Vilnuis-Riga-Tallinn

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  Ok before I get my flight out there, I would like to know how easy/not easy taking the train or bus be  between these cities?

  The idea would be for the end of May and I would take the first train/bus from Vilnuis to Riga, and then a few days later from Riga to Tallinn.

  I have heard debates on the schedule for the train (not as frequent between Vilnuis and Riga etc), while the bus has more options.  I've also heard the train is much better and so forth.  So just curious how easy it would be to travel between these cities as I will only have a bit less than 2 weeks.

  Oh and these would be from the city Center Main stations for each city.  And I've looked at http://www.litrail.lt but am having problems with the website...

  Again this trip isn't definite as of yet, but if it looks like it would be fairly simple than I would probably book it if flights are good...

  Thanks

I would like to know how easy/not easy taking the train or bus be  between these cities?

In case of buses everything is extremely easy and pretty cheap, since buses are the main mean of transportation in Baltic states, thus there are like dozen of connections per day on both Vilnus-Riga and Riga-Tallinn routes. Travel time in both cases take around 4-4.5 hours. Key carriers are LuxExpress/EuroLines (with low-cost division SimpleExpress) and Ecolines/Norma-A companies. If you are ok with fixed date and time you can even get tickets on both segments for as low as 3 EUR, which is obviously a very nice deal.
In case of railway connection things are not as good. Between Vilnius and Riga train is not really an option at all, since there is no direct connection whatsoever and the only possible rail option is rather absurd and expensive (first taking Vilnius-S.Petersburg train till Daugavpils and then changing there for the one to Riga, option basically requires spending almost whole night in Daugavpils). Option Riga-Tallinn by train only is more adequate, but still requiring quite some time (thus good in case you have time and want to see as much of Latvia and Estonia as you can), since you need to board Riga-Valga train (dep.13:20, arr. 16:35, 3.75 LVL), then in Valga you change for Valga-Tallinn train (dep.16:47-arr.21:24, 8.95 EUR). Riga-Valga and Valga-Tallinn trains are so to say connected, thus no need to worry about change time of 12 min. in Valga. If the one from Riga is late (which is really remote possibility), then the other one waits for it. For by train option here also speaks a fact that there are quite a few interesting places on the route (like Sigulda and Cesis in Latvia or Tartu in Estonia), so you can actually make a small tour in between Riga and Tallinn. While if you go by bus there is pretty much only one destination worth a stop - Parnu.
Regarding flights: it seems rather unnecessary option for such distances, especially taking into consideration the fact that you need to arrive at the airport in advance + flight time + road from the airport to the city centre, thus you end up spending almost the same time as by by direct bus, but paying for such short flight a few times more. Flights Vilnius-Riga or Riga-Tallinn mainly considered to be a type of feeder flights for other long distance flights dep/arr. to/from Riga.

  Yeah I did a bit more research and found the Lux site and didn't realize it was only about a 5 hour bus ride from Vilnuis to Tallinn so just doing the bus from Vilnuis to Riga would be my best bet I think (since you stated what I was hearing from others about the train not being as easy between the two).

  From Riga to Tallinn then I could maybe take your suggestion and check out either Sigulda and Cesis or Tartu for a side trip on my way up to Tallinn.  From there I could either fly out from Helsinki or Tallinn. 

  I'll do some more research on the cities and see what I can come up with.  But looks like I can just stick to the buss this time and forgo the trains at least for Vilnuis to Riga.  I do have a few other options for destinations (Zagreb-Ljubljana-???), but I'll see if I can't just get this trip first.  I may have some more follow up questions after getting my bookings in the next few months on this itinerary.  Thanks...

...it was only about a 5 hour bus ride from Vilnuis to Tallinn

You probably meant Vilnius-Riga in <5 hours Vilnius-Tallinn will be twice as long, more like 600km, thus difficult to do by bus in 5 hours )))

...so just doing the bus from Vilnuis to Riga would be my best bet I think

Well, if you really up for a train ride, then you can try just getting train from Vilnius till the most convenient Northern Lithuanian destination (e.g. somewhere not far from Latvian border and with easy connection to Riga). I guess most convenient will be Vilnius-Šiauliai by train (app. 2.5 hours and 35 LTL), then just catch next bus to Riga (quite a few during the day, app. 25 LTL and a bit more than 2 hours of travel time). Such combination obviously more expensive than direct bus ticket, but might be more fun and rail oriented 

From Riga to Tallinn then I could maybe take your suggestion and check out either Sigulda and Cesis or Tartu for a side trip on my way up to Tallinn.

Neither Sigulda, Cesis or Tartu are very big, so it's totally enough to spend just a few hours in each, imho. Thus you can easily organize the whole thing something like this: morning start by train Riga-Sigulda (which is only an hour ride), spend there a few hours, then next train from Sigulda to Cesis (app. 40 min), again a bit of sightseeing and finally catch that 13:20 Riga-Valga train (in Cesis it's at 15:10), so you can safely change to Valga-Tartu-Tallinn one. From which you can get off in Tartu at 18:17, thus still have time to see a town in the evening and catch last bus Tartu-Tallinn or you can spend night in Tartu and get of morning train to Tallinn etc. So you can basically end up making route Riga-Tallinn in a daytime and in addition visiting quite a few places in between.
But to be honest, direct bus Riga-Tallinn also might be of interest, since it's not just about cheaper and faster, but also about some nice views, since bus travels in many places really close to the seashore and you can actually see nice scenery of white sandy beaches, dunes etc.

  Great ideas.  I just booked the trip so flying into Helsinki and leaving from Vilnius.  So looks like I'll just spend a few days in Helsinki, then take the boat to Tallinn for 2 or so days, then bus to Riga and take the train to Sigulda and maybe Cesis for a day side trip or overnight and then a few more days in Riga before taking the bus to Vilnius.

  Would like to go to Belarus, but visas are a problem and borders could be a major pain, even though I'll be close to the border.  So not going to try that this time.  Will try and find something else close to Vilnius that I can do a few day long side trips as I will be there for almost 4 days.

  So just glancing at the LuxExpress it looks like it's better for me to get my bus tickets online rather than getting them at the stations.  Just glancing at sample dates for the past weekend it looked like some of them were already full.  Also not sure if I would need to do the same for the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn either?

  Also I was thinking of possibly adding Tartu between Tallinn and Riga, but for some reason I'm only seeing one bus (I thought there were a lot more) and it supposedly only arrives at 22:00 which I really late.  Plus the price seems really off too (32 €).  So thinking I should just do the original plan and go straight from Tallinn to Riga...

... then bus to Riga and take the train to Sigulda and maybe Cesis for a day side trip or overnight and then a few more days in Riga before taking the bus to Vilnius.

Actually suggestion about Sigulda and Cesis (as well as Tartu) was just because those places happened to be on the way (by rails) from Riga to Tallinn. So it was like by chance visit suggestion. If you plan just to take direct bus Tallinn-Riga, then you might change your preferences and substitute Sigulda and Cesis with something closer or just other 

So just glancing at the LuxExpress it looks like it's better for me to get my bus tickets online rather than getting them at the stations.  Just glancing at sample dates for the past weekend it looked like some of them were already full.  Also not sure if I would need to do the same for the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn either?

Well, buses (especially on peak timing) can be sold out, but even if this happens, then you always will have a chance to catch the next one or just use competitor company. The real reason for purchasing online in advance is that you can get much cheaper tickets (like 3 EUR offer on SimpleExpress or discount on Ecolines etc.), so if you are sure about your dates, it actually makes sense not to wait until last minute.
While stories with ferries being "sold out" is like an impossible thing. Ships just to big and as well many companies/trips per day. Potential problem with seats might be just on fast ferries (run by Linda Line). Also, take into account that ferry operators as well have sales and special pricing policies, like differentiation between times, days or seasons of departure. For example difference in fare for the morning ferry and the afternoon can be rather essential, friday vs. midweek etc.

Also I was thinking of possibly adding Tartu between Tallinn and Riga, but for some reason I'm only seeing one bus (I thought there were a lot more) and it supposedly only arrives at 22:00 which I really late.  Plus the price seems really off too (32 €).

Hmmm??? Tallinn-Tartu route is served by buses like ones an hour (even twice or more during the peak hours) + at least 3 trains per day. Most expensive bus ticket is 10 EUR, and train even cheaper. While Tartu-Riga route indeed it's only 4 departures (two morning buses), evening one (16:45-20:35) and kind of overnight (1:05-5:00) +daytime rail option via Valga (see below). And bus ticket fare Tartu-Riga doesn't exceed 16 EUR.
Also you might consider just reversing proposed earlier 'by rails' option between Tallinn and Riga? Should look something like dep. Tallinn in the evening, spend night in Tartu, then at 10am board train to Valga, change there for Valga-Cesis-Sigulda train, you'll be in Cesis around 1pm, few hours for Cesis, then get 15 train to Sigulda (there around 16), again a bit of sightseeing and finally you'll be in Riga by evening. It seems to save time comparing to the option of day side trip from Riga to Sigulda/Cesis and then back to Riga.

  Well I'll have a good 4 days or so to kill In Riga, so what might be a fun idea is to just go direct there from Tallinn on the bus, stay a night, go to Sigulda and Cesis, spend the night in Cesis and then head back to Riga for another night or two.

  The Tartu thing was strange how I was not finding anymore buses on the Lux site, I had seen other things saying there are a lot of buses going there as you mentioned, but I just couldn't seem to pull that up on the site.  Either way if I hit Tartu, I'd want to get there in the morning and spend the day there at least and night and leave the next morning  and doing the train to Valga to Ceiss and maybe take the train to Sigulda and back to Ceiss and spend the night there.  That way the next morning I can just take off to Riga for a few days before taking the bus to Vilnius. 

  This is of course there would be enough time for both towns if I left Tartu at 10am (since http://www.edel.ee has that as the earliest time and I'm not finding a bus that goes to either Valga or Cesis from Tartu).  I just don't want to be sightseeing and stuff with lugging my backpack around all day.  Would rather just dump it off at a hotel somewhere in like Cesis and not have to worry about it when seeing Sigulda and Cesis.

  So maybe my best bet is to just take the bus from Tallinn to Riga, spend the night, take the train to Cesis and get the hotel there (found a decent one) and then see that and Sigulda and back to Cesis (I know I would be back tracking, but want to get rid of my backpack), stay the night and then go back to Riga for another 2 nights.

Well I'll have a good 4 days or so to kill In Riga, so what might be a fun idea is to just go direct there from Tallinn on the bus, stay a night, go to Sigulda and Cesis, spend the night in Cesis and then head back to Riga for another night or two.

Understandable, but again, you should probably consider other destinations as well. Since you can always do a side trip from Riga to other places, maybe more interesting for you

The Tartu thing was strange how I was not finding anymore buses on the Lux site

The thing is that you are looking in a wrong place. LuxExpress, SimpleExpress, Ecolines are websites mainly for international buses. In case of Estonia domestic bus timetable and prices should be checked on http://www.bussireisid.ee/index.html . There you can find all the buses Tallinn-Tartu, as well as Tartu-Valga and even international buses from Estonia.

I just don't want to be sightseeing and stuff with lugging my backpack around all day.  Would rather just dump it off at a hotel somewhere in like Cesis and not have to worry about it when seeing Sigulda and Cesis.

Ok, now it's clear. Doubt there are lockers at either Tartu, Cesis or Sigulda train/bus stations. But still idea with Tallinn-day+night in Tartu-train to Cesis via Valga-night in Cesis-Sigulda-Riga is pretty manageable. Even if you don't want to be tied up to 10am Tartu-Valga train (from which you can change to Valga-Cesis-Riga one), then you can as well count on buses (like Tartu-Valga, then from Latvian part of Valga bus to Valmiera and from there to Cesis etc.

... take the train to Cesis and get the hotel there (found a decent one)

Yep, as far as we know, Cesis has a few pretty well-known spas and hotel complexes, so shouldn't be a problem. But again, don't expect to much from either Cesis or Sigulda (even with Krimulda and Turaida castles near by). Both are nice places, but doubt it worth sightseeing for more than a few hours each (unless you a fan of a calm Baltic town life), imho.

  Ahhh that site does make a difference then.  Well I've decided that since I'll be going at the end of May that school is probably out anyways and Tartu might not be all that "happening".  So I decided instead to go to Pärnu for 2 nights instead, since it should be a lot more going on at the end of May.

  This way I can just take a bus from Tallinn to Pärnu (using that website) on a Sunday (seems to have a lot of buses so may not need to book one in advance). 
 
  Then on a Tuesday morning take the LuxExpress from Pärnu to Riga in the morning.  Wednesday I would take the train early from Riga to Cesis, then see that and train to Segulda and then back to Riga (this then not having to worry about carrying around luggage and doing just a day trip).

  Then finally on the Fri or Sat, take the early bus (LuxExpress?) from Riga to Vilniuss and from there decide if I want to take a day trip to Kaunsas or Trakai or something.

  This would limit my hotel stays a bit which is nice and eliminate extra train/bus changes and such.

  So I take it I would use
Tallinn to Pärnu using http://www.bussireisid.ee
Pärnu to Riga using LuxExpress
Riga to Cesis/Segulda and back using http://www.ldz.lv
Riga to Vilnius using LuxExpress (or is there a better bus company to use between these two?)

http://www.ldz.lv

... since it should be a lot more going on at the end of May.

Might be a bit cold to swim

...seems to have a lot of buses so may not need to book one in advance.

Definitely no need, in Estonia even bus drivers sell tickets and buses itself rarely full, thus doubt anybody at all purchases them in advance.

...take the early bus (LuxExpress?)

Or SimpleExress, or Ecolines

Tallinn to Pärnu using http://www.bussireisid.ee

That is just a website for the timetable, while actual bus companies will be like SEBE, Taisto, GoBus etc. Just all of those are shown on bussireisid.

Riga to Vilnius using LuxExpress (or is there a better bus company to use between these two?)

Well, LuxExpress are the most fancy and expensive buses, while Simple Express is like low-cost that can get you for as low as 3 EUR. Ecolines is something in middle (at least in terms of pricing)

  Oh that explains it.  I was trying to figure out what the SimpleExpress was and LuxExpress and what all the coaches were.  I had thought the SimpleExpress was just an online in advance booking special price of 3 EUR.  So with that, I assume I could get a Simple Express bus right there at the station rather than booking it a head of time correct?

  Thanks again for helping me with another trip, sure makes my life a lot easier knowing things before I go...

Oh that explains it.  I was trying to figure out what the SimpleExpress was and LuxExpress and what all the coaches were.  I had thought the SimpleExpress was just an online in advance booking special price of 3 EUR.

Basically both SimpleExpress and LuxExpress belong to one common company, but just targeted to different clients. First one is like low-cost, with minimal services, buses itself new, but not deluxe type, while LuxExpress oriented for business class passengers, having big choice of services on board, their buses much more fancy with VIP seats and etc.

I assume I could get a Simple Express bus right there at the station rather than booking it a head of time correct?

Yes, you can, but before departure you'll have to pay full fare, which is 11 EUR for Riga-Vilnius route. While in advance online purchase allows you to catch first 5 seats (per bus) which are sold for 3 EUR only. But at the end the choice is totally yours when and how to buy your ticket.

  Yes I noticed that difference after checking out the link of the various buses.  I think it would be ok to use the Simple Express to maybe Parnu (though Sebe has much better times), however the longer ones, I'll opt for the Lux Express as I can't imagine 4 hour trips without a bathroom...

  Are the other prices (not the 3 EUR Simple Express) on Lux Express and Sebe internet only or do you know if that would also be the cost getting a ticket that day at the terminals?

I think it would be ok to use the Simple Express to maybe Parnu

Hmm??? SimpleExpress it's international operator. And, as far as we know, they aren't allowed to transport passengers within Estonia, so they even don't sell tickets like Tallinn-Parnu. Thus you pretty much stuck with operators found on bussireisid.ee.

I'll opt for the Lux Express as I can't imagine 4 hour trips without a bathroom...

SimpleExpress buses does have WC on board as well, so this shouldn't be a problem

Are the other prices (not the 3 EUR Simple Express) on Lux Express and Sebe internet only or do you know if that would also be the cost getting a ticket that day at the terminals?

Fares on the website (full fare ticket) are the same as you will pay at the station, unless you decide to purchase ticket at multiple travel agencies (which might charge a commission). The only company that gives stable discount for online purchase is Ecolines, there difference between purchasing via internet and at the station is 5%

  I'll just do what I did the last time and write down the various bus and times they leave (and train schedule's) for days I'll be needing them and then get the tickets there when I need them.  Seems it'll be easier than buying them a head of time then.  Thanks again...