In the words of Leroy Jenkins, let’s dooo this. I have been planning for a while, the time is now. This page relates to the trip, for my intel on Lithuania, see Vilnius. (My ambition has grown).
The Trip
Getting there
I flew Air Baltic and a night at Riga Airport in the Airport hotel or Airbnb? Then bus/coach via Lux Express to Vilnius; there’s only one train a day and that arrives pretty late. See also how to get to the City Centre.
DIY
- I booked my train journeys using the LTG Link web site; they also have an app. The “place an order” page is in Lithuanian, I got hotel staff to help me. Google AI perspectives say, “For train travel within Lithuania, it’s generally not necessary to book in advance unless you’re travelling during peak hours or around holidays. Second-class tickets don’t require reservations, and you can usually purchase them at the station on the day of travel. However, if you prefer the convenience of booking ahead or are travelling on a specific route during peak times, it’s advisable to book in advance, especially for first-class tickets.”. Here’s a picture of the network at Vilnius station.
- From my researches on the internet and off, Buses may be a better way of travelling even between cities, and oddly may be quicker. There is no train from Kaunus to Klaipeda so I used the bus/coach. There is an inter-city network, again I bought my ticket ahead of time using the web. https://www.autobusubilietai.lt/en.
- Both Uber and Bolt operate in Lithuania, they seem focused on intra-city travel; Google suggests that Bolt is more reliable. I have the uber app, and the bolt app is also available. In the end, I used neither.
- While I was there, the foot ferry, which travels from the old ferry port, not the DFDS main port, from Klaipeda to Smyltine travels once/hour on the hour. The bus on the Spit to Nida is basically once every two hours and takes an hour to get to Nida. [Insert my pictures as a slide]. So I got to Mizgiris_Amber_Museum in Nida and back from Klaipedia in a day, in fact I was back in time for lunch. On the Spit I wanted to see the Mizgiris Amber Museum, the Baltic dunes and the Kaliningrad border. I didn’t get to the border, I think it’s isolated by a park with no-entry signs.
- I didn’t make it to Grutas Park. With confidence in how the buses work, this can be done by bus from Kaunus or Vilnius, and maybe Mockava. Next time maybe.
Return
I returned by train with Byway Travel on a slower route with stops in Warsaw, Gdansk, Stettin, Stralsund, Lubeck & Cologne, using an Interrail ticket.
Entry/Exit conditions
See https://davelevy.info/wiki/ees-etias/ , my passport is good, for travel, and I expect to have 76 Schengen days available. I arrived before 12th October, the Latvian border control took my fingerprints; wonder if I’ll need to do that next time.
My Map
I visited Vilnius, Kaunus and Klaipeda and returned to Vilnius in order to catch the train to Warsaw, although this could have been done from Kaunus but I enjoyed my last night in Lithuania. I ate very well.
See also
… my Vilnius page
I returned by train, via Germany, and wrote this.
I have just travelled from Riga to London by train and bus, stopping off at places in Lithuania, Poland and Germany. While English is pretty ubiquitous, there are parts of Germany, where I have holidayed in previous years where its scarce. I have been learning German with Duolingo and have been reminded of possibly the most important lesson taught to me at St Nix, by Mr Kinsey is that in German the verb always comes last. Mind you I have also been taught by Duo Lingo, despite working for a US company for 12 years, that British and American English can be quite and annoyingly different. Both Lithuania and Poland tend towards American English, with elevators, not lifts, and no ground floor. I didn’t see any crisps/chips on sale so didn’t have to work out what was on offer. However, I was pleased to have conducted three conversations in German on the trip.
I have tidied this page up, removing stuff about plans that I didn’t use. I have also removed the following comment about buses/coaches. About buses, Google AI perspectives days.”Buses are a common and convenient way to travel within Lithuania, especially between cities and towns. Intercity buses are frequent and connect major cities as well as smaller towns and villages. While trains are an option, buses tend to be quicker and more frequent, though slightly more expensive.”