Trip ideas with no date

Druskininkai is about two and a half hours from Kaunas by bus, so it is better for a weekend with one night. In autumn and winter there is plenty to do under a roof: the Aqua water park and the Snow Arena ski complex with slopes and cafés. Practical tip: until 31 January 2027 the Aqua park is open Monday to Thursday 12:00–22:00, Friday 12:00–23:00, Saturday 10:00–23:00 and Sunday 10:00–22:00. On Saturday morning start with one place and give the rest of the time to the other. Check the other days or hours when the park is open differently on its own page before you leave, especially around public holidays and the coming Saturdays and Sundays.

On the way from Kaunas to Druskininkai you can stop in Alytus, visit Punia hill fort and walk in Grūtas Park. A car is more convenient than a bus here, because the hill fort stands far from the stations. Start at the Alytus Regional Museum, then let the weather decide where to spend the rest of the day: at the hill fort or in Grūtas Park. Practical tip: the Alytus Regional Museum is open Tuesday to Friday 9:00–18:00 and on Saturday 10:00–16:00, and closed on Sunday and Monday; on the day before public holidays it closes one hour earlier. Check the opening hours of Grūtas Park on its own page. You will find more about the resort on the Druskininkai page.

Druskininkai is a spa resort. The main reason to come is the Aqua water park with its saunas, but Grūtas Park and Liškiava hill fort are worth seeing too. It suits a weekend all year round, because the water park and other entertainment are open in the cold season. Practical tip: the bus from Vilnius takes 1 h 50 min to 2 h 5 min, so plan nothing complicated for the first day. The sculpture walk in Grūtas Park is easy to combine with the water park, and Liškiava hill fort suits a dry autumn morning. Check the opening hours of the water park on its official page before you go.

Jūrmala does not have to mean a summer beach: in autumn and spring it is good for walking. The boardwalk in the Ķemeri bog is open around the clock and has two loops, of which the longer one leads to a viewing tower. The Jūrmala Open-Air Museum in Buļļuciems shows a fishing village with boats and collections of anchors and ropes, and from the end of September to mid-May it is open Tuesday to Sunday. From Vilnius take an LTG train to Riga, then a Vivi train to Jūrmala. Practical tip: the boardwalk is slippery in the rain and the snow is not cleared in winter, so wear suitable shoes. Check the museum and train times on the official pages before you go.

Kaunas is the farthest day trip in this series, so leave Klaipėda as early in the morning as you can. Give half a day to the Ninth Fort Museum, which shows the history of the occupations and the Holocaust, and spend the rest of the time in the old town and at Kaunas Castle. Practical tip: from October to March the Ninth Fort Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 9:00–17:00, closed on Monday, and it closes one hour earlier on the eve of a holiday. Think about a night in Kaunas if you want both the fort and the old town: by the timetable, the fastest direct buses on Saturday take 2 h 45 min, slower ones up to 4 h 45 min. The museum is closed on public holidays, so check both the calendar and the bus timetable before you go.

The train from Vilnius to Kaunas takes between one hour and an hour and a half and leaves almost every hour. Two museums are enough for a day: the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum and the Devil Museum, followed by a walk through the old town to the castle. It suits autumn and winter, when it is cold outside. The museums are open Tuesday to Sunday, so you cannot reach them on a Monday. Practical tip: it is about 2.7 km on foot from the railway station to the Čiurlionis Museum, so take the city bus or allow about 35 minutes to walk. If you have more time, also look into the Church of the Resurrection or Pažaislis monastery, which are on our list of places too.

Klaipėda is a seaside day trip with several museums within walking distance. Start at the Clock Museum, continue to the Klaipėda Castle Museum and, if you have time, take the ferry to Smiltynė and visit the Lithuanian Sea Museum. The Clock Museum is in a nineteenth-century suburban villa and is the only museum of its kind in Lithuania. The Castle Museum exhibition on the history of the castle and the city is in the vaults of the castle bastions. The bus from Kaunas takes about 2 h 30 min each way. Practical tip: the Clock Museum is open 10:00–18:00 on Saturdays and 10:00–16:00 on Sundays, and closed on Mondays and public holidays.

Klaipėda is a weekend by the sea: the Lithuanian Sea Museum with its dolphinarium in Smiltynė, the Clock Museum in the old town and a ferry ride across the Curonian Lagoon. The ferry takes you to Smiltynė, where the Curonian Spit begins. The Sea Museum aquarium and its sea mammals are in a former nineteenth-century fortress building. The Clock Museum tells the history of clocks, and from there you can walk through the old town to the ferry quay. Leave on Friday and come back on Sunday. It suits autumn and winter. Practical tip: from October to March the Lithuanian Sea Museum is open only Friday to Sunday 10:30–17:00. Direct trains from Vilnius take from 4 h 16 min to 4 h 32 min.

Plungė is worth a day if you like manors and quiet walks. The Samogitian Art Museum is housed in the Oginski palace, and a park with ponds and old trees stretches around it. You spend most of the day inside and in the park. The idea suits any season. Practical tip: from October to April the palace is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00, closed on Monday, and the last visitors are admitted half an hour before closing. Before public holidays it is open one hour less, so on a holiday weekend check the times in advance.

The bus to Rokiškis takes more than three hours, so it deserves a whole weekend, not one day. On Saturday you can go to Obeliai, where a branch of the Rokiškis museum presents a resistance collection: it is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–16:00 and closed on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday visit the Rokiškis Regional Museum in the Tyzenhaus manor palace, where there are exhibitions and a hunting trophy display; the museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. Both museums are open one hour less before holidays. Practical tip: on 7 November direct buses leave Vilnius bus station at 6:50, 8:25, 10:50, 12:05, 13:25 and 16:00, and on 8 November the last bus from Rokiškis to Vilnius leaves at 17:50.

Pažaislis monastery and the Lithuanian Open Air Museum in Rumšiškės fit into one day by car from Kaunas, because Pažaislis is on the way. First see the Baroque monastery, then drive to Rumšiškės to walk among old farmsteads. Practical tip: the Pažaislis centre is open Tuesday to Friday 10:00–17:00 and on Saturday 10:00–15:30, and closed to visitors on Monday and Sunday, so choose a weekday or Saturday. From 16 October to 31 March the interiors in the Rumšiškės museum are closed, so it is visited as a park daily 10:00–16:00, and one hour less on the eve of a holiday. Dress warmly and prepare for a longer walk outdoors.

Riga is about four hours from Vilnius by train, so it suits a weekend. Visit the Art Nouveau Museum and Riga Cathedral, and walk along Alberta Street, famous for its Art Nouveau buildings. It suits autumn and winter. A weekend plan fits into two days: Saturday evening in the old town by Riga Cathedral, the next morning the Art Nouveau Museum and Alberta Street, and on Sunday the train back. Practical tip: the Art Nouveau Museum is open daily 10:00–18:00, with tickets sold until 17:45, and Riga Cathedral is open Monday to Saturday 10:00–17:00 and on Sunday 14:00–17:00, so go into the cathedral during the day on Saturday, before the evening in the old town.

Šiauliai suits a day when you want several small museums rather than one big one. The Bicycle Museum, the Photography Museum and the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul make up the day’s programme. The train from Klaipėda runs without a change, so this is one of the easiest choices for a longer trip. The idea suits winter and autumn, because most of the programme is indoors. Practical tip: the Bicycle Museum is open Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00 and on Saturday and Sunday 11:00–17:00. The Photography Museum keeps the same hours, so both museums fit easily into one day: one in the morning, the other after lunch, and the cathedral in between.

Šiauliai is a quiet weekend for museum lovers: the Photography Museum, the Bicycle Museum and a half-day trip to the Hill of Crosses. The train from Vilnius takes about two and a half hours, so it is best to leave on Friday and come back on Sunday. It suits autumn and winter. The museums are on Vilniaus Street, so a night nearby lets you reach everything on foot. Practical tip: the Photography and Bicycle Museums are open Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00 and on Saturday and Sunday 11:00–17:00, so give all of Saturday to both museums and a walk along Vilniaus Street, and leave the Hill of Crosses for the other day, for example Sunday morning before going back.

Sigulda is a town in the Gauja valley where in a weekend you can see the ruins of a medieval castle, Turaida Castle and Gutman’s Cave with its carved inscriptions. From Vilnius take an LTG train to Riga, then a Vivi train to Sigulda. On the first day walk around the castle ruins near the centre and give the second to Turaida, which is about five kilometres from the centre. In autumn and winter there is less daylight and the castles keep shorter hours, so plan an early start. Practical tip: from 1 November the Turaida museum is open daily 10:00–17:00 and the Sigulda castle ruins daily 9:00–17:00.

Šilutė is a quieter trip to the Lithuania Minor coast that is easy to plan by bus. The main goal is the Hugo Šojus manor with its museum, and beside it stretches the manor park, which is worth a walk in the cold season too. It is about a 29-minute walk (1.8 km) from the bus station to the manor, so time your arrival to the museum’s opening. Practical tip: in autumn and winter the museum is open Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00 and on Saturday 10:00–16:00, and its exhibitions are closed on Sunday and Monday. Out of season the last Thursday of the month is a cleaning day, so do not plan the museum on that day. Tickets are not sold in the last half hour before the museum closes.

The Lithuania Minor coast is best explored by car, because Ventė Cape and other Nemunas delta sights are not reached by regular public transport. Start in Šilutė, where the Hugo Šojus manor houses a museum and a park, then drive to the bird ringing station at Ventė Cape on the Curonian Lagoon. In autumn, during the bird migration, it is especially worth stopping there. Practical tip: in autumn and winter the Šilutė museum is open Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00 and on Saturday 10:00–16:00, and its exhibitions are closed on Sunday and Monday; the last Thursday of the month is a cleaning day. Check the station’s hours on its page before you drive. Tickets are not sold in the last half hour before the museum closes.

Telšiai tells the history of Samogitia through several different museums. The Telšiai yeshiva exhibition recalls the Jewish school that once worked here, and the Samogitian Village Museum shows old village life. The train from Klaipėda runs direct, but from the station to the museums you need to walk or take the city transport, so build your day plan from two sights, not five. Practical tip: from 1 November to 30 April the village museum is open only Monday to Friday 8:00–16:00, and at the weekend you can go to the yeshiva (Saturday 9:00–17:00, Sunday 10:00–15:00). The yeshiva is closed on Monday.

By car you can stop in Plungė on the way to Telšiai, where the Samogitian Art Museum is housed in the Oginski palace, and then drive on to the Telšiai yeshiva and the Samogitian Village Museum. The trip lets you choose sights at your own pace, with no need to fit train times. The idea suits autumn and winter, because most of the programme is indoors. Practical tip: from 1 November to 30 April the village museum is open only Monday to Friday 8:00–16:00, so at the weekend choose the yeshiva (Saturday 9:00–17:00, Sunday 10:00–15:00). The yeshiva is closed on Monday. Separate tickets apply to the yeshiva exhibition and the Torah room, and before public holidays the yeshiva is open one hour less.

Trakai Island Castle is one of the most recognisable places in Lithuania, and from Kaunas you can reach it by train, changing in Lentvaris to the Trakai train: leave Kaunas at 08:24 on Saturday, 7 November, and you are in Trakai at 09:59. See the castle on its island in the lake, stroll round the town and look into the Karaite kenesa. Practical tip: in October and November the Island Castle is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00 and closed on Monday, the last visitors are admitted 30 minutes before closing, and on the eve of a holiday the hours are cut by one hour. The change in Lentvaris makes the journey longer, so leave Kaunas in the morning and you won’t have to rush at the castle. Look for castle tickets on the official museum page and arrive at least an hour before closing.

Trakai is the nearest day trip from Vilnius: the train takes about half an hour. See the Island Castle on Lake Galvė, walk to the Peninsula Castle and look into the Karaite kenesa, and try kibinai for lunch. It suits any time of year, but the opening hours of the castles and museums change with the season and get shorter by one hour on the eve of holidays. The day plan fits into one day: a morning train, the castle, lunch and the return in the evening. Practical tip: it is about 3.1 km (42 min) on foot from the railway station to the Island Castle, so allow more time or take a bus.

Utena is a good day trip: the bus from Vilnius takes an hour and a half or two. First look into the Utena Regional Museum on Utenio Square, then go to the Freedom Fights Museum on Stoties Street, housed in the former railway station. The museums are open on different days, so on Saturday both are open. On the last working day of the month visitors are not served, so choose your date carefully. Practical tip: choose your return service in advance and note down the museums’ closing times on the same sheet, so that you do not get lost between timetables. Leisure time goes to a walk in the Skaistaščiai forest. Check the opening hours on the official page before you go.

Warsaw is a long but simple journey: one LTG ticket takes you to the Central Station. The Warsaw Rising Museum (about two hours), the Royal Castle and the viewing terrace of the Palace of Culture and Science are enough. It suits autumn and winter. Friday evening passes on the way, and the whole of Saturday is left for the city. Practical tip: the Rising Museum is closed on Tuesday and on All Saints’ Day, and on Thursday admission is free, so match the weekend to the museum’s days. On Sunday, 8 November, trains from Warsaw to Vilnius leave at 8:53 and 14:53 Polish time, so decide whether you want an extra morning in Warsaw. Polish time is one hour behind Lithuania, so count arrival times carefully.