bus tour from Sakums-Kyiv-Riga-Stockholm-Vilnius.
For Christmas 2016, we were on the bus tour Baltic Voyage + cruise to Stockholm from the tour operator "Sakums". I left a review about the tour operator and decided to copy it here, in "travel stories", in case it helps someone. bought at a promotional price of 129 euros per person (if you choose a 4-bed cabin on the ferry instead of our 2-bed one, you could go for 99 euros). bribed the price, for that kind of money to see Stockholm is super easy. There are few reviews on tours with cruises, so I will write in detail. it all started in Kyiv, departure at 14:00. after 270 km through the territory of Ukraine, transit through Belarus for 6 hours, then entry into Lithuania (they will take fingerprints from everyone at the border - this is a long time, so you will have the opportunity to go to the toilet and smoke) and at about 9 in the morning we drove into Riga . about the borders, tune in that it will not be fast and foolish, because there are many borders (departure from Ukraine, arrival to Belarus, departure from Belarus, arrival to Lithuania) and everywhere you have to get off the bus, passport control is personal everywhere. we fondly recalled the times when the attendants collected passports and took them to the control, and we slept on the bus))). After a 2-hour survey, everyone went to Jurmala, and we squeezed 15 euros for this business and went to wander around Riga, take pictures and dine at the Lido. Lido is a local "puzata hut" - salads, for example, are divided into a small and a large plate, and you take what you want and how much will fit on a plate (small - 2.4 euros), fried potatoes 2 euros, chicken steak 3 euros, buns 20-40 euro cents. we ate together for 12 euros with the first, second, desserts and coffee. then in the evening we had a ferry landing and in the morning Stockholm was waiting for us. Ferry Isabell is another story. get private cabins. you don’t need to live with strangers - the toilets are like airplane toilets and make terrible noise, plus the cabins are small, it will be very uncomfortable with strangers. wi-fi on the ferry is only in the halls, not in the cabins. in bars, the average price of a glass of beer, beer or cider is 5 euros. good dude. the show program is retired and not interesting, it takes place on the eighth deck if you walk along all the bars, you will get into the showroom, but it's really boring. you can sit there without ordering anything, just listen to the concert. smoking room in the same place, on the eighth deck near the showroom. It makes sense to buy a tour of Stockholm on a ferry - it costs only 20 euros and includes 2 hours by bus and an hour on foot. our tour operator tour costs 35 euros and only walking. we went to the center with our guide by public transport. everything went fine, just for an ordinary pedestrian, and even without a guide it's expensive. (instead of a guide, there was our accompanying tour, he told and showed everything perfectly, but this simply speaks of saving the tour operator on the guide). in Stockholm it is better not to buy anything - a hot dog on the street costs 4 euros, souvenir cups about 8-10 euros, hats, mittens, knitted socks - from 7 euros to 20 euros. the only thing that makes sense is to go shopping H&M - there are a lot of them and good prices on discounts: jeans can be bought for 15 euros, a great sweater for up to 20 euros. but! In Sweden the currency is krona. it makes no sense to change a small amount, because they still take taxes and you shouldn’t fool around for 20 euros. in general, if you decide to change, do it on the ferry, so as not to waste time looking for an exchange, the rate is the same everywhere. in many stores they take euros, but change will be given in crowns and at a bad exchange rate. in general, after 6 hours in beautiful Stockholm, we again boarded the ferry and sailed back to Riga. Breakfast on the ferry must be taken-11 euros for an adult and 7.5 euros for a child under 17 years old. it’s just that in Stockholm it will be much more expensive to eat for two, and on the way back, there will be no time for Riga, that is, you will have to go hungry to Bauska, and if instead of walking around Bauska you choose a tour in Rundale, then there will be nowhere to eat and no time. The breakfast was excellent, we ate all day. One caveat - you can not go in and out. if you ate and went out, then go back - you have to pay. but the dinners are expensive and many came out dissatisfied, expecting more for 32 euros. By the way, the tap water on the ferry is drinkable. so get yourself some bottled water and don't spend euros on water for the rest of the tour. after the ferry in Riga, there were no more excursions, the guide Elena, who gave us a tour on the first day in Riga, got on the bus and we went to Rundā le Palace. those who did not want to go to the palace stayed in the city of Bauska. a wonderful place! you will be dropped off in the center next to the Rimi supermarket, and while the people are on the tour in Rundala, you will shop, surf the Internet (in Rimi wi-fi), visit the toilet, then exit the store, turn left from the gas station and go straight, Without turning anywhere, and in 15 minutes you will see the Bauska castle - very ancient and very beautiful, and the photos will be excellent. just do not notice those 3 hours that you have to wait for a group from Rundale. then transfer to Vilnius, evening bus and walking tour. it was again conducted by our escort, and again he was at his best. 1-1. We were given 3 hours for an independent walk. keep in mind - maxima supermarkets are open until 21, and the tour is late, so if you need to buy something on the road, run first to the store, and only then take pictures. There are no public toilets in Vilnius, but they are allowed in any cafe, we didn’t even ask permission - we went in and that’s it, no one even paid attention to us. and at night at 22 o'clock we went home. in Kyiv were about 13 hours. tips - do not connect any roaming at all. in Riga any cafe wi-fi. on the ferry 2 hours after departure and 2 hours before arrival wi-fi is good (it still doesn’t reach the cabins, but it runs briskly in the halls, at other times it’s weak), in Bauska in Rimi again wi-fi, in Vilnius too in any cafe. in general, we had enough for messages to relatives via viber. problem one is to charge phones and tablets, use every opportunity. for example, we chose a cafe according to the principle of outlets - if there is a free one, we go in, if not, we look further. in Riga there is a network of small shops, it seems, maxwell, they have chairs and sockets near the windows, but in Lido this is a problem, as in general, and in Kyiv. The trip turned out to be surprisingly excellent, eventful and unforgettable. so advice to everyone who doubts - do not be afraid of ferries, this is a great inexpensive opportunity to look into Stockholm, relax and at the same time admire the Baltic states.