Baltics with kids

[ClayHillHouse]

Cruising in July with a 10 and 12 year old. Ports: Riga, Helsinki, Tallin, Klaipeda and Visby. Looking for ideas of cool things to see, eat or do. Read about alot of the major sites, thinking about the little things that make a place memorable for a tween and also the can't miss places they might love. 

[Desdichado62]

What kind of things do  they like?

[ontheweb]

Being in the Old Town in Talinn is like being in a medieval village. I would think your kids would find it fascinating.

 

We did a walking tour that we read in Rick Steve's Scandanavia. i would recommend that. You can probably get a very inexpensive copy through Amazon or another reseller.

[ljandgb]

We did a food walking tour in Tallinn, which my kids really enjoyed.  Half of us did a ship's tour in Helsinki that went to a reindeer sanctuary so my daughter could feed the reindeer.  The other half a high speed boat ride around some of the islands, which they still talk about.

[ClayHillHouse]

They're adventurous kids.  My 10 year old would like to try new foods (especially new desserts). My 12 year old is a passionate about soccer and loves to climb anything. Honestly they're currently most excited about the waterslides, flowrider, and rock wall on the ship. We're traveling with my sister and brother-in-law but don't need to do everything together if we have different interests. Also happy to hire a guide at a port or two, or take an excursion. 

I have the Rick Steve's book (big fan pre children, but we haven't been back to Europe since) thanks for the tips so far. This is our rough plan:

 

Pre-cruise in Stockholm (2 days): Vasa museum, Skansen, changing of the guards. Rent bikes or take the T-bana or bus for transport. Looking for food recommendations, especially on the go meals/snacks. One slow restaurant a day is usually our limit. 

 

Klaipeda: enjoy the beach on the Curonian Spit, ferry then walk or rent bikes? Other ideas? 

 

Riga: Old Town (DIY walking tour based on RS or Lonely Planet), look at some Art Nouveau ? (unsure about the museum, looks like you can book a private English tour very inexpensively), Museum of the Occupation? Eat chocolate? Find a Latvian adult beverage too? 

 

Helsinki: Suomenlinna fortress then Sauna? Maybe part of RS walking tour? The speed boat ride sounds like something my kids would love....wasn't aware of that at all- thanks! Lunch ideas, Snacks? 

 

Tallin: RS walking tour.  I'll look into the food tour, sounds memorable. Did you book through your cruise line? 

 

Visby: Medieval walls. Climb a tower if open. I read somewhere about about a great place for ice cream? 

 

Then back to Stockholm. Thanks for all the great ideas so far 🙂

 

 

 

[Hezu]

2 hours ago, ClayHillHouse said:

They're adventurous kids.  My 10 year old would like to try new foods (especially new desserts). My 12 year old is a passionate about soccer and loves to climb anything. Honestly they're currently most excited about the waterslides, flowrider, and rock wall on the ship. We're traveling with my sister and brother-in-law but don't need to do everything together if we have different interests. Also happy to hire a guide at a port or two, or take an excursion. 

I have the Rick Steve's book (big fan pre children, but we haven't been back to Europe since) thanks for the tips so far. This is our rough plan:

 

Helsinki: Suomenlinna fortress then Sauna? Maybe part of RS walking tour? The speed boat ride sounds like something my kids would love....wasn't aware of that at all- thanks! Lunch ideas, Snacks?

Suomenlinna is certainly a good option, bring a flash light and you can explore the dark corridors within fortress walls. Classic sights for kids in Helsinki are of course amusement park Linnanmäki and Korkeasaari zoo, for the latter there is possibility to take a boat from the Market Square. But I guess these are not that superspecial compared to other amusement parks or zoos elsewhere.

Now, if climbing interests you, Adventure park(s) Korkee might be good choice as it offers adventure courses on trees. There are two locations of these parks, Mustikkamaa might be more child friendly choice and it is located on the island next to Korkeasaari, so it could be possible to combine the two. Other location is at Paloheinä in northern Helsinki and there is only a treetop course that accepts customers that are 110 cm or longer. Sadly the website of Korkee appears to be only in Finnish, but the images there at least give some idea what sort of activity these parks offer.

If it is warm (or even hot) weather, I guess water activities would be perfect choice to spend some time. For more than just basic swimming next to a beach there are few waterparks in Helsinki region: Laguuni and especially its Keilaniemi (Keilis) venue in Espoo might offer most, although they have some activity also next to the beach at Hietaniemi (Hietsu). Another floating water park is located at Rastila beach in eastern Helsinki, sadly Lappis water parks has only Finnish language website at the moment. Then there is also the classic waterpark Serena in Espoo, but the location is somewhat remote. And Flamingo spa waterpark in Vantaa offers also water activities, but it is entirely indoor facility. If you don't necessarily want fancy water activities, I think one worthy contender is Swimming Stadium, which was the venue for 1952 Olympics swimming and diving contests and these days is open for the general public for a modest fee. And most (if not all) these places do have a sauna if you are looking for one.

To continue the theme of Olympics, the Helsinki Olympic Stadium might interest you, the stadium tower offers nice views over the city and there is also a sports museum. And as you mention soccer, I think it is worth mentioning that July 11th to 16th there is the big youth football tournament Helsinki Cup. It might not be possible to join the teams participating in that competition for one day, but at least it would be possible watch the matches on various football fields around the city. Friday and Saturday will be the days for the finals, which are going to be played in Töölö near the Olympic Stadium.

 

I guess the above is more than you can cram into a single day cruise visit, but I hope I gave some plausible alternatives to spend some time in Helsinki (and possibly neighbouring cities).

 

And regarding snacks, I think simple and fairly healthy options would be picking up some fresh fruits and/or vegetables from a market vendor. July is the prime season for strawberries in Finland and peas (sold in pods) are a popular choice. And if you pick anything to eat from the Market Square, be aware the local gulls have became quite talented in stealing food.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, ClayHillHouse said:

They're adventurous kids.  My 10 year old would like to try new foods (especially new desserts). My 12 year old is a passionate about soccer and loves to climb anything. Honestly they're currently most excited about the waterslides, flowrider, and rock wall on the ship. We're traveling with my sister and brother-in-law but don't need to do everything together if we have different interests. Also happy to hire a guide at a port or two, or take an excursion. 

I have the Rick Steve's book (big fan pre children, but we haven't been back to Europe since) thanks for the tips so far. This is our rough plan:

 

Pre-cruise in Stockholm (2 days): Vasa museum, Skansen, changing of the guards. Rent bikes or take the T-bana or bus for transport. Looking for food recommendations, especially on the go meals/snacks. One slow restaurant a day is usually our limit. 

 

Klaipeda: enjoy the beach on the Curonian Spit, ferry then walk or rent bikes? Other ideas? 

 

Riga: Old Town (DIY walking tour based on RS or Lonely Planet), look at some Art Nouveau ? (unsure about the museum, looks like you can book a private English tour very inexpensively), Museum of the Occupation? Eat chocolate? Find a Latvian adult beverage too? 

 

Helsinki: Suomenlinna fortress then Sauna? Maybe part of RS walking tour? The speed boat ride sounds like something my kids would love....wasn't aware of that at all- thanks! Lunch ideas, Snacks? 

 

Tallin: RS walking tour.  I'll look into the food tour, sounds memorable. Did you book through your cruise line? 

 

Visby: Medieval walls. Climb a tower if open. I read somewhere about about a great place for ice cream? 

 

Then back to Stockholm. Thanks for all the great ideas so far 🙂

 

 

 

The Vasa Musuem is truly interesting. I think your kids will enjoy it.

 

Skansen is HUGE. It was interesting, but I felt we spent too much of our limited off the ship time there. DW finally agreed to move on and we went to a museum (I forget the name). And then I think she agreed with me as she rushed through the Dutch Masters. She is an art teacher and usually spends a lot of time at basically every painting.

[ClayHillHouse]

Hezu: Thank you for all the info on Helsinki. I checked out Laguuni and Lappis, both look so fun, especially if its a hot day. It looks like Laguuni might be easier to get to from the cruise terminal using public transport? We might check out a soccer tournament game too! And definitely the strawberries!

 

onthweb: Thanks for the input, we'll put Vasa at the top of our list!

[Hezu]

33 minutes ago, ClayHillHouse said:

Hezu: Thank you for all the info on Helsinki. I checked out Laguuni and Lappis, both look so fun, especially if its a hot day. It looks like Laguuni might be easier to get to from the cruise terminal using public transport?

Both of these waterparks are near metro stations, although from the city centre Keilaniemi is closer and it is slightly easier to travel there as you can pick any westbound metro train, whereas to go to Rastila you must ensure that the eastbound train heads to Vuosaari rather than Mellunmäki, which is the terminus for every other eastbound train.

[ljandgb]

The Tallinn food tour was not from the ship.  I think it was this company.  https://foodsightseeing.ee/tours/tallinn-food-tour

 

The high speed boat and reindeer tours were thru the ship.

 

Stockholm has a food market that we did as part of a ship excursion.  My kids loved it. https://en.ostermalmshallen.se/ So much interesting food to try and the vendors were the nicest people.

[Desdichado62]

On 5/31/2022 at 6:44 PM, ontheweb said:

The Vasa Musuem is truly interesting. I think your kids will enjoy it.

 

Skansen is HUGE. It was interesting, but I felt we spent too much of our limited off the ship time there. DW finally agreed to move on and we went to a museum (I forget the name). And then I think she agreed with me as she rushed through the Dutch Masters. She is an art teacher and usually spends a lot of time at basically every painting.

 

Liljevalchs i presume since it's close to Skansen.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Desdichado62

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Desdichado62 said:

 

Liljevalchs i presume since it's close to Skansen.

No, it was the National Museum, unless that is the Swedish name for the National Museum.

[Desdichado62]

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

No, it was the National Museum, unless that is the Swedish name for the National Museum.

No, Liljecalchs is also an art museum but not the same as Nationalmusem.

[SimplyMarvie]

There's a Tarzan's ropes course in Jurmala, which is accessible by cab from Riga and lots of fun for kids who like to climb and who might be kind of tired of cute old towns. 

 

There's also the Proto Avasthaus VR center in Tallin, which my tweens and teens LOVED. 

[alwayscruisetime]

Hi, ClayHillHouse - not sure if you've already left and if our experience will help you at all, but just in case ...

 

We visited Skansen the last time we ported in Stockholm and liked the Lemurs at the Aquarium at the Skansen Museum so much last time that we went back again.  (I know - lemurs don't belong in an aquarium, but that's where they are!)  You actually get to go into the enclosure where the lemurs live, which allows for some great up-close viewing, and when we were there 2 weeks ago, they had a one-month old baby that was an awful lot of fun.  You have to pay an extra admission for the aquarium, but it was the highlight of our visit.

 

Riga had a great food market.  Seeing what people eat in different countries, how it's served, and how it's sold, is always a highlight for us in different parts of the world.  If you don't have it already, get the Google Translate app.  When you see signs in another language, you can focus your phone's camera on the text and the words on the screen will magically translate into English so you can see what it is (or what the ingredients are).  Lots of new dessert options to try there.

 

Our favorite day was spent in Klaipeda.  We hired a tour guide through Klaipeda Tours ( at www.klaipedatours.lt ) because we couldn't find an excursion that covered what we wanted to do.  We went to the Cold War Museum (the missiles that eventually ended up in Cuba for the Cuban Missile Crisis were housed there unbeknownst to the Lithuanian people) and to the Hill of Crosees.  The Hill of Crosses was incredible, and the highlight of our cruise.  It's a bit of a drive, but our driver/guide (who also guides cycling trips) was a wealth of knowledge and took us for an authentic Lithuanian lunch on the way back (where even he was surprised at the good prices, the true homestyle cooking, and the very traditional desserts that they offered).

 

Hope some of that helps?

[Desdichado62]

Bergrummet toy museum is nice but small, but could be worth a visit.
It's located at Skeppsholmen though a bit off location compared to Vasa/Old town.

 

Tekniska museet (The Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology) is something I think kids would enjoym but is also quite far from Vasa/Old own.

[Hezu]

On 7/21/2022 at 10:27 PM, Desdichado62 said:

Bergrummet toy museum is nice but small, but could be worth a visit.
It's located at Skeppsholmen though a bit off location compared to Vasa/Old town.

 

Tekniska museet (The Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology) is something I think kids would enjoym but is also quite far from Vasa/Old own.

These suggestions made me to remember that there is similar museums also in Helsinki region:

- There is a toy museum at Suomenlinna, albeit it is quite small and since it is mainly old toys in cabinets it may not interest all kids.

- Museum of Technology is located in quite interesting location on a island between two branches of river Vantaa little further away from Helsinki city centre. And the exhibits there can be quite interesting too and include some interactivity (eg. you could test using old phone centre). And near by there is also some interesting nature at Vanhankaupunginlahti area.

- The Finnish science centre Heureka is further away from Helsinki at Tikkurila in Vantaa, but fairly easily reached by train as it is near the Tikkurila railway station and the train ride from Helsinki Central Railway Station takes roughly 20-30 minutes depending on which train you take (some skip some minor stations on the route). The main attraction there is various interactive demonstrations of scientific phenomena.

[kitkat343]

Exploring the beautiful medieval city of Tallinn should be a highlight for all children.  If you need to conserve energy (this used to be the stop before St. Petersburg, and people needed to rest) you can take a cab up to the top of Toomea Hill and then just walk down.  Your kids might also enjoy a brief pedicab tour around the medieval city (especially if they get hot walking).

 

We also greatly enjoyed our visit to the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn.  ( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). Younger kids also love the simulated weapons and radio controlled boats at the museum, and you'd need to research if it's appropriate for preteens. There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children.

 

 

In Helsinki if you choose to visit Suomenlinna, please note that there is a nice outdoor market right where you get on the boat in Market Square.  You can grab a quick and delicious bite to eat there.  

 

 

Stockholm was another of our favorite cities on this cruise. The archipelago is gorgeous, so please make sure to be outside either as you sail into Stockholm, or as your ship departs. Please also note that because the ship has to pass through the archipelago slowly, your day in Stockholm may be a bit shorter than you would like. This may also lead to extra crowds in the buffet and at disembarkation as most passengers are trying to get off the ship quickly.

 

An absolute highlight of this gorgeous city is the Vasa Museum. The Vasa Museum is one of the most popular museums in Scandinavia, and (precovid) it could get quite crowded later in the day -they may be limiting crowds now.  Pre-covid, the HOHO boats would travel directly from the cruise ship pier to Vasa until 10 am, and after 10 am they will resume a normal loop around the city when the other attractions open. You'd need to check if this is still the case.  

 

There are a lot of great ways to spend your time in Stockholm, and  you will need to research which attractions would be best for you. My family loves animals, so the open lemur exhibit at Skansen was a huge hit. You can't touch or feed the lemurs, but we were lucky and one of them let us sit very close to him and we got some great pictures. The lemur exhibit is located inside of the aquarium in Skansen (the aquarium requires a separate admissions fee from Skansen, but both admissions are included with a Stockholm card). The aquarium is located close to the main entrance of Skansen, which is not the entrance closest to Vasa but there is a tram that we took between the two attractions. Many of the traditional buildings in Sweden were relocated to Skansen so tourists can see what life used to be like, and there are candle making and sewing demonstrations. There is also a zoo with native animals. We skipped everything in Skansen but the aquarium due to time constraints, but you should choose which attractions would be best for you. Tourists who love animals should choose Skansen, since their exhibits in the aquarium are all very well designed to let you get very close to the animals.

Our next stop was a temporary hands on Viking exhibit at Historiska (the history museum).  They ran a Viking experience for children, in which children can dress up in armor, bake Viking bread in a coal fire, participate in Viking games and crafts and shoot arrows. Their website is (https://historiska.se/summer-2022/ )  We were very fortunate to visit Stockholm on the last day the exhibit was open, and my son really liked playing with weapons and baking Viking bread, but he was 3 so a little younger than yours. Cruisers on tight time constraints should arrive later than when this exhibit is scheduled to start since some of the exhibits take awhile to set up and not everything was open until 12:30 (the exhibit was scheduled to start at 12, and the main museum opens at 10). Galma Stan was beautiful, and we greatly enjoyed walking around this lovely neighborhood.

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by kitkat343

[ontheweb]

With kids, you should probably, make that definitely, avoid the sculpture garden in Oslo. The sculptures are quite "adult".

[bearette]

We just got back and on the weekends in Stockholm and Visby they do medieval knight fight games for kids.  My ten year old twins loved it. We saw an add while in Fishy at the tourist off ice.  It was held in Stockholm at the park right across from the cruise terminal. Skansen was nice, reminded me of an outdoor fair with aquarium and zoo.  I would also recommend the Vasa, good two hour visit, we spent three as we did the English tour and my husband took his sweet time.... Gröna Lund amusement park was really fun. The Palace and Queens Palace had a scavenger hunt that kept them busy while we toured too. We were there pre-cruise and embarked in Stockholm so we had a lot of time to explore Stockholm.

Helsinki go to Linnanmaki amusement park-they have a roller coaster with brakemasters! Very unique

[baldtomato]

What a great topic!   Thanks to OP for starting it. 

 

We will be on a 2022-Aug sailing so very-slightly different ports, have a 13 year old boy (an evolved bookworm - always hungry for any trivia, a competitive water sports athlete), and a 10 year old girl (more fit than she'd like to admit, she hates walking and hiking but she figure-skates... so she actually has strong legs ... loves visually-interesting places - photo spots).  Both love history and culture, even art / art history.  Both are musicians (but other than Sibelius i don't think there's any big "music" things on this itinerary?).   

I haven't really designed our port days surrounding "their" interests... but also don't want them to get too bored.  I'm a bit worried that all the cobblestone walking on our very busy 9-ports-in-11-days itinerary will be too much for DD  (well, too much of "what?  more walkiiiiiing???   why are we stillllll walkiiiiing" from DD).  

We haven't booked too many paid tours as the cost really add up when multiplied by 4 ... and there are soooo many ports on this itinerary (DS, who turned 13 two months ago, will from hereon forever be counted as an ADULT by cruiselines.... !!).

Our itinerary:

 

- Copenhagen (plane lands late night prior to embarkation, so, no pre-cruise tour)

 

- Aarhus, Denmark (i've done basic research, planning to DIY-walk)    Hoping for your collective input TIA!

 

- Gdansk, Poland  (i've booked a placeholder official ShoreEx walking tour that will leave us time to explore and return to ship on our own in the end ... didn't really want to make DD walk the mile to catch the shuttle and the train into town etc esp so early in our trip... the cost of the shuttle isn't that much cheaper than the ShoreEx).

 

- Klaipeda, Lithuania - debating the Amber museum + Klaipeda old town ShoreEx, vs private tour, vs DIY ferry to Curonian split and then time in town.  @alwayscruisetime i might contact the tour operator you mentioned and price out to see if it's worth saving energy and research time.

 

- Helsinki - booked a private guy who would take us to Porvoo then Helsinki - not sure if we really need to spend time in Porvoo or should we just skip Porvoo and do Helsinki  HoHo bus ?   Cutting Porvoo will cut at least 250 euros of cost ....  but then who knows when will we ever get to be in the Helsinki area again... and regret missing Porvoo?  Is Porvoo not to be missed?   Rick Steves thinks it's skippable if it's one-day-in-port,

 

- Tallinn - definitely DIY.  Probably take your suggestions above and taxi to the top + walk downhill.  Wanted to do the KGB museum but I missed the boat in planning and it's already all sold out for the day we're there

 

- Riga - booked two "Free" walking tours back to back (10 am, 12 noon), hope our shuttle make it in time to 10 am, and that 4.5 to 5h of walking isn't too deadly for DD.

 

- Stockholm - Vasa + ice bar (for me!) + Gamla Stan walking tour.  in that order,
or,   Gamla Stan walking tour + Ice bar + Vasa.  Wondering which order to go.   Depends on whether we manage to not get trampled when trying to get off the ship first thing....

 

- Visby - booked an official ShoreEx **look from the bus** tour for 1.5h, figured we'll at least get to have a visual on all the sights and let DD and DS decide if they want to "walk it" in the afternoon.   I'm **sure** DD would love that alley that has roses.    I suppose a bike tour would be nice, but i don't think DD is tall enough to go onto an adult sized bicycle .... unless they have junior sizes for rental??

 

- back to Copenhagen, where we'll stay for 4 nights.  LOTS of time there so i can plan casually and "on the fly" (**ahem** procrastinate some more **ahem**), so, i'm not thinking about that now!!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by baldtomato
spelling mistakes

[deelightfull]

One little thing, if you're in Stockholm and going to the Vasa, you totally need to go to the Viking Musuem not that far away.  Rick Steves doesn't like it, but we LOVED it (I wonder if they've had a change of management?) Lots of displays on what the archeology can PROVE about the Vikings, very scholarly, but lots of interactive displays too. At the end they have a well done darkroom ride (darkroom ride= Mr. Toads Wild Ride at Disneyland/Disney World ).  

 

We liked seeing the Vasa, we LOVED the Vikings musuem.  Everything is written in English and Swedish, including the ride.  The operator will change the language to English/Swedish/German whatever. 

 

Edited to add: "we" are middle age parents and a 14 year old boy who's a bit of a history geek, but also a 14 year old boy!

Edited August 1, 2022 by deelightfull

[Maria63]

As for Helsinki, I would skip Porvoo. It's nice enough, but a long and very uninteresting drive to get there. If your kids are into history, the Suomenlinna fortress is  perhaps the prime spot in and around Helsinki. It's easily reached by a ferry from the main Market Square that is inexpensive and part of the public transport system. Guided tours in English are also available twice daily at appr. 12 euros/pp, you buy tickets either online or at the Suomenlinna museum once you get there.

[Hezu]

On 8/2/2022 at 4:13 PM, Maria63 said:

As for Helsinki, I would skip Porvoo. It's nice enough, but a long and very uninteresting drive to get there.

I think if you choose the smaller roads rather than the motorway route to Porvoo, that might be slightly more interesting, but probably not significantly more interesting and obviously the smaller roads have lower speed limits which mean the travel time is longer. And yes, the historical centre of Porvoo may not be that interesting for the younger visitors. Traditional point of interest in Porvoo for kids is Brunberg factory outlet, which sells variety of sweets. But that is slightly off from the city centre and I doubt cruise lines offer tours that include stop at that candy store.

And if you want to spoil kids with products that can harm ones teeth, there is one alternative closer to Helsinki, Fazer Experience in Vantaa offers also brief exhibition tours with a chance to taste some of the products made there.