It’s a shame that from Kaunas, route does not take one further South to
Druskininkai.
Although with a bit of imagination and a day to spare, it isn’t all that far, about 100km/65 miles away from Kaunas or Vilnius. Druskininkai is a very small town and once upon a time, when Lithuania was part of a Soviet Union, was a destination for many to visit who were health conscious.
The town literally surrounded by pine forests, full of wild berries to pick and eat till you sick of them. Same can be said for mushrooms if you know where to look and come at the right time. Said forests have a hard tarmac cycleways to Grutas village,
Grutas Parkand a magnificent Lake, and many other places of interest like Švendubrė village, etc.
There are plenty of lakes to offer, some are in town and some of which are secluded and are of the beaten track.
This
lake is my all time favourite. It takes 20 minutes to drive/ride from the main road via sandy fire track.
If you have time to spare, it is recommended to take a boat trip to
Liškiava from the pier in the town centre on a river Nemunas.
Failing that, you can reach Liskiava by road in only 15-20 minutes. But boat trip is recommender for a more relaxed day trip.
After all that, there is plenty of local ( from all over Lithuania) cold bier or lager to choose from in any supermarket, restaurant or hotel bar. From the photo bellow you can tell which beer is more popular.
Druskininkai is one of many little gems this tiny little country has to offer, which if you got blinkers on, can be crossed from any end in under a day.
Places I personally recommend to visit, are
Trakai Castle and boating on a lake.
As well as
Curonian Spit (a UNESCO world heritage site) and historic fishing villages along the way to Nida where you will be treated to a huge sand dunes where from the top you can see Baltic Sea and mainland Lithuania. One will need to use a short 10 minute ferry crossing from Klaipeda, and just to worn you there is a toll booth just a short distance from the ferry for those who intend to use motor vehicles.
It is recommended to hire a bicycle and explore the area that way, there are plenty of segregated cycle ways that are well laid out one offer plenty of opportunities to stop at many points of interest, refreshments and seaside lunch/dinner.
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