Cycling Lithuania: Kaunas & Vilnius

This is the third and final part of a cycle tour around Eastern Poland and Lithuania that I completed in July and August 2024. Here are links to Part One and Part Two. I had spent ten days cycling around Poland, mostly in the Masuria region. The riding had been good, but not amazing, and the towns had been more interesting and charming than I had expected.

I had been to Poland several times before and knew that I would have a good time, but now I was heading into the relative unknown by crossing the border into Lithuania for the first time.





The ride didn't begin all that well! I crossed the border on trails between Laskowskie and Duoniskiai that looked inviting on my map. Unfortunately they were in bad condition, overgrown and parts of it simply crossed a heavily ploughed field, which wasn't much fun with no suspension!

I have adjusted this on the map above, with the route now going a longer way round on road and crossing the border at Sudawskie - this is a much better option.

In any case, around Duoniskiai I joined a gravel trail and followed that through Kauniskiai into the town of Graziskiai. The gravel road was rough and bumpy having been cut up quite badly by tractors, and I was quite relieved when the paved road began just south of the town.



After passing through Graziskiai I was on gravel roads again, this time in much better condition as far as Bartninkai. From here the gravel road became more used by cars and had developed a rough washboard surface, and I'd probably avoid it and stay on the paved road north if I were to ride here again.

The scenery was flat and arable farmland - mostly potatoes and wheat from what I could see. The routes were quiet, but the landscape wasn't really anything to write home about.

I took the 5107 road into Vilaviskis and followed a cycle lane through the town which was fairly pretty. I then had to take a section on the busy and not very enjoyable 138 road to get to Vilaviskis train station.



I had toyed with the idea of riding all the way to Kaunas, around 140km in total. But, the trails were slow going, there was a head wind and I generally wasn't enjoying it that much, so I settled for my back up plan of getting the train!

The train station was empty, so I booked tickets online (There are fantastic, functinal apps and websites in Lithuania for almost everything) and headed to the platform. The train arrived on time (I think it left every two hours) and had two carriages, with a designated space to store bicycles. It wasn't very busy and there were enough seats for everyone all the way into Kaunas.

From the train, the scenery was much the same as before - flat arable farmland with the occasional forest. Lithuania certainly wasn't the most picturesque country I've ever been to, but I was hoping that the cities would live up to my expectations.

Kaunas

Kaunas station is a little way out from the centre, so I took the opportunity to do a short ride around the river and old town. As I left the station I was greeted by the smell of beer from the large Volfas Engelman brewery. I soon joined a cycle lane alongside the river and followed it into the old town.

The route went close to Kaunas Castle and cycled along the main pedestrianised street through town, passing the cathedral and some beautiful Hanseatic style houses.



I spent two nights in Kaunas and enjoyed exploring the city. Despite being the main holiday season in August, it was pretty quiet and had a low key kind of atmosphere. The main museum was closed for refurbishment but I looked inside the castle and enjoyed wandering around the old town. Kaunas was an associate city of the Hanseatic League as the river supported an inland port, and a Germanic influence can be seen in many of the buildings.

It was interesting to sample Lithuanian cuisine, including the very hearty cepelinai (huge stuffed potato dumplings) and also to visit a couple of nice pubs, where I sampled some of the beer that could be smelled when riding into the city!



From Kaunas I would ride to Vilnius over two days. On the way I would a spend a night in Kernave, the Medieval capital of the Duchy of Lithuania.

The first few kilometres riding out of Kaunas were on cycle lanes - I found that the cities in Lithuania have a good network of cycle routes. There are also plenty of signed cycle ways between towns, but these tend to either use busy roads, or be on quite poor quality trails.

On the way out of Kaunas I stopped by the only brick mosque in the Baltic States and went through a beautiful park containing the Pažaislis Monastery.



Kaunas doesn't feel very hectic, but riding out I realised that it's quite a sprawling, large city. I was riding for around 15km before I crossed the railway line and was really in the countryside for the first time.

As I reached the railway line, I saw the Moscow to Kaliningrad sleeper train roll past. This train used to stop in Vilnius, Kaunas and other destinations, but since the start of the conflict in Ukraine it is more of a direct service between the Russian capital and its exclave.

Riding to Kernave

Having left Kaunas, I was looking forward to the ride to Kernave, which was mostly on gravel roads. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The gravel roads were frequently used by cars and trucks and so often had a washboard surface, making for an uncomfortable ride. Cars were also passing every few minutes, creating an annoying cloud of dust as they drove by at quite high speed.

The best part of the ride was the few kilometres either side of Gudzenka, where the gravel was smoother and the paved road had some beautiful views through rolling countryside.



I crossed the Neris River at Ciobiskis on a nice little pull ferry. It was something of a local attraction, having been in operation for many decades, although it could only take two cars per crossing.

On a bike I was only waiting a few minutes and the captain gave me a couple of home grown apples as a gift.

On the northern side of the Neris River, I had planned to take trails through the forest to Kernave. I immediately found them to be very overgrown and so went on the 4305 road instead, which had a few cars but was fine for riding.




In the village of Lapeles I tried again to join the tracks through the forest. At first they were quite smooth and in good condition - I was nearly hit by a deer leaping out of the pine trees. Unfortunately, they soon became very sandy and overgrown and they were a chore to ride.

I also found a tick on my arm after a section of long grass, which convinced me to go back on to the road (Lithuania has the highest rate of Tick Borne Encephalitis in the world). From Musnikai the road was quite busy with traffic, at least on a saturday afternoon in August. The general standard of driving wasn't great, with several close passes at high speed.

It wasn't long, however, before I reached my destination of Kernave.



Kernave was the Medieval capital of Lithuania and is one of the most important archaeological sites in the region. I have even heard it referred to as the 'Lithuanian Pompeii'- which is a generous epithet.

The star attraction at Kernave are the remains of various hill forts and walls which were constructed to protect the settlement at its strategic location on the Neris River. There are lots of steps and walkways so you can climb the various hills, and there's also a nice church and small museum that you can visit.

In the west of the archaelogical site there is a reconstruction of the settlement, where you can wander into example of traditional houses, including toolmakers and other artisans. It was really interesting to explore and to learn a bit the history of a region of which I know relatively little.



I spent one night in Kernave, which was enough to see everything there. I found a good fish restaurant - Kernaves Slenis - set a little away from the main centre. There were a few tourists around, nearly all Lithuanian, and even most restaurants only had their menu in Lithuanian, which suggests that it's not yet on the tourist trail for many foreigners.

The following day I rode from Lithuania's Medieval capital to its modern one - a 75km route to Vilnius.

Trakai & Vilnius

The 116 road out of Kernave was reasonably busy but OK to ride. I took a nice short cut along gravel trails through Verksionys and then followed the 108 road to cross the Neris River. This was busy and with fast moving traffic and I was happy to turn off onto a gravel road. I found that a lot of Lithuanian drivers were quite poor from a cyclist point of view; if the road is empty they generally leave quite a lot of room, although rarely slow down when overtaking. If road is busy they still try to squeeze past at high speed and it felt quite dangerous at times.

Fortunately the gravel trail just after the bridge was quiet and beautiful. This was the best stretch of cycling I did in Lithuania - crossing a dense, picturesque forest with some gentle undulation.



After passing under the A1 motorway I followed more gravel trails. Initially it was OK, although a lot of large trees had been cut down and many were lying across the trail. The forest was quite thick and so I had to stop and lift my loaded bike over each one, which was pretty tiresome. There were also a couple of dead ends, as I tried to plot trails to avoid riding on the busy 4722 road.

In the end, I couldn't find a good way through and so had to deal with the dangerous driving on the main road until the cycle lane began a few kilometres before Trakai.



Like Kernave, Trakai was another place in Lithuania that I was keen to visit. It is a small, reconstructed castle complex situated on an island in a large lake. It looks very picturesque in photos and was the former home of several Lithuanian dukes.

When I arrived, it was indeed very pretty, but it was also a very commercial site. There were people everywhere, both around the lake and in the castle complex, as well as lots of stands selling food, merchandise and small artesanal goods. I had a quick look around the castle, but it was really busy and not really possible to get a feel of the history there, so I didn't stay long. I realise this is entirely my fault for going there on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in August, and I'm sure Trakai is lovely to visit at other times of the year when its less crowded!

From Trakai I had to walk my bike for a while along the cycle lanes because it was too busy with people strolling, but from Varnikai I was back riding again on gravel trails.



I really didn't want to ride on any busyish looking roads around Vilnius, so stayed almost entirely on gravel trails and cycle paths. The first part of this from Trakai was quite nice, but afterwards it became a pretty uninspiring route.

From Zydiskes the trails became very sandy and there were more fallen trees that I had to haul the bike over. It was slow going and the pine forest lacked the mythical charm of those earlier in the day.

The last 12km into Vilnius were mostly on paved cycle lanes alongside main roads. These weren't very pretty, but they had a good surface and were well integrated, taking me into Vilnius Old Town.

I'm sure this wasn't the best way I could have cycled from Trakai to Vilnius, but it was functional and safe enough.



Vilnius has became more of a tourist destination in recent years. I can see why, as it has a large old town, with multiple castles, cathedrals and museums to visit, as well as a laid back atmosphere.

Gediminas Castle Tower is probably the main attraction for its views of the river. Personally, I prefered Bastion Hill Fortress, which has an excellent museum documenting the history of Vilnius as it switched hands between various dynasties and empires.

Vilnius reminded me of major provincial cities in Poland, although with slightly different architecture and a distinct atmosphere.

I spent three days in Vilnius. As well as visiting the city I acquired a bike box (there a plenty of bike shops in town), which I left at the airport storage. I then cycled the short distance to the small airport and assembled my bike there.

I checked in with Wizzair and caught my flight to Kutaisi, where I would begin my next cycling tour in Georgia & Armenia.


Part 1 - Poznan & Torun


Part 2 - Masuria Lakes


Poland & Lithuania Tour Overview


Cycle Touring Guides