11 days in Lithuania with children (4 and 7 years old) in mid-August.
Lithuania – very small, quiet, flat country on the Baltic Sea coast.
This country has very low population density and it is covered by forests, rivers and thousands of lakes.
Lithuania is among the fastest growing economies in the European Union. The young people speak English everywhere and locals are very friendly. The ecological and farm tourist infrastructure is very developed here, and there are a lot of attractions to visit.
Brief route:
Here you can see all the waypoints on the Google Maps and also use Google navigation to the place:
You can also download KML file and open it in other offline application for navigation and editing:
Day 1:
Vilnius airport.
The estate “Zilenu” in the Lake District, not far from the town of Moletai.
Day 2:
Vilnius – the capital of Lithuania.
Gediminas Tower.
Vilnius Toy Museum.
The Artist quarter Uzupis.
Day 3:
In the morning we took a boat ride on the lake near the house.
The Labanoro Bokstas observation tower.
The hunting and fishing museum.
The space observatory of the Lithuanian museum of Ethnocosmology. We advise to book a night tour to the telescope observation.
Day 4:
Rope ladders park Dainuvos Nuotykiu Slenis in Anyksiai town. It is worth spending a day there. There are many attractions for children, including bike trails along the river.
Walking lookout road through the trees “Top Trees walking Puntukas Stone”.
Day 5 (without a car):
Day off at our country house. Sailing on the lakes, fishing and blueberry picking.
Day 6:
Kayaking on the river in a national park Aukstaitijos in Ginuciai village. Www.ginuciubaidarkiemis.lt
The Ledakalnis Mountain with a 360 degree view of seven lakes.
Day 7:
On the way from the north to the south of Lithuania, we visited the Dinosaur Park www.dinopramoguparkas.lt
Trakai – the ancient capital of Lithuania.
Our new log house “Trikojis” near the lake.
Day 8 (without a car):
That day we did not go anywhere else.
Walking in the near forest.
A rowing boat ride on the lake near the house.
In the evening we baked potatoes on the fire.
Day 9:
Resort town of Druskininkai.
The biggest indoor ski resort in Europe.
Museum of woodcarving master Antanas Česnulis.
Gruto Parkas – a park of the Soviet period legacy, the so-called “Stalin’s world”.
Day 10:
In Druskininkai we rented bicycles with a trailer for the whole day on Vilniaus al., opposite the church. There are a lot of cycling trails in the area.
The Forest Open Air museum – Girios Aidas.
Day 11:
The final day in Lithuania we stayed at our dacha, swam in the lake and a made a BBQ.
Vilnius airport.
Photos and description:
Day 1:
The first day in the north of Lithuania. The Lake District is not far from the town of Moletai. We settled in the estate “Zilenu”, which is in the middle of the forest, surrounded by several lakes. It’s a half an hour drive along a forest road to the nearest village. All the way we were driving in the dark, only rabbits were running across the road.
We arrived there at 01:00 am from Vilnius airport. When we woke up, we found ourselves in a fairy tale. I felt as though I was back in my childhood, when we lived in a log house. It was like being in paradise!
Day 2:
We went to Vilnius. It is a very friendly city. You feel at home there.
The old toys museum was interactive and interesting not only for kids.
The Artist quarter Uzupis declared its independence and it even has its own constitution.
After a long walk through the streets of the old town we came upon a store of old vinyl records called “Thelonious”. As it was empty, we asked a seller to put something on to listen to, so that kids could see how people listened to music in the past.
Day 3:
The weather was fine. In the morning we took a boat ride on the lake near the house, stopping on the way for picking raspberries, blueberries and cranberries.
Then we went to the Labanoro Bokstas observation tower, and after that we looked into the hunting and fishing museum nearby.
In the evening we visited the space observatory of the Lithuanian museum of Ethnocosmology. It is necessary to book a tour in advance, and we advise to book a night tour to the telescope observation.
Day 4:
The day began for me early in the morning with meditation by the lake when everyone was still asleep.
Rope ladders park Dainuvos Nuotykiu Slenis in Anyksiai town. There are routes for kids and omega over the river upside down for adults. In general, it is worth spending a day there. You can visit many attractions for children, including bike trails along the river.
Not far away from the park there is a walking lookout road through the trees “Top Trees walking Puntukas Stone”.
Day 5:
If there is a heaven, it is here, in the Lake District in Lithuania. That day we decided not to go anywhere and just stay at our country house. While sailing on the first lake, we saw a beach on the other side and sailed there.
The second lake’s water was black and therapeutic, but very cold. We sailed our boat to the middle of the lake and jumped off the boat to swim. It was quiet and not a soul was around.
Day 6:
The final day in the north. That day we went kayaking on the river in a national park Aukstaitijos in Ginuciai village. We sailed ten kilometers in five and a half hours. It was cool. At the end of the route we crossed a huge lake, where we were accompanied by a flock of swans. Www.ginuciubaidarkiemis.lt
At the end of the day we climbed the Ledakalnis Mountain with a 360 degree view of seven lakes.
Day 7:
We moved from the north to the south of Lithuania. On the way, we visited the Dinosaur Park www.dinopramoguparkas.lt and the ancient capital of Lithuania, Trakai, the castle on the island and the settlement of Karaites from the Crimea peninsula.
Day 8:
That day we did not go anywhere else. We just enjoyed the beauty of our new log house “Trikojis” near the lake. Why go somewhere if raspberries, blackberries and red currants can be picked in the forest near the house? We made a rowing boat ride on the lake, which was 10 meters away from the house, and in the evening we baked potatoes on the fire, playing Indians and flying on a broom like a witch.
There are 3 different size log houses. Each one of them has a privacy, and two of them are near the lake.
Day 9:
We spent the whole day in the green and picturesque resort town of Druskininkai. We also visited the biggest indoor ski resort in Europe and at the end of the day, we spent some time in a fabulous museum of woodcarving master Antanas Česnulis. www.cesnuliusodyba.lt
There is Gruto Parkas near Druskininkai. It is a park of the Soviet period legacy, the so-called “Stalin’s world”, but we did not have time to visit it.
Day 10:
Druskininkai is a paradise for biking with children. We rented bicycles with a trailer for the whole day on Vilniaus al., opposite the church. There are a lot of cycling trails in the area, and they are all in the woods, near the river or around the lakes.
On the way home from Druskininkai we saw an interesting log house in the woods near the road and stopped. It turned out to be the Forest Open Air Girios Aidas Museum.
Day 11:
The final day in Lithuania we stayed at our dacha, swam in the lake and a made a BBQ.
So, that was the end of our trip to Lithuania – a country that resembles my childhood.
