Lithuania - last minute travel comments
 

We are all set to leave on May 14 for a two-week trip. We'll take the train from Wilmington to Newark Airport. Then it is SAS to Copenhagen and on to Vilnius. That was absolutely the best and cheapest (we used Expedia) ticket we could find. The train trip is sort of a nuisance, but we think it is easier than driving from Maryland to New Jersey and cheaper than parking the car at Newark for 2 weeks.

First up Kaunas, staying at the Nemunas Tour hotel (4 nights); then 2 nights in a hotel near the cousin's village of Balbieriskis; then 2 nights at the Hotel Naglis in Nida on the Curonian Spit; finally 3 nights in Vilnius at the Hotel Rinno, We will be driving most of the time although the car will go back to the airport when we check into the Hotel Rinno as our return flight leaves at 6:40 am, we don't want to fuss with car returns at 4:00 am, and who needs a car in downtown Vilnius anyway.

The cousins know we're coming. A new friend at Lithuanian Hall in Baltimore reviewed and corrected the translations we got from Google. FYI, we used Google to translate what they wrote to us, sentence by sentence, and it seemed to work pretty well.

Any warnings or advice?

Is drinking water generally safe of should we stick to bottled water? How are the roads? Is safety any kind of an issue? Are there health issues we should be concerned about?

We want to pack as lightly as possible. Any thoughts about what to expect weather-wise between May 15 and 35?

I'll be blogging as I usually do when we travel (ellenbcutler.com) and I will try to post a trip report when we're back. Well, consider this the first installment of the trip report.

We have received a multitude of helpful responses from many people Thanks to one and all. We have been trying to get this trip to happen since 1989. I guess patience is a virtue...

Cheers, Ellen

I didn't have any problems with drinking water in Lithuania. If you're in small towns, you might want to be a bit more cautious about it. I didn't drive, but many of the highways are great and it didn't seem overcrowded to me. (But then, I'm from an East Coast US city...) Really, Lithuanian air even seemed lovely and healthy to me, and I didn't have safety concerns anywhere. (Of course, standard cautions apply in cities/tourist sites about being aware of your belongings, but that's anywhere.)

Nemunastour is so lovely and peaceful; the family is wonderful, and Linas is a great guide if you're doing any tours out from there.

I was there in mid-summer, so no ideas on May temperatures, but of course layers are always the best bet.

Have a wonderful trip; I am feeling a bit envious! I'm hoping to return sometime in the not-too-distant future as I found out five years after my trip that my family most probably emigrated from Radviliskes, Lithuania.

Amy, I think I got the Nemunas Tour from one your posts, and both my husband and I are really looking forward to it. We have had delightful email exchanges with Linas and Danute and are feeling very confident about getting a great start.

I forgot to ask: what about plugging things in? Electrical current? Will a converter plug I use in western Europe and/or England take care of things there? Again, thanks. You have been a particular help.

Sekme

My comment posted unfinished. Should say:

Sekmės, laimingos kelionės.
Here are some notes from our trip:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-and-rome.cfm

I believe I did use my European converter plug at that point (the two-prong one) but I'm not positive. But here's some info from inyourpocket.com that says you should be okay with that: http://www.inyourpocket.com/lithuani...tricity_59270c

Happy trails!

Vilnius is beautiful! Everyone is so friendly and helpful to Americans. I went
to the Records Office to look up relatives and everyone was so helpful,
showing me the record books from when my grandfather was born in Vilnius.
Hired a driver to go to Riga for a day trip which was very enjoyable. Beautiful
Linen shops. Have fun! Johanna

Thanks one and all!

Marija, what a great report. I'm going to print it off for our travel folder. Amy, that "inyourpocket" is so useful! I've bookmarked it for much further investigation. And Johanna, I plan to do a little linen shopping while we are there.

Although this is our first trip to Lithuania--and although we are deeply regretting that Dan did not learn Lithuanian as his cousins did because his father took a job in Maryland, away from the relatives in Scranton PA--we are both excited to go and feeling pretty confident. Your comments and suggestions just make us feel even better. Best, E.

Just getting back from a week in LT. The highways are in very good shape,but surface streets are still very heavily potholed from the winter. Water is safe to drink from the tap in al the places on your itin. As for power adapters, they use the 2-pin 220volt western european (non-British) plug.
Mobilphone SIM cards are very cheap, if you have an unlocked gsm phone get one. Bitė and Omnitel are the big carriers, I find Bitė easier to use.

Have a great trip!

Your in for a good time. The place is safe, and very beautiful. Vilnius is the best city in the country. As far as food goes, it tends to be far healthier then what they serving in the USA today (no genetic modifications/hormones etc.). Enjoy.

Vytas and NickKnight, that's great to know. We're pretty well prepared and feeling very confident. And we'll keep an eye out for those potholes! Thanks. Ellen