Tips for tourists in Lithuania

    After independence, Lithuania switched to a full fledged national currency, the litas. The litas was introduced on June 25, 1993. Currency comes in 10, 20, 50, 100 200 and 500 litas notes. Coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centas and one, two and five litas coins. The litas is pegged to the EURO at 3.4528:1 (from February 2, 2002).

    Lithuanian is one of the world's oldest surviving languages, and is distanly related to Sanskrit, a religious and literary language of India. Because it has changed less than other languages, Lithuanian is a linguistic link to the past and has a special place in the study of languages. It's one of the two languages in the Baltic branch of Indo-European languages; the other is Latvian.

    National Holidays. January 1 - New Year's Day, January 13 - Defenders of Freedom Day, February 16 - Independence Day, March 11 - Restoration of Lithuania's Independence, March 31 - April 01 (2002) - Easter, May 4 (2002) - Mother's Day, July 6 - Crowing of Mindaugas (Day of Statehood), August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, November 1 - All Saint's Day, December 25, 26 - Christmas.

    Local time. Lithuania is on Eastern European Time, two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

    A valid passport is required to enter Lithuania.

    Today 50 countries have signed visa-free travel agreements with Lithuania. These countries include Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, the USA, the UK, the Nordic countries and the Schengen zone. Visas are not issued at the border. Once you have a visa, in most cases it is good within all three Baltic States.

    Payment Cards. Most establishments accept major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, Eurocard, Maestro, Visa Electron and more rarely - American Express. Traveller's cheques can be changed in banks or select currency exchanges.

    Lithuania is connected with Europe by direct regular flights from/to Vilnius:

  • Amsterdam,
  • Berlin,
  • Brussels,
  • Copenhagen,
  • Frankfurt/Main,
  • Helsinki,
  • London,
  • Moscow,
  • Prague,
  • Riga,
  • Stockholm,
  • Tallinn,
  • Vienna,
  • Warsaw.

    You can find representatives of the following airlines at Vilnius International Airport. The airport lies approximately 5 km south of the city.

  • AY - Finnair,
  • BT - Air Baltic,
  • LH - Lufthansa German,
  • LOT - Polish,
  • TE - Lithuanian,
  • OS - Austrian,
  • OV - Estonian,
  • SK - Scandinavian,
  • SU – Aeroflot Russian.

    Trains. The railway network is well developed. Vilnius has regular connections with:

  • Warsaw,
  • Kaliningrad,
  • Riga,
  • Minsk,
  • Moscow,
  • St.Petersburg,
  • Kharkiv,
  • Lviv.

    There are 4-berth compartments and 2-berth compartments in carriages.
    The trains to Moscow, Kharkiv and Lviv goes through Belarus, so transit Belarusian visa is needed. Belarus visas can be issued only at the Belarus Embassy. Visas are not issued at the border.

    Buses. Vilnius has regular connections with 37 main Europian towns such as:

  • Amsterdam,
  • Antwerp,
  • Berlin,
  • Brussels,
  • Frankfurt/Main,
  • Kaliningrad,
  • Minsk,
  • Moscow,
  • Paris,
  • Prague,

    The direct links are provided by several operators, such as Eurolines, Kautra, TKT, and Varita.

    Ferries. Several ferry lines link the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda to Germany, Sweden and Denmark.

    Lithuanian tap water is good and has a special flavour. However bottled water is preferable.

    Electricity. Electricity is dependable; 220 volts AC, 50 Hz; plug is two-pin, European-style.
T I P S
National Currency
Language
National Holidays
Local Time

Back to the previous
Back to the first