Day Trips from Vilnius | True Lithuania
True Lithuania

Day Trips from Vilnius

As the major transport hub of Lithuania Vilnius offers multiple day trip possibilities using public transport or car. The most interesting ones are:

1.The historical Trakai town with its medieval island castle, many lakes, and ethnic Karaim minority. It is the most popular day trip from Vilnius. It is easy to reach by bus and by train (28 km to the west).

2.Rumšiškės open-air ethnographic museum is a collection of 19th-century buildings relocated from all over Lithuanian countryside. 78 km westwards it is well connected by a four-lane Vilnius-Kaunas highway that is traversed by frequent buses.

3.The Polish-speaking Medininkai borderland area is famous for a Romanesque 14th-century castle with a small-but-modern tower museum, the Soviet-led Medininkai massacre of 1991 and Aukštojas hill, its 293,84 m making it the highest location in otherwise flat Lithuania. 30 km east of Vilnius. A far call from Trakai island setting the out-of-the-beaten-path Medininkai castle is preferable for those who hate flocks of tourists.

4.Kernavė Castle Hills are the location of Lithuania's 14th-century capital but its multiple wooden castles and town have since turned to dust, making the location more interesting for nature lovers than cultural buffs. A local museum has a nice archeological collection, however.

Article written by Augustinas Žemaitis

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  1. hi,

    Do you run day trip to Minsk? I am visiting Vilnius in two weeks, and keen on doing a day trip to Minsk, if possible. I travel on a schengen 5 year visa, and carry an indian passport.

    Regards

    Rahul

    • We do not organize trips. You may however arrange one yourself. You’d need to apply for a Belarusian visa in the embassy of Belarus in India (or through and Indian Travel agency which could also arrange you an invitation should it be needed). Then take a bus or train from Vilnius to Minsk. However, some key sights of Belarus are away from Minsk (see our article on Lithuanian Castles in Belarus), so you may decide to stay there for a longer than a single day.

  2. We are visiting Panevezys first week in October. I was wondering if there are guided tours from Panevezys to surrounding town and specifically the Hill of 1000 Crosses?

  3. Hello, I am interested in 2 adults touring from Vilnius to Saiuliai, Hill of the Crosses. We would like to travel 12 October, 2016.
    Thanks for any assistance

  4. I will be visiting Vilnius Old Town June 1-7, 2017 and staying at the Artis Centrum Hotel. I am trying to find an app that will at least allow me to say hello and thank you etc but I would also like to know if and how to find a guide for those days. I’m travelling by myself and normally have no worries about taking buses but as I speak absolutely NO Lithuanian I feel that a guide would be better. If you can help, I would appreciate it.

  5. Hi,
    I’m coming to Vilnius. Is there tour to go anywhere outside Vilnius (but Trakkai) that I could join between 7 to 9 May 2017? Thank you 🙂

    • We offer private tours rather than tours that could be joined. We could send you our offers by e-mail. What type of locations (natural, urban, historic, etc.) do you prefer?

  6. Hello,

    I was just wondering if you would know what Kulsu village from pre ww2 might be called today. I think it was in kaunas and not that far from Taurage. I do know that at one point you could get to Germany quite easily from Kulsu. I do know that it was a village. I would appreciate any help in figuring this out. Thank you!

    • “Kulsu” actually means “of Kulsai”. As here is still no Kulsai in the area, therefore, based on context, do you perhaps know what is “of Kulsai”, e.g. is it church (if you learned that in baptism documents, for example) or valsčius (adminsitrative unit) or just village.

      There is a village of Kuliai which was near the border of Tauragės apskritis (administrative unit) but not within apskritis itself. It was some 20 km from the German boundary.

  7. Hi,

    I plan to be in Vilnus on June 5-6th, . On June 6th, I would like to visit my parents birth places in Belarus. I’m interested in a one-day trip to Ashmyany, Krivichi and Dunilavicy. I have a US passport and will be staying in the Radisson Blue Hotel in Vilnus. Would you be able to organize a private trip for me?

    Thanks,

    Dov

  8. I’m very interested in visiting Vilnus. I’m looking to visit an area which in 1923 was called Niestaniszki and or Stanczyniete, Swiecaski. These places come up in genalogy searches but I’m not able to locate their current names. Are you able to assit?

    • In this case “Vilnius” would probably mean the governorate (administrative unit) and not Vilnius city. Vilnius governorate covered up to a third of today’s Lithuania and also large parts of what is now Belarus.

      The names are similar to various names. Staniškės, Šalčininkai district, comes as an example. However, at least for Niestaniszki, I’d assume Nestoniškės is the most likely candidate. This once-Lithuanian village is now, however, part of Belarus. Wikimapia gives its coordinates at 54°45’35″N 26°19’6″E, although, of course, as any wiki sources, this is not necessarily 100% correct.

  9. Hello we are a group of six people from Greece and we will visit Vilnius next month. We want to make a day trip to the Kaunas, to the Hill of Crosses and to the Geographical center of Europe. Can we do this trip with you and how much it will cost?
    Thank you
    Natasa Mavrommati


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