Suggested program for a one week visit to Lithuania

When visiting Lithuania by plane, as most tourists do, one usually has two choices – either to do a round trip (starting and ending in the same city) or to make a trip across the country. I would recommend the latter alternative, since a round trip gives you less time to spend, the further you venture from your staring point.

 

The Lithuanian coast. A consecutive sandy beach from one end to the other

Since Lithuanias two busiest international airports are situated in either end of the country (north-south), they are ideal for such a cross country trip. You can start in the capital and finish on the sandy beaches, or the other way around. It is up to you. My program this year starts in Palanga and ends in Vilnius, but it is no problem to do it in reverse order. It is a program designed for first time visitors, laid out over one week, and goes like follows:

 

#Day 1: Arrival in Palanga

Most inexpensive flights into Palanga this year arrives late in the evening, so I recommend going straight to the hotel. Get some rest and get ready to do away with Palanga in less than one day. The beaches are so crowded that there is little reason to get your shorts wet. Spend time in the city instead, and save your untanned skin for the next day.




The beach in Palanga is mostly for people withouth intimacy issues

#Day 2: Juodkrante or Nida in Neringa

Get away from noisy Palanga and escape to the Curonian spit for some real relaxation on the beach. Book a decent hotel, my recommendation would be Azuolynas, and just take it easy. Work on your tan, swim in the Baltic sea, rent a bicycle, eat some smoked eel and laugh at the ridiculously priced Curonian weather vanes. Then have a couple of beers and some pigs ears, and get ready for the next day.



The Beach in Neringa is different matter, but it will cost you a bit more.

 

#Day 3: Late arrival in Kaunas

After a long drive, with a detour to the obligatory attraction called “Hill of crosses” in Siaulai (which is excactly that – a hill full of crosses), you arrive in Kaunas in the evening. The second largest city in the country, and for a period of time also the capital. This is when the shopping begins. At least if you have brought women. Having avoided Klaipeda, this is the first major city you come to,

so by now they should be acing to go shopping.  Kaunas has plenty of shopping malls, and they stay open until late in the evening. Most other attractions will on the other hand be closed at this point, but then again – that is just one more reason to find a pub and plan the next day.



Shopping malls in Kaunas are often open until late in the evening. Nobody knows why. 

#Day 4: Kaunas

To even superficially cover the main attractions in this city, you will need at least one whole day. And since time is limited, I would recommend to first of all check opening hours of all the places you want to visit, and second to rent a car rather than go by bus if you are venturing out of the city center. Taxis in Lithuania are both cheap and (more or less) reliable. Among the sites I recommend visiting are: The old town, Vytautas the Great war museum, 9^th Fort, The Resurrection church, and Kaunas castle.





Kaunas old town can usually wait until the evening,
since most of the buildings are more interresting from the outside than the inside.

#Day 5: Leaving for Vilnius

Since most hotels don`t insist on kicking you out before noon, you might as well enjoy the morning walking around Kaunas, before leaving for Vilnius. The drive there will take a couple of hours, but on the way you should stop to visit the castle in Trakai. This is perhaps the most iconic tourist site in the country, and although there is not really much to do there, you can`t very well just pass by. After all, everyone else has been to this place, so you can`t come home and say you didn`t bother. After that, you spend the evening in Vilnius. I recommend spending it either shopping or checking out the attractions in the center that are open until late in the evening.

 

Trakai Castle. One of the Places you are expected to visit. I recommend making the most of it,
and also spending some time in the surrounding city.

 

#Day 6: Vilnius

Even more so than in the case of Kaunas, there is no point in even pretending that you will be able to cover Vilnius in just a couple of days. There is just too much to do. Most visitors only come here for a weekend, and as a result of the limited time at hand they rarely venture far away from the center. I would on the other hand recommend seizing the morning and heading off to the TV-tower for lunch, since the tower is a bit out of the way and closes early. Then you could spend the rest of the day in and around the city center, where most of the attractions are located.





The TV-Tower in Vilnius.
A site often overlooked by tourists, since it is not located within walking distance of the hotel

#Day 7: Leaving

And on the final day you are on your way home. Hopefully after spending the night at my favorite hotel – the kick-ass Vilnius Airport Hotel currently named AirInn. Where you can spend a quite night alone with your thoughts and contemplate the impressions gathered during your week in Lithuania. Since there is absolutely NOTHING interesting going on nearby, and the TV only has Eastern European channels.




The Vilnius Airport hotel. The closest you can come to sleeping in the airport.

 

 

So enjoy. If you make reservations now the whole thing should cost more than 1000 euros.