Vilniaus Apskritis Travel Forum

hello everyone,

ready to fly to vilnius on october 7th,i will be greatful if members living in vilnius could advice me where to find english speaking guide or any of you interested in a meet up.

during my trip which is mainly to participate in the international meeting about infection control,i would like to explore vilnius tourist places as well as get to know lithuanian culture and people.

Just back from Vilnius..loved it....A thought.Pilies Street was the tourist shopping street...where is the actual shopping streets/area of vilnius?? Just wondering if I missed it!THanks!

Hello Please can someone give me some advice about tipping matters in Vilnius and what is normal customs for giving tips and how much?

Also, please can you let me know how much it will cost for typical evening meal? a beer? a coffee in a cafe?? and any other general cost advice for my trip.

What is expensive to buy in Vilnius? What is good value to buy in VIlnius??
Thank you x x

Hi there,
First, Many thanks to all of those who have provided me with a lot of valuable information.
Second, in order to make my itinerary feasible, I will need further information on the following.
I'm planning to visit Nida on the way to Riga from Kaunas on 27th of August.
My itinerary is: Kaunas -bus- Klaipeda -ferry- Smiltyne -bus- Nida
Nida -bus- Smiltyne -ferry- Klaipeda -bus- Riga
So, my questions are
1.Jonellis mentioned, "Bus from Kaunas usually stops in Klaipeda and then goes over ferry to the peninsula to Nida."... Does this bus go direct from Kaunas to Nida with the passengers just staying in a bus all the way to Nida? How do I know a detailed timetable:for the bus? Is website information possible?

2. I want to know a time schedule for the bus between Kaunas and Klaipeda; and for the ferry between Klaipeda and Smiltyne. If possible, website address is also preferable.(Thanks to brrr bus from/to Smiltyne-Nida has been fixed.)

3. The above trip is to be made in a single day. Is this feasible?

4. I have to carry my large suitcase with me all the way to Riga till I arrive at a hotel the end of the day. I wonder if all of the above transport involved in this trip between Kaunas and Riga could accept my luggage on board. Because of the size of the bus/ferry I may not get in with big luggage. Otherwise I must give up visiting Nida and heading directly to Riga from Kaunas instead.

Thank you very much for all the advice.
knk

Hi,
I'm thinking about traveling Vilnius - Kaunas - Nida - Riga as a straight route, staying overnight in Kaunas and taking a 7:35 bus to Nida next morning( ...by the way this is the only bus available to Nida/arriving at 11:45, on 27th August at http://www.118.lt/Pages/Transport/). I might spend a half day or so in Nida and leave for Riga to arrive by the evening of the day.

The problem is that I cannot find any direct bus to go to Riga from Nida. Is there no direct international bus line between these two cities as well as Kaunas and Riga? I have searched all possible websites I could think of for the routes but in vain.

Can anyone help me?
Thank you so much in advance.
knk

Hi,
Can anyone help me the following?
I have been working on my travel itinerary for Baltic nations and Helsinki
for August. Thanks to some members who responded to my inquiry
posted in this Forum, some of my routes have been fixed almost definite.

1) Bus route:a day trip from Vilnus to Trakai via Kaunas on 25th of August
I checked every likely website where I might find a proper bus schedule.
Unfortunately I have not got any luck yet. Is a day trip between these cities
possible? I think a day trip between Vilnius and Kaunas might be more than
enough in terms of consuming time for a day trip. So I added Trakai inbetween.

2) A day trip between Vilnius and Kaunas is not available?
I so found on http://www.eurolines.ee/en/node/150. It said as "No available
departure on day (2009-08-25)", which is unlikely to me...??

3) Coaches and minibuses serving a route between Vilnius-Kaunas
On the other website, I found an possible route above. I would like to know thier time schedule: how often; where to take(...may not be as at the same
bus station as at internationl bus station); the prices; time of the first and the last bus from each station; any advice I should take into account...etc.

4) About Euro currency to be used in Baltic states
As for traveling in the Baltic states such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,
are euro notes and coins available at present at any place, small shops and
local transport...etc? If so, paying in Euro is comparatively high compared with paying in the local currency?

5) Currency Exchange Booths
Are there Currency Exchange booths available right after I got off the international bus before moving into the first city of next country? I might otherwise get stuck there!

Any advise is much appreciated.
Thanks,

Kuniko

Hi!
I am going to Vilnius for the first time this summer to see the land of my grandparents. I am in desperate need of a tallit and was hoping to purchase one in Vilnius. I like the idea of being wrapped in a prayer shawl from the country that my family came from. is this possible? I mean are there any judaica stores that sell such ritual items, or am I better off buying a tallit in Poland when I am there? Thanks for any help.

Hi there,
I will be in Baltic nations and Helsinki in August.
Can anyone help me the following?.
As for traveling from Vilnius to Riga, I would like to stop at Siauliai
to see the Hill of Crosses for a couple of hours along the way.

The possible choices of the routes I have in mind are:
1) Vilnius to Kaunas - Siauliai to Riga... two days trip
Staying over night at Kaunas and departing next morning from
Kaunas for Siauliai to visit the Hill of Crosses for a couple of hours,
then moving on to Riga in the same day.
2) Vilnius to Riga via Siauliai... one day trip:
Leaving Vilnius early morning for Siauliai to visit the Hill of Crosses
for a couple of hours and moving on to Riga to arrive in a day.

Can I take either choice without any problem?
I should take either buse or train for this itinerary. Which choice is
better? How can I find proper time schedule at website?

I've checked website and found the given information might not be
appropriate to my inquiry. There must be some place where I can
get proper information... I have not hit the right one yet??

Many thanks in advance
Kuniko

Hi all,
I've been trawling Vilnius accomodation sites, and have shortlisted the following places. Can anyone comment on any of them? Have you stayed there? Would you recommend them? Are they value for money? Clean? Are all OK in terms of location/walking distance to old town centre?
Thanks everyone.

We are looking for middle-of-the-road accommodation - fairly cheap, like ~30-60 Euro per room per night, want a private room, and preferably a private bathroom, and a slightly better standard than backpackers like Filaterai and Lininterp.

IN ASTRA B & B - J.Basanaviciaus St. 3. Apparently ~ 58 Euro per night.

HOTEL AMEDA GUESTHOUSE - Latvių Gatve 27. About 30-46 Euro per night.

FLORENS B & B - Aušros Vartų gatvė, Senamiestis. About 55 Euro per night.

BERNADINU B & B Bernardinu str. 5. About 49-55 Euro per night.

Or the following apartments:

vilnius apartments/euapartments.lt - 50-65 Euro
Anre guesthouse - 55 Euro
Angelika's apartments
Eldorado apartments
Vilnius heart apartments

Thanks again

I am planning to arrive at the Vilnius airport on Thursday, 9 July at 23:00. What would be the least expensive way to get to the center of the city and what should I expect to pay?

I will take the train from the Vilnius airport to the terminal in downtown Vilnius. From the railway station, what trolley bus number will take me to the closest stop to the Holiday Inn, Seimyniskiui 1?
Thanks

what is the exact location of the church of st. bernardine in vilnius and thier email address and who heads the church, a bishop or a priest? who is he?

I'm sorry if aspects of this have been covered in other posts, but I need several specific questions answered at once.
I'll be travelling to Lithuania for a conference, and the easiest way to get my workplace to provide funding is by detailing all the Lithuania-related travel expenses (i.e., not australia-europe airfares, as we will also be doing our own travel in Europe, it becomes more tricky).
So I need a broad brush estimates of food, public transport, and getting to Lithuania from Western Europe, so that work will actually fund me. I've already figured out accom estimates .

Could people help me with any or all of these issues?

1. A broad estimate of how much food will cost daily? Costing down the middle I guess - we won't be restricting ourselves to tinned baked beans, but not 5-star restaurants each night either. Maybe simple continental breakfast, sandwich/Lithuanian equivalent for lunch, and a nice (but not pricey) restaurant for dinner, plus a snack and a drink or two.

2. Getting to and from the old town to Mykolas Romeris University (north of the river). On the map, it will probably be a 3-6km journey, depending on where we end up staying. I am assuming there will be some form of public transport - any ideas on how much this would cost daily (i.e. return trip)? Or else, approximates on taxi fares for a 3-6 km journey and back?

3. Getting from Western Europe to Lithuania. We'd like to go by train, and I see there is a route from Berlin to Vilnius through Warsaw. From my brief searching, it also seems I pay for the 2 separate legs to and from Warsaw. Warsaw - Vilnius I think is ~ 25 pounds/euros/50 AUD. But I saw in another post that booking a retun costs slightly less than oneway, around 20 Euro. And I think Berlin - Warsaw is ~90 Euro.
So would an approximate estimate of ~200 Euro be correct for the return journey? Or will a Berlin-Warsaw return fare be much less than the 2x oneway fares I have caluclated? I did look for return fares, but www.bahn.de wasn't that forthcoming.

Thanks so much for your help - any detail at all would be great!

By the way, I will of course look into all of this myself more thoroughly later, I'm not being lazy, but for now I just need quick and approximate estimates, to guarantee the funding in the first place.

I have looked at the Vilnius website regarding public transportation, not much there in the way of help. I need to go from the airport to the following hotel Martialis Viesbuttis Hotel, located at Bistrycios Str. 13. Directions by public bus from the airport would be greatly appreicated. Thanks.

I have been looking on the DB site and the PKP website regarding train travel from Vilnius to Warsaw. I can find the schedule but no prices are given. Would appreicate a ball park figure for this trip, 2nd class is fine. Thanks

Just curious what the apartment rental costs in the old city is for say, a nice apartment with a nice view of 60-70 square meters as well as one that is 90-100 square meters?

Are there any English-friendly websites commonly used to find an apartment in Vilnius?

Hi all!
I am going to visit your city after Xmas. Could you help me to find the plan of Old City.
Could I buy or take it somethere?

Hi
I arrive in Vilnius around midnight on a Tuesday night (late 14th october, early 15th) and have to catch the train again at 6am.

Where can i dump my bag and then go for a few beers for 6 hours?

I've been to Vilnius before for just a day and night but it seemed pretty quiet at night - can i find anywhere open til 6am?
And anyone wanna meet up..?

Thanks
Dave

Hi

I know that the above is close to the village of Purnuškės about 26 km from Vilinus.

Can anyone help me as to how to actually get there by bus from Vilinus and in turn travel on to Europos Parkas which I think is about another 16 km away.
Many thanks

Hello,

I'm after some information regarding flights to Vilnius from London please.

My friends and are hoping to fly to Vilnius on the 28 Dec 08 and return to England on on the 03 Jan 09. Already 5 return flights are nearly Ł200 each!

Do you have any suggestions for finding cheaper flights? I think Easy Jet hasnt released their winter schedule yet, so maybe it's worth waiting for that.

Any advise is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

Please indicate some Secondhand goods Buy & Sell online websites in Lithuania ?

I wonder if a local to Vilnius has ever heard of a small town nearby which is called Shmagan - or something close to that. It's hard to translate it into English letters!

Where can you park the tourist bus near to historic centre?

tnx.

Hi,
does anyone know how much taxi from airport to the center of vilnius costs ?

Hello All,

Me and my Mrs. will spend five days in Vilnius in June.
I find it sometimes difficult to find nice restaurants to
eat at when being in a new city. So I would appreciate if
you folks could recommend some places in and around old town.
Places with local dishes costing around 15 Euros would be nice.

Thanks,
Martti

Planning to go Vilnius from Riga, stop by Siauliai in between. A friend of mine been there two years ago said there was no locker for backpack. Is that true? I don't want to climb the Hill of Crosses with my backpack!!

Hi,

I'll be in Vilnius next month for a week-end

Could anyone recommend me some nice clubs/bars??

Thanks

Luigi Principi

Planning a genealogical research trip and trying to identify the current name of a town between Kovno and Vilnius, that an 1899 letter refers to as 'Krivssun' or Krivsonin, which was an agricultural colony on the River Vilia / Neris. Perhaps it wasn't too far from Vievis ("Eveye"). Other clues I have were that they worked for a poish nobel by the name of Romer and also another polish noble named Aginski / Oginski who had distilleries. Does this ring a bell for anyone?
Kindly, Michelle

Hello,

Can anyone point me to a camera retailer(s) in Vilnius?
I would like to check the prices for various digital
cameras mostly Sony models.

Thank You,
Martti

Hi
Does anyone know of any web-sites that give bus timetables of buses from Vilnius to Kaunas?
Thanks