Vilnius

I fancy a trip, Rough Guide is on the way; here are my notes. This started as Vilnius bit I have become more ambitious.

To do

1. Attractions and Activities near Vilnius from Trip Advisor, or here.
2. 21 things to do in Vilnius by the external expat
3. Google Gemini on Vilnius’s Art Galleries
4. Gruto parkas includes soviet period statues documenting the occupation & how get there from trip advisor again
5. Things to Do in Lithuania from Trip Advisor
6. Things to do in Klaipedia from Trip Advisor
7. 11 Wonderful (and Slightly Unusual) Things to Do in Lithuania from “Along Dusty Roads”
8. The 9th Fort in Kaunas, their tour booking page, think, I’ll get a taxi and Kaunas Rumsiskes and Pazaislis Monastery Full Day Tour from Vilnius, NB from Vilnius and priced per group. The price is a bit shit. There seem to be two web pages, one very close to Kaunas, https://lemu.lt/ and the second, seems to be posted by a lettings agency, here is what they say about the Museum of Ethnography which seems to be a garden. Although many people seem to think it’s important to visit. It can be done by Bus, albeit with a 25 minute walk at the other end.

Hotels

1. Hotels in and near Vilnius from Trip Advisor
2. Imperial Hotel & Restaurant 5* & Artis Centrum 4*
3. Boutique Shakespeare & Vilnia Hotel
4. AirBnB is always an option.

Travel

1. The man in seat 61, has a journey, train and boat, via Kiel! If travelling Eurostar using interail tickets, then one must book seats on the Eurostar.
2. I was looking for something else, and discovered there’s at least one ferry route from Sweden, which of course be travelled to directly or via Denmark
3. Flying: I checked on Expedia, and getting there in time to do something, is a bit tricky partly because its two hours ahead.
   • Lufthansa fly from LCY (17:00) but it arrives at 23:45. they also fly from LHR at about the same time (and others).
   • KLM leave LHR at 6:30 and arrive at 13:25.
   • Air Baltic have some very cheap journies, also arriving the following day, but I am unclear if the price includes the Riga – Vilnius transfer and how it’s done.
   • MInd you, skyscanner says it £17 direct from Luton with Ryan Air, 6:35 to 11:15. How to get there that early in the day?
   • Maybe Air Baltic and a night at Riga Airport in the Airport hotel or Airbnb? Or maybe to Riga and catch a train at 7:05 or leave Riga at 16:55 and arrive in Vilnius at 21:05. There’s an Air Baltic LGW – RIX arrinving at 9:10 – 13:50
4. Byway Travel can also help; I am thinking of traveling home by train via Strasund.
5. From Kliapedia to the Spit, see https://klaipedatravel.lt/en/ferries-to-smiltyne/ the ferries are regular even in October. This blog post documents the buses, it’s is dated 2023. This might be the best site, https://autobusubilietai.lt/en which I was pointed at by this reddit thread.

The Geen € represents Eurocar shops, I have been advised to drive.

I want a trip to the seaside, bus or train? Strangely the Bus’s are quicker than the trains. Klaipedia on the coast is 306k/190m from Vilnius. My driving licence works in Lithuania, no need for an international licence 7/11/2022

There’s an airport on the coast, called Palanga. There are direct flights from all London airports, inc City to Vilnius and also direct flights to Palanga.

Lithuania is big and diverse. I decided I needed some help. I found these e-travel agents.

1. Between Shades of Gray Lithuania Tour from Baltic Holidays which is a specific tour but includes both the spit and the statue park, it is inspired by the book “Ashes in the Snow” which has been made into a film. It visits Nida
2. and https://www.baltictour.com/, which is two days shorter and thus I expect it to be cheaper, but it misses Gruto Park and the Mizgiris Amber Museum, located in Nida on the Curonian Spit in Lithuania

Maybe not

1. Beachfront-hotels.com have a list of beach front hotels.
2. LOT, claims two flights/day from LCY to Palanga