! Cycling the Baltics (Lithuania – Latvia – Estonia) with Saaremaa Island, Curonian Spit & Gauja national parks 13 (11 days/10 nights, from Vilnius) SG1 Cycling tour along the Lithuanian seaside (Curonian Spit & Nemunas River Delta) (8 days / 7 nights, from/to Klaipėda) 14 Self-guided bike tours in the Baltic Countries SG2 Cycling in Lithuania: from the capital to the seaside (9 days / 8 nights, from Vilnius) 15 SG10 Cycling in South-Lithuania: Čepkeliai – Dzukija national / PAN park (7 days / 6 nights, from/to Vilnius) 16 SG3 Cycling tour in Lithuania and Latvia: along the Baltic Coast to Riga (8 days / 7 nights, from Klaipėda) 17 SG4 Cycling tour in Latvia and West Estonia (9 days / 8 nights, from Riga) 18 SG9P Cycling in Estonia: the west seacoast & Islands of Hiiumaa, Saaremaa & Muhu (12 days/11 nights, from/to Tallinn) 19 Self-guided bike tours in Lithuania, Poland and Russia SG5 Cycling around the Curonian Lagoon through Kaliningrad District (Lithuania – Russia) (12 days/11 nights, from Klaipėda) 20 SG6 The three countries tour along the Baltic Coast – Lithuania, Russia/Kaliningrad, Poland (11 days/10 nights, from Klaipėda) 21 Baltic Bike Travel General Terms and Conditions 22 Tallinn ESTONIA Baltic Sea BALTIC BIKE TRAVEL RUSSIA Naujoji Uosto Str. 3, Rīga LT-92120 Klaipėda, Lithuania LATVIA Tel.: +370 46 300 144 Fax: +370 46 300 145 Klaipėda E-mail: [email protected] LITHUANIA Vilnius www.balticbike.lt RUSSIA BALTIC BIKE TRAVEL services: POLAND BELARUS Ĕ Guaranteed departure escorted & self-guided cycling tours in the Baltic States Ĕ Tailor made cycling, kayaking, bird watching, nature and cultural tours; Ĕ Hotel/guesthouse/countryside inn bookings; Ĕ Comfortable transport/transfer services; Ĕ Bus, train and ferry ticket reservations; Ĕ Experienced cycling tour leaders and city guides; Ĕ Rental of quality bicycles and tourist equipment of well known brands (Kalkhoff, Giant, Merida, Ortlieb) Why BALTIC BIKE TRAVEL? Ĕ Experienced team - more than 10 years of specialist travel know-how and experience in cycle map and travel guide publishing, developing cycle routes! Ĕ Value - Quality trips at affordable prices! Ĕ By travelling with us you support bicycle culture in the Baltic States! Partnership & membership: 2 www.balticbike.lt Dear Cycling Friends, We are pleased to introduce you to this 2017 catalogue offering a wide range of cycle travels organised by BALTIC BIKE TRAVEL (BBT) which is the only incoming tour operator in Lithuania specializing in cycling holidays and nature trips. We are experts on cycling and other kind of active holidays in the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) and neighboring countries since 2001. In this catalogue, we present our top product - guaranteed departure GUIDED GROUP CYCLE TOURS covering two or three Baltic countries (pp. 6-8). Besides Lithuania, a route of our newest tour (p. 9) covers Poland and mysterious Belarus. All tours combine sightseeing in cities like the Baltic capitals - Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn - and exploring nature wonders like the Curonian Spit sand dunes and the Nemunas River Delta’s birdlife in Lithuania, deep valleys of the Gauja River in Latvia, stony seasides of Lahemaa National Park and impressive Saaremaa Island in Estonia, Augustow Canal in Belarus and Masurian Lakeland in Poland, etc. You are welcome to join our Baltic group tours where cyclists from different countries travel together. These groups are guided by experienced local guides speaking German, English and Russian. By the way, most of our tours are guaranteed with minimum 2 participants and trips are not cancelled at a short notice like many other tour operators do! After booking the tour you are free to book your flights as early as possible in order to get the best deal available. Average group size on our tours with one guide is from 12 to 21 people, with two guides – up to 25 people. This catalogue contains a wide selection of SELF-GUIDED CYCLE TOURS too. The most popular self- guided routes connect the capital cities of the Baltic countries with our base town of Klaipėda on the Lithuanian Seaside known as the cyclists’ paradise. When choosing the route for your holiday we always suggest to start with an impressive tour along the Lithuanian Seaside (p.14) or 9-day tour along the Nemunas River from the capital to the seaside of Lithuania (p.15). If you want to explore all three Baltic countries at once go for 11-day half-guided tour from Tallinn to Vilnius with Lahemaa National Park (p.12) or the newest tour with Saaremaa Island in opposite direction - from Vilnius to Tallinn (p.13). For those who are more interested in Slavic cultures, we can offer our cycle travels through Poland, Kaliningrad District (Russia) and Grodno region in Belarus, which is a visa free zone since last year!. Belarus still remains a blank spot on the map for many foreigners, but our newest three countries guided circular tour in Lithuania, Poland and Belarus could fill up this gap (p.9). If you wish to see Kaliningrad, there is a choice from the two countries circular tour around the Curonian Lagoon, starting & finishing in Klaipėda (p.20), and the three countries tour along the Baltic coast from Klaipėda to Gdansk (p.21). On most self-guided tours you can take your own cycles or to hire ours. There are over 300 quality trekking cycles, modern E-bikes (Pedelec) and many tourist equipment of well known brands as well as several cycle trailers and minibuses waiting for our guests in our garage. For families with children we offer a wide range of tourist equipment from cycles with 24“ size wheels to special 2-seat trailers and trailer- bikes. We’d like to thank all our loyal customers and sincerely invite for the new adventures with Baltic Bike Travel! Yours cycling Saulius Ružinskas & BALTIC BIKE TRAVEL Team www.Baltikum-Radreisen.euwww.balticbike.lt 3 Tourist information and our cycle tour services LEGEND Individual self-guided tour: You may plan your day as you like. Our maps and route descriptions will show you the right way. Group guided tour: Travelling with the group and being accompanied by a minibus and cycling tour guide. Circular tour: Regular relocation from hotel to hotel, but finally returning to the starting point. E-bike/Pedelec: On tours with this logo you can rent a pedal electric cycle (Pedelec) - a type of bicycle where the rider‘s pedalling is assisted by a small electric motor Guaranteed departures: Plan your vacation in advance. We guarantee departures even on group tours with minimum 2 participants if you travel with us on fixed dates. We make it happen! Entry with passport: For travels to the Baltic Countries and Poland a valid identity card is enough for people from many countries. For trips to Russia most people need a passport with a valid visa. TOUR PLANNING We design bike tours to take you on the most appealing cycling routes, as much as possible away from major roads and along beautiful scenic trails where you can experience nature. You may book one or more of our ready made cycle tour packages, combining them into one longer route, for example, Klaipėda-Riga (p. 16) & Riga-Tallinn (p. 17), or ask for an individual tour program. Be patient to wait longer to get ready the tailored tour program with services as it takes time to receive all confirmations from our partner hotels and tour op- erators. Often smaller guesthouses and B&Bs which are the only option in certain areas have limited space, then we have to redesign the tour program or ask you to change the travel dates. Most of our cycle tours, even group tours, are guaranteed with minimum 2 participants and trips are not cancelled at a short notice like many other tour operators do! After booking the tour you are free to book your flights as early as possible in order to get the best deal available. ARRIVAL For cyclists coming to travel in the Baltics with own bikes we reccommend using ferry lines and book them through us: Lithuania: DFDS Seaways: Kiel (Germany) – Klaipėda, Karlshamn (Sweden) – Klaipėda Latvia: Stena Line: Travemünde (Germany) – Liepaja or Ventspils, Tallink Silja Line: Stockholm (Sweden) – Riga or Tallinn Estonia: Finnlines: Travemünde – Helsinki (Finland) and Tallink Silja Line / Viking Line: Helsinki – Tallinn For other travellers the most convenient is flying to Palanga (Klaipėda), Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn and Gdansk where our bike tours start or finish.