Lithuanian Seaside Cycling Tour

Day 1: Arrival in Klaipėda
You will arrive in Klaipėda, the historic port town long known as Memel, and check into your hotel. Its old town, cafes and riverside promenades are an easy first walk. Extra nights here can be added before or after the tour.

Day 2: Klaipėda – Palanga – Klaipėda (58 km)
After an information meeting at your hotel, you will ride north along the Lithuanian Seaside Cycle Route. The path winds through Giruliai Forest and the Seaside Regional Park, a former Soviet military area, past the Dutchman's Cap, a 24-metre coastal cliff, and Plazė Lake. In Palanga you can visit the Botanical Park and the Amber Museum, stroll J. Basanavičius pedestrian street and walk out along the 470-metre pier before riding back to Klaipėda.

Day 3: Klaipėda – Šilutė (47 km; ~40 km by minibus)
A short minibus transfer takes you inland, where quiet country roads lead to Šilutė. This region holds one of the largest white stork populations in Europe, and you will see their nests on farm roofs and poles. In Švėkšna, the estate park and the neo-Gothic church of St James the Apostle are worth a stop.

Day 4: Rusnė Island and the Nemunas River Delta (44 km)
You will ride out to Rusnė, Lithuania's only island, in the heart of the Nemunas River Delta Regional Park. In the village stands a monument to Mahatma Gandhi and his friend Hermann Kallenbach, and the Russian Kaliningrad region lies just 100 metres across the river. Birdwatching towers and the 19th-century lighthouse at Uostadvaris open wide views over the wild delta before you return to Šilutė.

Day 5: Šilutė – Ventė Cape – Nida (33 km; ~14 km by boat)
You will cycle to Ventė Cape, where a museum of ornithology, one of Europe's first bird-ringing stations and a 19th-century lighthouse overlook the glittering Curonian Lagoon. Around a million birds pass here every migration year. A boat then carries you across the lagoon to Nida, and a short ride brings you to your hotel for two nights.

Day 6: Nida, free day by the Baltic Sea (10 km)
A free day on the Curonian Spit. Nida, once a fishermen's village between the Baltic Sea and the lagoon, is surrounded by towering sand dunes. You can ride or walk to the dunes, visit the Fisherman's House, Thomas Mann's summer house and the Amber Gallery, or simply spend the day on the beach.

Day 7: Nida – Juodkrantė – Klaipėda (57 km)
An asphalt bike path of the Seaside Cycle Route carries you north along the whole spit. Along the way you can walk on the "Dead" dunes, watch a colony of grey herons and cormorants, and follow the forest path of the Hill of Witches, lined with wooden sculptures of Lithuanian legends. A local ferry from Smiltynė takes you back into Klaipėda's old town.

Day 8: Departure from Klaipėda
Your tour ends after breakfast. You can extend your stay in Lithuania.

Starting on a Thursday? The tour also runs Thursday to Thursday. The stages are the same, but the Palanga loop moves to the last cycling day (Day 7) and the tour opens with the stork villages and Šilutė on Day 2.

Good to know
The boat across the Curonian Lagoon and one minibus transfer (Klaipėda – Veiviržėnai) are included. Arrival and departure transfers are available from Palanga Airport and the Klaipėda ferry terminal at extra cost.