After spending a few days in Estonia, we continued our camper journey south. Our next major destination was Warsaw, Poland.
This part of the trip was much longer than the ferry crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn. From Tallinn to Warsaw, the distance is roughly 970–1,000 km, depending on the route. The journey takes around 13–15 hours of pure driving, but in a camper I did not want to cover the entire distance in one day.
Instead, we followed the Via Baltica through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, stopped for fuel and food along the way, spent the night in Lithuania and continued to Warsaw the following morning.
Our route was:
Tallinn → Pärnu → Riga → Panevėžys → Kaunas → Suwałki → Białystok → Warsaw
It was one of the most interesting sections of our Baltic road trip.
Leaving Estonia
We left our camper stop in Tallinn early in the morning.
Before departure I checked the usual things: tyre pressure, fresh water, fuel level, gas bottle and whether everything inside the camper was properly secured.
Our first destination was Pärnu, approximately 130 km south of Tallinn.
We followed the E67, which is part of the international Via Baltica route.
This road would essentially become our guide all the way through the Baltic countries towards Poland.
Driving in Estonia was easy. Traffic outside Tallinn was relatively light and the roads were generally comfortable for our 6.5-metre camper.
We stopped near Pärnu for coffee and a short break.
Estonia to Latvia
From Pärnu we continued south towards the Latvian border.
One thing that makes this journey particularly convenient is that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are all within the Schengen Area.
Normally, there is no traditional border checkpoint where every vehicle has to stop.
We simply drove from Estonia into Latvia.
There was a road sign announcing Latvija, the mobile network changed and we continued driving.
For me, this is one of the best things about travelling around this part of Europe by camper.
Do You Need a Latvian Vignette for a Camper?
This is something camper owners should check carefully because the rules depend on the vehicle.
Latvia has a road-user charge for certain vehicles using sections of the main road network.
However, the system is primarily aimed at goods vehicles and vehicle combinations, rather than ordinary passenger cars.
Our camper was registered as a motor caravan and was not subject to the same road charge as a commercial truck.
Still, before travelling I always check the vehicle registration category and maximum authorised mass because a large camper can fall into different rules from a normal passenger vehicle.
We therefore paid €0 in Latvian motorway tolls on this part of our journey.
Driving Towards Riga
After crossing into Latvia, we continued along the A1/E67 towards Riga.
The road runs close to the Baltic coast for part of the journey.
Traffic became noticeably heavier as we approached Riga.
Driving a camper through the centre of a large city is rarely enjoyable, so I tried to stay on the main route rather than entering narrow central streets.
We stopped outside the busiest part of Riga for lunch.
A supermarket car park was large enough for the camper, so we bought bread, meat, cheese, water, fruit and a few things for dinner.
Groceries cost us approximately €35.
That is another reason I like travelling by camper: we don’t have to eat in restaurants three times a day.
Fuel Stop in Latvia
By this point we needed diesel.
We stopped at a Circle K station outside Riga.
The advantage of larger petrol stations is space. With a camper more than six metres long, I prefer stations where I don’t have to make tight turns between parked cars.
We added approximately 45 litres of diesel.
With diesel around €1.70 per litre, the fill cost approximately:
45 × €1.70 = €76.50
Fuel prices obviously change constantly, so I never plan a long European trip around one exact price.
My rule is simple: when the tank gets below half and I see a large, easy-to-access station at a reasonable price, I fill it.
Latvia to Lithuania
From Riga we continued south on the A7/E67.
Our route took us towards Bauska and then to the Lithuanian border.
Again, crossing the border was uneventful.
A sign welcomed us to Lithuania and we continued towards Panevėžys.
By now we had already travelled several hundred kilometres and I had no intention of driving all the way to Warsaw that evening.
Our plan was to spend the night around Kaunas.
Lithuanian Road Tolls – Important for Camper Drivers
Lithuania is one country where I paid particular attention to the vehicle documents.
Lithuania operates an electronic road-user charge system on certain roads, but whether you need to pay depends on the vehicle category, not simply on the fact that you are driving something large.
Passenger vehicles in category M1 do not normally require the Lithuanian road vignette.
Our camper was registered as an M1 motor caravan, so we didn’t buy a Lithuanian vignette.
This is important.
A camper that looks almost identical from the outside can potentially have a different registration category.
Before travelling, I checked the J field on the vehicle registration certificate.
If your camper is registered differently, check the current Lithuanian toll rules before entering a tolled road.
For our camper:
Lithuanian road toll: €0.
Arriving in Kaunas
By evening we reached the Kaunas area.
Tallinn to Kaunas is roughly 600 km, so it was a comfortable place to divide the journey.
Instead of trying to find somewhere random to sleep, I searched for a proper camper stop.
Around Kaunas there are campsites and motorhome parking areas where you can normally expect to pay approximately €20–€35 per night, depending on the facilities and season.
We paid around €25 for our overnight stop.
For that we had a safe place to park, access to electricity and the possibility of dealing with the camper’s water and toilet.
After approximately eight hours on the road including stops, I was happy to switch off the engine.
Evening in the Camper
We didn’t do anything complicated that evening.
I connected the camper to electricity, checked the fresh-water level and emptied the grey water where permitted.
Then we made dinner inside.
We had bought food in Latvia earlier that day, so instead of spending €50–€70 in a restaurant, dinner cost us perhaps €10–€15 from our groceries.
We had travelled through three countries in one day – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
That still felt strange.
There had been no ferry, no major border controls and no complicated paperwork.
Just one road heading south.
Kaunas to Poland
The next morning we left at around 08:00.
Our route continued southwest from Kaunas towards Marijampolė and the Polish border.
This section is also part of the Via Baltica / E67 corridor.
Road construction has been extensive along parts of the Via Baltica because Poland and Lithuania have been upgrading this important connection.
Some sections felt like proper motorway, while others were slower.
Eventually we reached the Lithuanian–Polish border near the Budzisko/Suwałki direction.
And suddenly we were in Poland.
First Fuel Stop in Poland
I stopped at an ORLEN station after entering Poland.
This time the price was displayed in Polish złoty rather than euros.
That is worth remembering.
Poland is in the European Union and Schengen Area, but it still uses the Polish złoty (PLN).
You don’t really need cash.
I paid by card, and my bank automatically converted the transaction.
For example, if diesel costs around 6.2–6.7 PLN per litre, 50 litres would cost approximately:
310–335 PLN, or roughly €73–€79, depending on the exchange rate.
We bought coffee as well and continued towards Warsaw.
Do You Need a Polish Vignette?
Poland does not have a nationwide vignette for ordinary passenger cars similar to Austria, Slovakia or the Czech Republic.
Instead, Poland uses different toll systems depending on the road and vehicle.
This distinction is especially important with campers.
For a camper with a maximum authorised mass up to 3.5 tonnes, many roads can be used without the electronic heavy-vehicle toll.
Our camper was below 3.5 tonnes.
Therefore, we did not need the Polish e-TOLL heavy-vehicle system for this journey.
Vehicles or combinations exceeding 3.5 tonnes can be subject to completely different toll rules.
So again, I would check the maximum authorised mass shown in the registration document before travelling.
Suwałki to Warsaw
After Suwałki, we continued south.
The road infrastructure on this route was noticeably better than I remembered from older trips through Poland.
We used sections of the S61 expressway, which forms the Polish part of Via Baltica.
The S61 makes travelling with a camper much easier.
Instead of driving through endless villages and towns, we could maintain a relatively steady speed.
We continued towards Łomża and then connected towards the Warsaw region.
There were plenty of service stations along the way.
ORLEN, BP, Shell and Circle K are all common in Poland, so finding diesel, food or toilets wasn’t a problem.
How Much Diesel Did Tallinn to Warsaw Use?
The total distance was approximately 1,000 km.
Our camper consumed roughly 9.5 litres of diesel per 100 km.
That meant:
1,000 km × 9.5 L/100 km = approximately 95 litres
If the average diesel price across the trip was approximately €1.65 per litre, fuel cost roughly:
95 × €1.65 = €156.75
So I would budget around €150–€170 for diesel for Tallinn–Warsaw in a similar camper.
A larger motorhome consuming 11–12 L/100 km would obviously cost more.
Arriving in Warsaw
The final approach to Warsaw was completely different from the quiet roads of Estonia.
Traffic increased dramatically.
There were multiple lanes, complicated junctions and much more aggressive city traffic.
With a camper, I didn’t want to drive directly into Warsaw’s historic centre.
Before arriving, I had already selected a camper parking location outside the most congested streets.
This saved a lot of stress.
The biggest mistake you can make with a large motorhome is following Google Maps blindly into a narrow street simply because it appears to be the shortest route.
I always check the final few kilometres manually.
Camper Parking in Warsaw
Warsaw has several options for camper travellers, including campsites and designated motorhome parking areas.
Depending on location and facilities, I would budget approximately:
100–180 PLN (€23–€42) per night.
A proper campsite is usually more expensive than a simple parking area but can provide:
- electricity;
- drinking water;
- showers;
- toilets;
- grey-water disposal;
- chemical toilet disposal;
- Wi-Fi;
- secure parking.
We chose a proper camper stop rather than sleeping in a city car park.
After almost 1,000 km from Tallinn, being able to take a shower and connect the camper to electricity was worth the extra money.
Parking in Central Warsaw
The next day we left the camper and used public transport to visit central Warsaw.
For me, this is the best strategy with a motorhome.
Driving a 6.5-metre camper into a busy European city centre saves very little time and creates unnecessary problems with parking.
Warsaw has paid parking zones, and finding a suitable space for a large camper can be difficult.
Public transport was much easier.
We visited the Old Town, Castle Square and the area around the Royal Castle before returning to the camper in the evening.
Our Tallinn–Warsaw Costs
Our approximate budget for this part of the journey looked like this:
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Diesel – approximately 95 litres | €157 |
| Estonia road tolls | €0 |
| Latvia road tolls | €0 |
| Lithuania road tolls | €0 |
| Poland road tolls for our ≤3.5 t camper on this route | €0 |
| Kaunas camper stop | €25 |
| Warsaw camper stop | €35 |
| Groceries | €35 |
| Coffee/snacks | €18 |
| Other small expenses | €10 |
| Total | about €280 |
For two days of travelling and almost 1,000 kilometres, I considered this quite reasonable.
Accommodation was especially cheap compared with staying in hotels in Kaunas and Warsaw.
Helsinki to Warsaw – Our Total Journey So Far
By the time we reached Warsaw, we had travelled from Finland across a surprisingly large part of Northern and Eastern Europe.
Our route so far looked like this:
Helsinki → ferry → Tallinn → Pärnu → Riga → Panevėžys → Kaunas → Suwałki → Warsaw
Including the Helsinki–Tallinn ferry, we had travelled roughly 1,100 km by road plus around 80 km by sea.
We had also crossed or visited Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
The biggest surprise was how straightforward the journey had been.
What I Learned Driving the Via Baltica in a Camper
The most important thing is not to assume that all Baltic countries have identical toll rules.
Before every border I checked three things:
vehicle category, maximum authorised mass and current road-toll requirements.
For our M1 camper under 3.5 tonnes, the trip was particularly simple.
Fuel stations were easy to find, the main roads were suitable for campers and overnight accommodation was considerably cheaper than hotels.
I would also strongly recommend dividing Tallinn–Warsaw into two days.
Technically, it is possible to drive almost 1,000 km in one day.
But that completely defeats the purpose of travelling by camper.
Stopping in Lithuania allowed us to have dinner, sleep properly and start the second day refreshed.
And after Warsaw, our journey was far from over.
Our camper was now in Central Europe, which meant we had several possibilities ahead of us – Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia or continuing further south through Europe.