Vilnius is one of the few European destinations that are more or less conveniently accessible by land transport. At the same time, you can save money by driving your own car (about 11 hours on the way from Moscow or 9 hours from St. Petersburg) or by train through Belarus, from where even minibuses go to Vilnius. See Citypopulationreview for weather information.
Roundabouts not for you? By plane to Vilnius airport, of course, faster – provided that it is a direct flight from Moscow or St. Petersburg. In terms of cost, a ticket with one transfer is practically the same, but at a transit airport they sometimes wait 8 or more hours for a flight. All the nuances of routes from Russia to the capital of Lithuania are described on the page ” How to get to Vilnius “.
Transportation
Ground
Vilnius is surrounded by a network of bus and trolleybus routes. The fare does not differ, the flight numbers may even match. Stops, as a rule, are common: with a traffic pattern, schedule and electronic scoreboard. There are also express buses, marked with the letter G and braking only at the main stops.
A ticket from the driver costs 1 EUR. The Vilniecio kortele transport card is more profitable. The price of the card is 1.6 EUR, you can purchase and put money on it through the network of kiosks Lietuvos spauda. In this case, the fare costs 0.64 or 0.93 EUR. The transfer is given, respectively, 30 or 60 minutes. You can use the card as a travel card: EUR 5 for a day, EUR 8 for 72 hours or EUR 29 for a month. The card is applied to the reader upon boarding. More details on the city transport website.
The travel card is valid for one person. Children under 7 travel free of charge, schoolchildren and students get a 50% discount. Discounts can only be confirmed by Lithuanian documents, however, as a rule, small children and schoolchildren are not asked for documents, and students can show an international ISIC card. To receive a discount, you need to buy a discount card from Lietuvos spauda. There is also a discount on driver tickets.
Shuttle buses costing 1 EUR run from the bus station along two routes: to the airport (every 20 minutes) and to the Akropolis shopping center (9 flights a day).
Taxis
It is more profitable to take a taxi not on the street, but to order by phone. A meter is installed in each car, the calculation is per kilometer. Landing – from 0.6 EUR, the cost of 1 km – also from 0.6 EUR. Taxi from sleeping areas to the center – from 7 EUR.
- Center of Vilnius
Bicycles
In Vilnius, there is a Cyclocity Vilnius bike rental (website with an English version): branded orange bikes in more than 40 points around the city (the center is densely covered). The ticket is valid for 3 days (3 EUR), another 159 EUR will be “frozen” on the bank card for these days. Rent is charged separately for every 30 minutes.
With such a system, tourists have learned to use one bike for less than 30 minutes, rent it at the nearest point, and after 6-7 minutes, leave on it. So you can not pay for the rental at all. It is important that the bike cannot be kept for more than 24 hours, despite the 3-day ticket – 159 EUR will be debited automatically.
Rent a Car
International companies (Hertz, Europcar, InterRent, etc.) work in Vilnius according to general standards: freezing on the card 500-600 EUR deposit, 40 EUR per economy class car per day, from 8 to 18 EUR per day for full insurance. Some only accept credit cards; all give a discount for the duration – from 3 days or more.
Locals are ready to work both without collateral and with cash. The rental price is lower, but there are options with a mileage limit (excess from 50 km per day – surcharge from 0.18 EUR per km). The deposit, if provided, is small (from 100 EUR), a day of renting a budget car is 22 EUR.
Rental points are located at the airport, at the railway station and in the city center. An order is placed via the Internet or an appointment is made with a broker, which is sometimes cheaper.
The city center in the left-bank part has entry restrictions, especially in the Old Town area.
Private parking lots are concentrated at the airport (from 0.59 EUR per hour) and in all areas of the city – hourly (from 0.30-1 EUR per hour) or daily (from 2.50 EUR). The cost of parking in hotels in the central zone is from 6 EUR per day.
Its own payment system operates in the center, where there are municipal parking lots. The center is divided into 4 zones: from 0.30 EUR for 20 minutes to 1.80 EUR for 10 minutes. Sunday – free day, non-charged “night hours” – from 18:00 to 22:00 (depending on the zone) and until 8:00. Payment machines accept coins and do not give change. SMS payment is available only from Lithuanian SIM cards.