First of all, all five nations are part of the European Union so you know it’s relatively safe and stable to visit. Round trip from a major US city to the area is around $600 USD if you plan it ahead. These countries are also all part of Schengen Area so you can spend $100 to apply for a visa that will allow you to visit 29 countries in the zone. What I like about this route is its uniqueness, ease of traveling for tourists and its cost-to-value ratio. I think summertime is the best time to visit but I think spring and fall can be good times to visit too.
Do not bring any luggage except a small backpack with one pair of stocks, one inner wear of each required type, a light jacket, an upper and lower body garment and bring sufficient amount of airplane/customs compliant non-liquid snacks as well as first aid kit and basic cold and flu medicine. In general, when you travel light during your vacation, you will have so much less stress, save so much time and money on everything you do. If you want to do some work you can use your smart phone to check emails. You don’t need to bring your laptop because people will probably understand you are on vacation.
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3-day US to Northern, Central, Eastern Europe and the Baltics (Finland, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) vacation under $1K USD.
This is the route I recommend. Land in Helsinki, Finland in the morning. Walk around the city to enjoy its food and culture. On the same day take the approximately $40 USD, two-hour (offered multiple times a day) ferry ride from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia. Next day, visit the Tallinn Old Town to enjoy its food and culture then take an approximately $30, five-hour bus ride (offered multiple times a time) to Riga, Latvia on the same day. Walk around the Old Town to enjoy its food and culture then hit one of the famous Latvia white sandy beaches. On the same day, take an approximately $40, four-hour train or bus ride to Vilnius, Lithuania (offered multiple times a day). Once arrived, visit some of its attractions and enjoy its culture and food. On the same day, go from Vilnius to Warsaw, Poland by train. There are two daily trains, one in the early morning and one at noon. The whole trip takes about eight-hours and cost about $30. You can also take the seven-hour bus for about $25 (offered multiple times a day). Visit the Warsaw Old Town and take a flight back to the US on the same day.
The key here is you do not get a hotel room since you will take advantage of the long travel time to rest up and on your way from the US to Finland you slept well. We are really just talking about a little over two days of visiting Europe and about 20-hours of round trip flight hours. Of the approximately two days visiting Europe, a total of 18 hours of riding in a transportation which means more than enough sleep time if planned right. To save on budget and time, make sure you get an international phone plan while you are in the US and schedule an appointment with your bank if necessary and available to exchange Euro and some Polish zloty at decent rates. The other key here is bring snacks to eat if still hungry from outside dining, drink the free bottled water provided during the airplane ride when possible and don’t spend unnecessarily. Restaurant food per day for all five of these countries on average is probably going to be around $40 a day. It’s about $120 for three days. So round trip $600 airfare, $100 for visa, $150 for long-distance and intracity transportation cost, $120 for restaurant food and a few dollars for some inexpensive souvenirs can keep the budget below $1K USD. Obviously make sure you do ample research before you go. Make sure you take legally compliant safety measures and let your family and friends know where you are as frequently as possible while you are on the trip.