Baltics

9 days Baltic Jewish tours to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

The Seat of over Twelve Centuries of Jewish Heritage

Lithuania and Latvia gave rise to an abundance of scholars and thinkers whose legacy continues to illuminate Jewish life worldwide. From the great Rabbinic sages to the writers, scientists, and statesmen who carried the Litvishe spirit into modern Israel, the influence of Baltic Jewry remains profound. On this journey, explore Jewish Vilna and Kovno – the twin pillars of Lithuanian Jewish history and smaller towns such as Pakruojis, home to the oldest surviving wooden synagogue in Lithuania. In Latvia, discover Riga, a city of rich Jewish culture and resilience, before continuing to Estonia, a northern jewel with its own distinctive Jewish character and the charm of its medieval capital, Tallinn. This is the definitive Baltic journey – a celebration of memory, intellect, and renewal.

Explore Our 7 day Jewish tours to the Baltics

DAY 1 MONDAY ARRIVAL IN VILNIUS

Arrive in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, formerly known as the Jerusalem of the North and the home to great Jewish Scholars. Upon arrival, transfer to the quaint hotel in the heart of the former ghetto and now part of the Old Town. In the afternoon, begin walking tour through the Medieval Jewish Quarter, later the Vilna Ghetto, where over 40,000 Jews were imprisoned between 1941 and 1943. Learn about the Great Vilna Synagogue, destroyed but never forgotten, and about the Gaon of Vilna (Elijah ben Solomon Zalman), whose wisdom shaped Jewish learning far beyond these streets. Visit Cathedral Square, once a meeting point of cultures, and walk along Castle Street to the grand baroque buildings of Vilnius University – today home to a small Yiddish Institute that revives the language of a vanished world. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Stikliai Hotel.

DAY 2 TUESDAY VILNIUS

This morning, continue touring the “Jerusalem of Lithuania,” discovering the deep soul of Litvak heritage. Before the Shoah, Vilna’s skyline was dotted with synagogues and study houses. While Poland’s Jews became known for Chassidic warmth, Lithuanian Jewry was shaped by reason, discipline, and moral rigor – the Litvishe way of thought. Begin with a visit to the Chorale Synagogue, the only synagogue still active in Vilnius. Explore the Jewish Museum and its Art Gallery, preserving not only history but spirit – portraits of life, learning, and love. Later, drive to the Ponar Forest. Here, amidst the rustling of the poplar leaves, feel the presence of thousands of Jews, taken and immediately shot in the early days of the Nazi occupation. Standing in this place of tragedy, one feels both the enormity of loss and the sacredness of memory. Return to Vilnius and visit the Jewish Cemetery to pay respects at the resting place of the Gaon, whose luminous intellect once made Vilna a beacon of Jewish life. His title, “Gaon,” meaning “sage,” still defines the spiritual brilliance of Litvak Jewry. Stikliai Hotel

DAY 3 WEDNESDAY VILNIUS – KAUNAS

This morning, depart for Kaunas, or Kovno, once Lithuania’s capital and home to a thriving Jewish community. Before the war, Kovno’s Jews built schools, hospitals, libraries, and the Slobodka yeshiva, recognized as one of the greatest of Europe. Stop at the site of the former Kovno Ghetto and its memorials, then continue to the Ninth Fort, a massive fortress turned site of terror, where 30,000 Jews were executed. The silence here is profound. Next, see the beautiful Choral Synagogue, a sanctuary of carved wood and soft light that recalls the dignity of prewar Jewish life. Later in the day, visit the Sugihara House, where the Japanese consul Chiune Sugihara, moved by conscience, issued thousands of visas to desperate Jewish families, saving their lives. His courage, like Schindler’s, Wallenberg’s, or Sousa Mendes’s, is a testament to the power of one person’s moral clarity amid the darkness of history. Daugirgas Hotel.

DAY 4 THURSDAY KAUNAS – KEDAINAI – PAKRUOJIS – RUNDALE – RIGA

Today, journey north through Lithuania’s countryside. In Kedainai, visit a small museum that preserves the traces of a once-thriving Jewish world – prayer books, photographs, a Torah crown, small voices that still whisper from the past. Continue to Pakruojis, home to Lithuania’s oldest surviving wooden synagogue. This humble yet elegant structure endured occupation, neglect, and decay, yet in 2017 it was lovingly restored – its renewed timbers shining as a symbol of resilience and faith. From here, cross the border into Latvia and stop at the splendid Rundale Palace, an opulent baroque creation that contrasts with the humble shtetls once scattered across the region. As you continue toward Riga, you sense that the story of the Baltics is one of contrasts – beauty and brutality, memory and revival, silence and song.Grand Poet Hotel.

DAY 5 FRIDAY RIGA

Riga, Latvia’s proud capital, stands beside the Daugava River – once a gateway of trade, ideas, and Jewish life. Begin the day at the site of the Great Synagogue, burned to the ground during the Nazi occupation. The memorial that now stands here honors the thousands who perished and the Latvians who tried to save them. Among them was Jannis Lipke, whose bravery in rescuing Jews from the Riga Ghetto remains one of the Baltic’s most moving stories of courage. Visit the nearby Holocaust Museum, housed in the former Ghetto, and its Jewish Documentation Center, where exhibits trace Jewish life from the 18th century to the present. Through photographs, diaries, and recovered artifacts, you’ll see how Jews helped shape Latvia’s intellectual and cultural life – and how their community was destroyed. One exhibit, titled The Jewish People Survived, captures the essence of the Jewish story here: destruction met with defiance, despair answered by renewal. Conclude your tour at the Peitav Synagogue, the only prewar synagogue still standing, beautifully restored and again filled with prayer. As Shabbat approaches, the lights in its windows seem to echo the flicker of Jewish continuity across centuries. Grand Poet Hotel.

DAY 6 SATURDAY RIGA

Enjoy a full day for reflection or join a walking tour (included) in Riga’s Old Town, one of Europe’s finest medieval ensembles, with its cobbled squares, guildhalls, and spired churches. Stroll through the Hanseatic quarter, once a hub of Baltic commerce, and admire landmarks like the Powder Tower and the House of the Blackheads, symbols of Riga’s mercantile past. See St. Peter’s Church and the Swedish Gate, remnants of a time when nations and faiths intersected here. Then wander through the Art Nouveau district, where ornate façades and swirling designs speak of a city that embraced art and style. Among the houses, stands one of the few Art Nouveau synagogues in the world. Nearby is the childhood home of Sir Isaiah Berlin, the philosopher whose writings on freedom and human dignity reflect the ethical essence of Jewish thought. His commemorative plaque, engraved in three languages – Latvian, English, and Hebrew – seems to summarize Riga’s soul: diverse, tragic, and enduringly human. Grand Poet Hotel.

DAY 7 SUNDAY RIGA – PARNU – TALLINN

Depart Riga this morning, first visiting the Jewish cemetery — a serene place where carved stones bear witness to centuries of faith and belonging. Continue north toward Estonia, crossing forests and fields as the Baltic landscape softens into the blue of the Gulf of Riga. En route, stop in Parnu, a seaside resort beloved for its gentle dunes and fresh air, then continue to Tallinn, Estonia’s storybook capital, and check in at the hotel. Telegraaf Hotel.

DAY 8 MONDAY TALLINN

Tallinn reveals itself as a medieval jewel, deservedly placed on UNESCO’s list of “World Heritage” sites, with red-roofed towers, cobbled lanes, and the scent of the sea in the air. Begin in the Upper Town, offering sweeping views of church spires and harbor waters. Then descend into the Lower Old Town, an exquisite labyrinth of guild houses, markets, and winding passages like St. Catherine’s, where craftsmen still work with the same care as their ancestors. Amid this living museum stands Tallinn’s modern Synagogue and Jewish Community Center – luminous symbols of rebirth after decades of Soviet repression. Estonia’s Jewish community is small but vibrant, its warmth and vitality reflecting a spirit that no era could extinguish. Telegraaf Hotel.

DAY 9 TUESDAY TALLINN – HOME FLIGHTS

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your return flight home. As you leave the Baltics, you carry not only the stories of loss but also those of light – the voices of sages, students, and ordinary people who built a civilization of the spirit. In Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, Jewish life once illuminated the northern world. Though much was destroyed, its essence endures – in prayer, in study, in remembrance, and in the hearts of those who come to honor it. This journey, like the Jewish story itself, moves through shadow into light, from memory into hope.