Lithuania - Cities, Countryside & Coast

Day 1: Arrival in Vilnius

On arrival in Vilnius, you’ll be met and transferred to your centrally located hotel. The rest of the day is free to settle in and take your first wander through the city’s cobbled streets, perhaps stopping at a café on Pilies Street or watching the evening light over Cathedral Square.

​

Day 2: Vilnius Old Town and Užupis

After breakfast, join your local guide for a walking tour of Vilnius, one of Europe’s largest and best-preserved Baroque Old Towns. Explore Cathedral Square and Gediminas Hill, wander past St Anne’s Church - a Gothic masterpiece admired by Napoleon - and visit the Gates of Dawn, an important pilgrimage site. Cross the bridge to Užupis, Vilnius’ bohemian quarter, where artists have declared their own “republic” complete with a playful constitution celebrating joy, art, and kindness. The afternoon is free to explore further - perhaps visit the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights or browse small design boutiques tucked between courtyards.

​

Day 3: Free Day in Vilnius

A day to follow your own interests. You might join an optional excursion to the countryside, visit one of the city’s art galleries, or simply soak up local life in the cafés of Bernardinų Garden. Vilnius rewards slow exploration - linger in bookshops, listen to street musicians, or climb one of the city’s hilltop viewpoints for sweeping panoramas of red rooftops and church spires.

​

Day 4: Trakai Island Castle

Today’s excursion takes you to the fairy-tale setting of Trakai, just half an hour from Vilnius. Once the medieval capital of Lithuania, Trakai is famous for its 14th-century red-brick castle beautifully set on an island in Lake Galvė. Your guide shares stories of dukes and crusaders, as well as the history of the Karaim people who still live here. There’s time to stroll along the lakeside paths and perhaps sample local Karaim pastries, known as kibinai, before returning to Vilnius for the evening.

​

Day 5: Vilnius to Druskininkai

After breakfast, travel by public bus to Druskininkai, Lithuania’s oldest spa resort. Travelling this way lets you experience the rhythm of local life as the countryside rolls past your window — forests, meadows, and quiet villages. On arrival, a local guide greets you and leads a short orientation of the town before you settle into your hotel. Later, explore Druskininkai’s riverside promenade, admire its wooden villas and sculptures, or try the naturally mineral-rich waters that have drawn visitors for centuries.

​

Day 6: Druskininkai at Leisure

Today is yours to enjoy Druskininkai at your own pace. You might visit the M.K. Čiurlionis Memorial Museum, dedicated to Lithuania’s most celebrated painter and composer, or take the cable car over pine forests to the Snow Arena. Spa and wellness treatments are easy to arrange locally, or you might prefer a quiet walk through the surrounding woodlands and riverside parks.

​

Day 7: Druskininkai to Kaunas

This morning, travel again like a local, boarding a comfortable intercity bus bound for Kaunas. Lithuania’s second-largest city has a very different character - energetic, youthful, and shaped by its time as interwar capital. After meeting your guide and dropping your luggage, set off to discover Kaunas’ Old Town, the medieval castle on the confluence of two rivers, and the striking modernist architecture that earned Kaunas its UNESCO City of Design title. Don’t miss Laisvės Avenue, lined with cafés and bookshops, or the quirky Devil’s Museum if you have time.

​

Day 8: Kaunas to Klaipėda

Continue your journey west by public bus to Klaipėda, the country’s maritime gateway. On arrival, a local guide welcomes you and introduces the city’s compact centre with its cobbled lanes and timber-framed houses. Once part of Prussia, Klaipėda blends Baltic and German heritage in its architecture and culture. You might stroll around Theatre Square with its sculpture of the little Ann from Tharau or wander along the port, where fishing boats and ferries come and go.

​

Day 9:  Day Trip to the Curonian Spit

Today’s full-day excursion explores one of Lithuania’s great natural treasures - the Curonian Spit, a narrow stretch of sand dunes, pine forests, and fishing villages between the lagoon and the open Baltic Sea. Cross by ferry and visit Nida, the artist-loved resort known for its colourful wooden houses, sweeping dunes, and the Amber Gallery and Museum. In Juodkrantė, walk among the carved wooden figures on the Witches’ Hill, a fascinating open-air display of Baltic folklore. Enjoy lunch at a local fish restaurant before returning to Klaipėda in the evening.

​

Day 10: Free Day in Klaipėda

A leisurely day to enjoy the coast at your own pace. Perhaps revisit the old town for some last-minute shopping, walk along the breakwater towards the lighthouse, or catch a ferry to Smiltynė beach for a dip in the Baltic (weather permitting). Klaipėda’s cafés and harbour bars are perfect spots to relax and watch life go by.

​

Day 11: Klaipėda to Vilnius via Samogitia and the Hill of Crosses

This morning, begin your return journey east across the Samogitian region, travelling with your private driver-guide along one of Lithuania’s most scenic routes. Visit the Plokštinė Soviet Nuclear Missile Base, now an atmospheric Cold War Museum set deep in the forest - a stark reminder of the nation’s Soviet past. Continue to the Hill of Crosses, Lithuania’s most symbolic site of faith and resilience, where tens of thousands of crosses rise from a grassy mound. After lunch en route, continue through rolling countryside and return to Vilnius for your final night in the capital.

​

Day 12: Departure or Onward Journey

After breakfast, transfer to Vilnius Airport for your onward flight or continued travels. If you’d like to keep exploring, we’ll be delighted to design your onward journey to Latvia’s elegant capital Riga or Tallinn in Estonia, seamlessly connecting with our other fine by nature experiences.

​