Russia

[Lutz]

We're planning to circumnavigate the Baltic Sea next year, but my wife is very apprehensive about driving through Russia with the caravan, although we'd only be doing about 350km between St Petersburg and the Estonian border. Has anyone been to Russia with their caravan and, if so, what were their experiences?

 

[DavidKlyne]

Lutz

I am not in a position to give you any advice on this subject but some years ago I came across a brohure in a German campsite for this company Perestroika Tours They seem go on trips like you are thinking about and I just wonder if they would be willing to share information with you.

David

 

[Lutz]

Thanks, David, for the tip, but what Perestroika offer is more ambitious than what I intending to do. I was only thinking of stopping over in or near St. Petersburg for a couple of nights, but otherwise I would only be in transit through a small corner of Russia. I also didn't plan on travelling in a group. It looks as though it may be more of a hassle than I bargained for and probably my best bet would be to take the ferry from Finland to Estonia, and give Russia a miss.

 

[ScouseIan]

Sounds fantastic. Can't wait to get rid of my little nippers and try something like that.

I've just looked at my Autoroute 2004 s/w to look at your route and I found out something that I never knew. Just at the very north of Poland there appears to be a small Russian area with a town called Kaliningrad. This area of russia is cut off from the rest by Lithuania and Belarus. You would have to go around that bit as well, if that is still the case.

Ian

 

[Lutz]

Sounds fantastic. Can't wait to get rid of my little nippers and try something like that.

I've just looked at my Autoroute 2004 s/w to look at your route and I found out something that I never knew. Just at the very north of Poland there appears to be a small Russian area with a town called Kaliningrad. This area of russia is cut off from the rest by Lithuania and Belarus. You would have to go around that bit as well, if that is still the case.

Ian

It would be quite easy to bypass that Russian enclave in the Kaliningrad area by driving from Lithuania straight into Poland, using the border crossing southwest of Kaunas.

 

[KeithJ]

Lutz

There was a readers' report in one of the most recent Practical Caravan magazines about a trip to the Baltic states (including passing through that part of Russia, I think). You might find it interesting reading.

Keith

 

[Guest]

Should bew ok, dont forget your kalashnikov and crate of Ruski wasser

 

[Lutz]

SWMBO is terribly worried about our personal safety if were to go through Russia. Besides, it appears that entry into the country is fraught with administrative hurdles (visas, etc.), so, for the sake of 350 or so kilometres through Russian territory, I've agreed to cut corners and take the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn instead. It means that we'll miss out on St. Petersburg, but that's all. Has anyone had any experience of touring in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia?

 

[emmerson2]

Lutz, I've not been there with the van, but I visited Lithuania last year, mainly in the city of Vilnius, but we did venture out into the countryside on a couple of occasions.One particular visit was to a village called Trakai, near Vilnius, and was very beautiful. The city itself is European City of Culture this year, and when i was there it was undergoing lots of work to tidy up after the Russian occupation. It has been, and could again be, a beautiful city, but I found the people, in the main, to still be somewhat oppressed, a result no doubt of the after-effects of said occupation. Once this barrier had been broken down however, they became very friendly and generous.It is a country of trmendous contrasts, with huge portico-ed villas with expensive cars outside, occupied by what I can only term oligarchs, next door to tin shacks where large families were stuggling to make a living.

A strange country, but interesting.

The Royale club have talked about a club rally over there, but nothing has been confirmed yet.The club is fortunate in having a Lithuanian member, albeit living in the UK, which is where our interest came from.

Good luck with your plans.

 

[Lutz]

Maybe we could team up with the Royale club even though I'm not an owner? Plans at present are to drive up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic Circle to be there for the Midnight Sun on the 21st June, then to cut across Sweden and back down through Finland, so we'd expect to be in the Baltic States in mid-July.

 

[emmerson2]

My European geography is not good, Lutz, but there were two suggestions for our possible trip. One was up to Kiel, then ferry to Lithuania, but that wasn't good for us, because we would take our dogs, and the Baltic crossing is about 27 hours. The alternative, and much more appealing from my viewpoint, is to drive through Poland up to Vilnius, then across Lithuania to meet up with the others.Whether any of this will happen is open to question. particularly as my wife's health is not good, and the long trip might be more than she could cope with.

We can still dream, though!

 

[Lutz]

Yes, we would be taking the same route via Poland, just in the opposite direction. Maybe we could bump into you somewhere along the way.