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World Travel Guide > Guides > Europe > Lithuania > Vilnius

Local time Vilnius

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Travel to Vilnius

Flying to Vilnius

Airlines that fly to Vilnius from various destinations across Europe including Aeroflot, airBaltic, Air France, Austrian Airlines, Belavia, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Finnair, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, Turkish Airlines and Wizz.

From the UK, Ryanair and Wizz offer direct flights from Belfast, Birmingham, Doncaster, Leeds, Liverpool and London.

There are no direct flights from the USA; the quickest route is via Copenhagen with SAS.

Flight times

From London - 2 hours 40 minutes

From New York - 10 hours (including stopover)

From Los Angeles - 16 hours (including stopover)

From Toronto - 12 hours (including stopover)

From Sydney - 26 hours (including stopover)

Travel by road

There is a good network of roads in Lithuania, with modern highways connecting Vilnius with Klaipeda, Kaunas and Panevezys. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years. Speed limits are 50kph (31mph) in towns, 70-90kph (43-56mph) on country roads and 100-130kph (62-81mph) on highways.

Winter conditions can be severe in Lithuania so winter tyres are a legal requirement from November to March. Dipped headlights are also compulsory all year round. Drivers must be in possession of a valid national driving licence supported by photo-bearing ID.

Emergency breakdown services

Altas Assistance (tel: 1810, in Lithuania only).

Routes

Lithuania has a well-developed road network with the A1 Highway linking Vilnius to Kaunas and to the coastal town Klaipeda. The A10 and A12 highways head north towards the Latvian border and onwards to Riga. There are also several roads head south to Poland and east to Belarus.

Coaches

Vilnius’ bus station is centrally located by the main railway station on the edge of the old town at Sodu 22. Services run to all major Lithuanian towns and cities as well as outside the country to Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and Germany.

Major operators include Eurolines (tel: +370 5 233 5277; www.eurolines.lt), Lux Express (tel: +370 5 233 6666; www.luxexpress.eu) and ECOLINES (tel: +370 5 213 3300; www.ecolines.lt).

Time to city

From Kaunas - 1 hour 5 minutes; Minsk (Belarus) - 3 hours 50 minutes; Riga (Latvia) - 3 hours 40 minutes; Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad) - 4 hours; Warsaw (Poland) - 6 hours 30 minutes; Tallinn (Estonia) - 7 hours 30 minutes.

Travel by Rail

Services

The centrally located Vilnius Railway Station (Geležinkelio g. 22) offers domestic train services to Lithuania's second city of Kaunas and other domestic destinations such as Trakai and Klaipeda, as well as international services to Minsk (Belarus), with onward connections to Moscow, St Petersburg and Warsaw.

Beware that if passing through Belarus by train, a transit visa is required.

Operators

Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (tel: +370 7005 5111; www.litrail.lt) is Lithuania's national railway operator.

Journey times

From Minsk - 2 hours 30 minutes.

A digital image at https://illuminoto.com

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Featured Hotels

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Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square Vilnius

A glitzy international hotel located in the Old Town. Its 96 rooms and suites are elegantly decorated and many of them offer excellent views of the UNESCO-listed Cathedral Square. After a day of sightseeing, guests can unwind at the spa centre.

Comfort Hotel LT - Rock 'N' Roll Vilnius

With 200 funky music-themed rooms, this modern hotel has a gym and offers complimentary breakfast. There is no "Concierge Service" but there are Mac computers in the lobby readily available to help.

Ecotel Vilnius

This Vilnius hotel has 166 rooms over four floors and offers guests free buffet breakfast and Wi-Fi. It is located in the centre of Vilnius on the north bank of the Neris River a 10-minute walk from the Old Town.

Grotthuss

This quaint Vilnius boutique hotel is at the heart of the Old Town with a welcoming, homely ambience, and a sense of tradition that is backed up by free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs. Breakfast is free.

Conti

Set right in the heart of Old Town, Conti offers spacious rooms with satellite TV channels and free Wi-Fi. Facilities include a gym and a sauna.

Mabre Residence Hotel

This excellent Old Town bolthole is the perfect hotel in Vilnius for those looking for peace and quiet. The hotel has 40 spacious rooms, housed in an old monastery with an on-site steak house and massage spa. Free Wi-Fi is available in all rooms. Highly recommended.