Lithuania fits in a week. Book it well.
Which Trakai run gets you inside the castle. What a morning in the Old Town costs. Where the dunes start. Every bookable day in Lithuania, reviewed.
What Lithuania is actually known for.
A castle on an island, a hill covered in crosses, a sand spit between lagoon and sea, and an Old Town you can cross in twenty minutes. These are the days most Lithuanian itineraries are built around.
The tours Lithuania fills first.
All the Lithuania reviews →Walking mornings in the Old Town, the Trakai minibus, the Jewish quarter and the Soviet-era route. These carry more travellers than anything else on the site.
1
Trakai Tour with Audio Guide and Minibus Transfers
Audio guided minibus day trip from Vilnius to Trakai with free time, Insular Castle views, and a convenient lakeside break.
From · $35
Read our review →
2
2.5-Hour Jewish Quarter Walking Tour
from $26
3
Regular walking tour of Soviet Vilnius
from $24
4
Regular Walking Tour of Soviet Vilnius
from $24
5
City Bike Tour of Vilnius Highlights
from $34
6
Sightseeing Audio Tour
from $20
7
Vilnius Old Town walking tour with snacks
from $29
8
Regular walking tour of Jewish Vilnius
from $26
Vilnius rewards walking more than it rewards a plan.
The Old Town is one of the largest surviving in this half of Europe and almost none of it is on a grid. Guides earn their fee here: the courtyards, the crypts under the cathedral, the Uzupis line across the Vilnia.
Trakai: 28 kilometres out, and worth the morning.
All Trakai tours →
The castle sits on an island in Lake Galve with a wooden footbridge to the gate. Half a day covers it. A full day adds Uzutrakis Manor, the Karaim houses on the main street and a boat across the water.
- 1Trakai Tour with Audio Guide and Minibus Transfersfrom $35
- 2Half-Day Sightseeing Tour to Trakaifrom $330
- 3Hot Air Balloon Ridefrom $165
Minibus out, audio guide, back by lunch
The cheapest way to stand in the courtyard. Transfers from central Vilnius, an audio guide for the walk over the bridge, and enough time inside the keep.
Kernave, Trakai and Vilnius in one loop
Lithuania moved its seat twice. This is the route in order: the grass mounds at Kernave, the brick castle at Trakai, then back into the Old Town.
Trakai from a basket at sunrise
The lake, the island and the forest laid out flat below you. Flights go at dawn or the last hour of light, and cancel outright when the wind gets up.
Three things you can only do here.
Old Towns and river cruises exist everywhere. A hill that grew from a hundred thousand crosses, a sand spit that has to be replanted to stay put, and a capital that lets balloons over its rooftops do not.
The Hill of Crosses
Crosses were first left on this low mound in the 1830s, after an uprising was put down. The Soviet authorities bulldozed the hill three times; each time it filled again within weeks. Nobody counts accurately any more — estimates run past a hundred thousand. It stands two hours north of Vilnius, and most tours pair it with Rundale or Kaunas on the way back.
- 1Full-Day The Hill of Crosses Tour from Vilnius★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 116 reviews
- 2The Hill of Crosses: Full-Day Tour from Vilnius★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 83 reviews
- 3Tour from Vilnius – Riga via The Hill of Crosses, Rundale, Bauska★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 67 reviews
The Curonian Spit
Ninety-eight kilometres of sand between the Baltic and a freshwater lagoon, never more than four kilometres wide. The dunes buried four villages in the eighteenth century; the forest that holds them still is planted, tree by tree, and has been since the 1800s. Nida and Juodkrante sit on the lagoon side, out of the wind.
- 1Day group tour: Curonian Spit (Neringa) from Klaipeda (EN)★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 78 reviews
- 2Curonian Spit Full-Day Private Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 33 reviews
- 3MIGHTY SANDS – Premium guided canoe tour at Curonian spit National Park★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 26 reviews
Balloons above the city
Vilnius is one of very few European capitals that permits balloon flights over the historic centre, and Trakai gets the lake-and-castle version. Flights lift at sunrise or in the last hour before dusk, when the air is still. Wind cancels more often than rain does, so leave a spare morning.
- 1Hot Air Balloon Ride★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 133 reviews
- 2Hot Air Balloon Flight Over Vilnius or Trakai(transfer included)★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 105 reviews
- 3Hot Air Balloon Flight Over Trakai(transfer included) or Vilnius★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 55 reviews
Vilnius keeps its twentieth century in plain sight.
The city was a centre of Jewish learning for four hundred years; the ghetto ran through streets tourists now walk for the architecture. Fifty years of Soviet rule left the KGB building on Gedimino, the television tower and the housing blocks beyond the river. Guides here work carefully, and it shows.
What a day in Lithuania costs.
Every published tour, sorted by what it actually charges. Lithuania is one of the cheaper places in Europe to hire a good guide, and the gap between bands is mostly transport.
Old Town walks, the Jewish quarter route, audio tours, market mornings and bike loops along the Neris.
Trakai with transfers, the Curonian Spit from Klaipeda, cooking evenings, and half-day private guiding.
The Hill of Crosses as a full day, balloon flights, private drivers and cross-country routes with several stops.
- 1Half-Day Sightseeing Tour to Trakaifrom $330
- 2Hot Air Balloon Ridefrom $165
- 3Full-Day The Hill of Crosses Tour from Vilniusfrom $157
The coast runs on ferries, not timetables.
Klaipeda is the port, and the only Lithuanian city with half-timbered German streets. The ferry from its harbour reaches Smiltyne in five minutes; beyond that the Spit runs south to Juodkrante and Nida, and north the beach road goes to Palanga and its amber.
- 1Day group tour: Curonian Spit (Neringa) from Klaipeda (EN)from $150
- 2Night Canoe City Tour in Klaipedafrom $57
- 3Join in Klaipeda: Old Town WalkingTour – the lost city Memelfrom $41
Four Lithuanian days that will not wait.
Most of Lithuania can be arranged from your hotel the night before. These cannot. They run on daylight, wind, boat schedules and a small number of guides who are booked out weeks ahead in July.
- 01Hot Air Balloon RideFlights lift at dawn or dusk only and are cancelled outright when the wind gets up, so you want a spare morning in hand.
- 02Full-Day The Hill of Crosses Tour from VilniusTwo hours each way from Vilnius. It runs as a full day with a fixed departure, and there is no late alternative.
- 03Day group tour: Curonian Spit (Neringa) from Klaipeda (EN)The Spit is reached by ferry from Klaipeda and the day is built around sailings, not around when you wake up.
- 04Night Canoe City Tour in KlaipedaWater trips run from spring to early autumn, in daylight, with a set number of boats per departure.
Lithuanian evenings start late and stay quiet.
See the evening list →
The week most people end up doing.
When the rain comes off the sea, go under the Old Town.
Lithuanian rain arrives sideways and stays for the afternoon. The best answers are indoors and genuinely interesting: the medieval crypts under the cathedral, the KGB cells on Gedimino, a museum hour, a kitchen and a long lunch. None of them care about the forecast.
By place — Vilnius, the coast, or the road between
Vilnius168 tours
Klaipeda32 tours
Kaunas9 tours- Trakai34 tours
- The Curonian Spit19 tours
Siauliai & the Hill of Crosses21 tours
Kernave7 tours- The full Lithuanian catalogue →
By kind of day — castles, dunes, crypts or a basket
The newest Lithuanian tour reviews.
More new Lithuania reviews →
Private day tour from Vilnius to goat Cheese farm and Kernave historical capital
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Private Day Tour to Wolfs Liar (Hitler’s bunker)
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Private Transfer: from Klaipeda to Vilnius via Trakai Castle
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Kaunas city center tour + IX Fort Museum (BONUS)
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Unique Private Walking Tour Around Courtyards of Vilnius
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The Majestic and Royal Vilnius Private Walking Tour
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Explore the Instaworthy Spots of Vilnius with a Local
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