Vilnius Hostelgate

TRAVELING WITHIN THE BALTICS

The most common way of traveling in and between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is to travel by bus. This is very connected with the recent past because during soviet times all railway tracks were designed to lead to Moscow rather than link the Baltic Soviet Republics... Anyway, if long bumby bus rides don't tickle your fany, AirBaltic offer nonstop flights between Vilnius and Tallinn. Prices usually start about 240 LTL for a one-way ticket, but sometimes you can even get a ticket for about 100 LTL. AirBaltic offers also flights between Riga and Vilnius.

Despite lingering soviet locomotive exentricities, it is still possibile to travel by train. Trains in the Baltics are usually much slower than busses, but also cheaper. You can check out the timetables at Lithuanian Railways, but it gets quite tricky if you want to travel by train from Riga or Tallinn to Vilnius. Check out how you can do it at Backpacker1.com. Further there are several domenstic trains. Please note that trains in Lithuania only have a second (antros klases) and a third class (trecios klases), there is no first class.

TRAVELING TO VILNIUS FROM THE WEST

Ryanair offers flights to Kaunas Airport. This is not directly Vilnius, but it might be a good option for you if you come from Dublin, Liverpool, London or Frankfurt. If you want to fly directly to Vilnius AirBaltic usually has the best offers (though it might also be worth to check LOT Polish Airlines and Czech Airlines). From Norway Norwegian Air Shuttle offers cheap flights from Oslo, Bergen, Bodo, Stavanger and Trondheim to Vilnius, but you have to book early in advance.

If you want to travel by bus it is not only Eurolines you should check. Ecolines also offers good and cheap services. From Warszawa Bus Station Eurolines and Ecolines both offer several busses daily. Another option is the night bus operated by the Polish Railways PKP which leaves from the trainstation 'Warszawa Centralna'.

If you want to travel by train there is only one daily train connection from Warszawa which does not go via Belarus. You'll have to change trains in Sestokai near the Polish-Lithuanian border, because of different track width in Lithuania and Poland. The train leaves early in the morning from Warszawa Centralna and it takes about 9½ hours to Vilnius. Check the Polish Railways PKP homepage for details. This train is the cheapest way to travel from Warsaw to Vilnius.

TRAVELING TO VILNIUS FROM THE EAST

If you travel from Central Asia and you don't want to waste your time and money to apply for a Russian visa AirBaltic offers flights from Tashkent, Baku and Tbilisi via Riga to Vilnius. Direct Trains from Moscow go via Belarus to Vilnius. So, depending on your citizenship you might need a Belarusian transit visa. To avoid traveling through Belarus you should take a train from Moscow to Riga and then take a bus to Vilnius. Another option from Moscow is the Ecolines Bus which goes from Russia via Latvia to Lithuania. Direct trains from St. Petersburg also do not go via Belarus.

AND WHAT TO DO IN VILNIUS...

For things to do in Vilnius we highly recommend Mr. Gordonsky's citySPY maps. To get along with the Lithuanian language, we recommend you to print a copy of the Pocket Talk English - Lithuanian traveler dictionary.




	TRAVELING WITHIN THE BALTICS The most common way of traveling in and between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is to travel by bus. This is very connected with the recent past because during soviet times all railway tracks were designed to lead to Moscow rather than link the Baltic Soviet Republics... Anyway, if long bumby bus rides don't tickle your fany, AirBaltic offer nonstop flights between Vilnius and Tallinn. Prices usually start about 240 LTL for a one-way ticket, but sometimes you can even get a ticket for about 100 LTL. AirBaltic offers also flights between Riga and Vilnius. Despite lingering soviet locomotive exentricities, it is still possibile to travel by train. Trains in the Baltics are usually much slower than busses, but also cheaper. You can check out the timetables at Lithuanian Railways, but it gets quite tricky if you want to travel by train from Riga or Tallinn to Vilnius. Check out how you can do it at Backpacker1.com. Further there are several domenstic trains. Please note that trains in Lithuania only have a second (antros klases) and a third class (trecios klases), there is no first class. TRAVELING TO VILNIUS FROM THE WEST Ryanair offers flights to Kaunas Airport. This is not directly Vilnius, but it might be a good option for you if you come from Dublin, Liverpool, London or Frankfurt. If you want to fly directly to Vilnius AirBaltic usually has the best offers (though it might also be worth to check LOT Polish Airlines and Czech Airlines). From Norway Norwegian Air Shuttle offers cheap flights from Oslo, Bergen, Bodo, Stavanger and Trondheim to Vilnius, but you have to book early in advance. If you want to travel by bus it is not only Eurolines you should check. Ecolines also offers good and cheap services. From Warszawa Bus Station Eurolines and Ecolines both offer several busses daily. Another option is the night bus operated by the Polish Railways PKP which leaves from the trainstation 'Warszawa Centralna'. If you want to travel by train there is only one daily train connection from Warszawa which does not go via Belarus. You'll have to change trains in Sestokai near the Polish-Lithuanian border, because of different track width in Lithuania and Poland. The train leaves early in the morning from Warszawa Centralna and it takes about 9½ hours to Vilnius. Check the Polish Railways PKP homepage for details. This train is the cheapest way to travel from Warsaw to Vilnius. TRAVELING TO VILNIUS FROM THE EAST If you travel from Central Asia and you don't want to waste your time and money to apply for a Russian visa AirBaltic offers flights from Tashkent, Baku and Tbilisi via Riga to Vilnius. Direct Trains from Moscow go via Belarus to Vilnius. So, depending on your citizenship you might need a Belarusian transit visa. To avoid traveling through Belarus you should take a train from Moscow to Riga and then take a bus to Vilnius. Another option from Moscow is the Ecolines Bus which goes from Russia via Latvia to Lithuania. Direct trains from St. Petersburg also do not go via Belarus. AND WHAT TO DO IN VILNIUS... For things to do in Vilnius we highly recommend Mr. Gordonsky's citySPY maps. To get along with the Lithuanian language, we recommend you to print a copy of the Pocket Talk English - Lithuanian traveler dictionary.