DOs and DON'Ts in Lithuania

There are several DOs and DON'Ts lists around aimed at people visiting Lithuania, both online and in various books, but the quality of the information they provide seems to vary quite a bit. After reading several of these lists, I see that their advice tend to fall into four main categories:

• “Goes without saying”
• “Why on earth is this relevant for tourists?”
• “Complete dribble”
• “Useful information”

“Fellow citizens of the world; these are my humble suggestions as to what advice you should disregard when visiting Lithuania.”

I have compiled a short list of advice from all categories. Starting from the top:

#1 “Goes without saying”

“DON‘T drop litter”. I would assume that this activity is rather unpopular in most cultures. It is probably a good idea not to litter, even within the confides of your own home.


“DON'T interrupt others while they are speaking”. Most of us learned the potential value of this in kindergarten, and those of us that didn`t probably never will.


“DON`T ask a lady her age”. Well, let`s just say that if you have ever found posing such a question useful from time to time, you should probably keep doing so anyway. The rest of us already know not to.

#2 “Why on earth is this relevant for tourists?”

“DON'T give yellow chrysanthemums, as they are used for funerals”.  Seriously, when was the last time you felt the need to distribute flowers while on holiday?


“DO wait for a woman to extend her hand first”. Before what, exactly? Regardless of the answer, I can hardly think of any reason why this is more important to keep in mind when in Lithuania than anywhere else.

“DO give flowers in odd numbers, not even. Even numbers of flowers are for funeral”. Again, travel sites seem for some reason to think that tourists will develop a strong need to hand out flowers while in Lithuania. This is rarely an issue.


 “DO remove gum, pencils, cigarettes or anything else from your mouth while talking on the phone”. Tourists talking on the phone with pencils in their mouths may have been a big problem in Lithuania in the past, but the tension surrounding this seems do have eased over the years. I personally always keep pencils in my mouth while on the phone, and people are usually able to overlook this indiscretion.

#3 “Complete dribble”

“DON'T speak too loudly in Public”. Lithuanians themselves do so all the time, and I wouldn`t be surprised if testing was to reveal that they are among the loudest people in Europe. This would however give away the fact that you are a foreigner, and that is not always a good idea.


“DON'T show the bottoms of your feet. It's impolite”. Well, there is a shred of truth to this, but since most Lithuanians infact like to show their entire foot (flip flops is the national footwear), the chances of anyone actually being offended is minimal. This is not the Middle East.

“DON'T indicate that you are done eating by putting the fork and knife parallel across the right side of the plate”. Why the hell not? Who comes up with these things? Many Lithuanian restaurants don`t even give knives with their meals. Forks and spoons are considered sufficient, and where you place them afterwards rarely sparks controversy.


“DON`T consume alcohol in parks, squares and other public places – it is prohibited by Law”. So? The people most often seen doing this are the Lithuanians themselves. And enforcing this law is not really high on the priority list with the police.

#4 “Useful information:”

“DON'T smile unless you mean it. In Lithuania, smiling a lot can be seen as insincere”. There are god reasons why hardly anyone smiles on the street in Lithuania, and one of them is that nobody else does so. You would be a fool to think that you as a tourist could contribute to reintroduce public smiling, and they will see you as just that if you try to do so.


“DON'T confuse a Lithuanian with being Russian”. In many ways, this is rule number one. Despite the fact that a number of Lithuanian citizens are of Russian decent. Confusing the nationalities sort of puts the whole independence thing in an unpleasant light.


“DON‘T mix Baltic capitals”. Nations of this size know they are small and insignificant, so they don`t need reminders. So just avoid guessing, or better yet – do some reading before you visit.