8 days / 7 nights from £495 pp

There is no better way to discover two of Lithuania's coastal gems, the Curonian Spit and the sea resort Palanga, than on bike.  The route is approximately 200 kilometres and takes you through the following towns:  KLAIPEDA – JUODKRANTE – PERVALKA – PREILA – NIDA – KLAIPEDA – PALANGA - KLAIPEDA.

Package price from £495pp based on availability and two people sharing a twin or double room.  Package includes:

• Direct flights from London to Vilnius (we can arrange connecting flights from other airports upon request). 
• 3 nights accommodation in Klaipeda at the 3* Hotel Aribe
• 1 night accommodation in Juodkrante at the 4* Hotel Azuolynas
• 2 nights accommodation in Nida at the 3* Hotel Nerija
• 1 night accommodation in Palanga at the 3" Hotel Alanga
• Breakfast at the hotels
• Airport transfers in Vilnius 
• Return coach transfers from Vilnius to Klaipeda
• 6 days bicycle hire (see below for more about the bikes)
• Delivery/collection service of bicycle inside the city of Klaipeda
• Ferry ticket for crossing the Curonian Lagoon
• Cycle travel guide for Klaipeda and Curonian Spit
• Booklets " Exploring Klaipeda,Neringa,Palanga".

Day 1 Arrive in Vilnius and transfer to Klaipeda. Check in to your hotel. Preparation for cycling trip.

Day 2 Cycling : Klaipeda-Smiltyne-Juodkrante (25 km) After breakfast pick up bicycle and start the tour in the harbour city of Klaipeda which sprung up from the German-founded brick castle of Memelburg in the 13th century. Cross the Curonian Lagoon by ferry and here you are, in the Curonian Spit. Visit the Sea Museum with the only Dolphinarium in Lithuania and the Nature Museum of the National Park of the Curonian Spit. The first and largest settlement of Neringa is JUODKRANTE .Over 2,000 tons of amber were excavated here in the middle of the 19th century. Visit the Lutheran Church of the late 19th century., the Hill of Witches, Windboards‘ Exhibition,a colony of grey herons and cormorants. Overnight in Juodkrante.

Day 3 Cycling : Juodkrante-Pervalka-Preila-Nida (25 km). The route leads to the second and the smallest settlement of Neringa, PERVALKA where approx.40 people reside today.There is Skirpstas Hill‘s dune of 53 m height in the southern part of Pervalka. The third biggest settlement of Neringa town is PREILA with approx. 200 local people permanently residing. About 1.5 km north of it there‘s Karvaiciai Dune, under the sand of which the whole settlement of Karvaiciai is buried. And finally arrival to NIDA, the biggest settlement and an administrative centre of Neringa, with 1.550 of permanent residents living there,while every summer around 50,000 visitors spend their holidays here. Accommodation in Nida.

Day 4 Cycling : Nida. After breakfast, enjoy a full day of exploring NIDA: the Great Dune of Parnidis, Evangelican Lutheran Church sanctified in 1888, the Amber Gallery of Mizgiris, Thomas Mann memorial museum, the ancient Curonian cemetery. Overnight in Nida.

Day 5 Return cycling to Klaipeda: Nida-Preila-Pervalka-Juodkrante-Klaipeda /approx.55 km . Overnight in Klaipeda.

Day 6 Cycling: Klaipeda-Palanga (25 km). Start your tour towards PALANGA across the Giruliai Forest, exploring the Seaside Regional Park with its 24 m high cliff – Dutchman‘s Cap, desolate and clean beaches,many rare plants and a great variety of birds. Entomologists have counted up to 271 species of butterflies here. After crossing a former Soviet military base you‘ll find yourself on the historic border between the German Reich and the Russian Empire. Pass the fishing village of Karkle, Plaze Lake, the former lifeguard station in Nemirseta. On arrival to Palanga visit the Botanical Park and the Amber Museum, amber processing studio, the Church of St.Mary, J.Basanaviciaus pedestrian street and the pier heading 470 m into the sea. Overnight in Palanga.

Day 7 Cycling : Palanga – Sventoji (20 km). Cyckle along the coast through a beautiful dwarf pine seaside forestl. Arrive in SVENTOJI, an old fishermen settlement situated on the river of Sventoji In 1973 Sventoji was added to Palanga and became a part of the resort. In the summertime many Lithuanian families arrive here to rest in the peace and tranquility.Visit a cable bridge over the Sventoji River,the Samogitian Alka, a copy of a paleoastronomic observatory which was built on Birute Hill in Palanga in the 15th century‚ Cycle to Klaipeda for overnight.

Day 8 Return to Vilnius for return flight

THE CURONIAN SPIT, a pearl of the Baltics, an adornment of the seacoast. Created by the sea and wind, with the highest dunes in the Northern Europe it‘s now one of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Its length is 98 km but only 50 km belong to Lithuania, while the rest is with Russia. The widest point is beside the Cape of Bulvikis near Nida, 3.8 km. Forests ,mostly pines, occupy 70%of the land and add a lot to the uniqueness of this narrow sandy peninsular dividing the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. In 1961 five settlements of the Spit were united into NERINGA town where around 3 thousand people permanently reside. Explore its picturesque pine forests, secluded bays and magnificent sand dunes, more reminiscent of the Sahara than of Europe! To quote a German writer and Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann, who spent the summers of 1930-1932 in Nida, „visiting the Curonian Spit is a must, the same as seeing Italy or Spain.“

PALANGA, the most popular Lithuanian sea resort famous for its entertainments, numerous cosy cafees and restaurants with live music in the evenings, a 470 m long pier coming far away into the sea,a favourite place for holiday makers to observe the sunset into the sea every evening. The biggest health promoting resort where people gain strength from nature: the sun, cool sea water and fresh pine forests‘ air. The botanic park is one of the most beautiful parks by Eduard Andre,a famous French landscape architect,designed at the turn of the 19-20th c.c. The Count Tiskevicius Palace in the middle of the park houses now Amber Museum with the world‘s biggest collection of amber inclusions.

About the bikes

Fuji ,Panther and Merida bikes /,trekking/hybrid bycycles with 28th size double-rim wheels and 21/24-speed derailleur gears/ Fuji Kobe,Merida Freeway/ or 7-speed internal-hub gears and back pedalling brake/Panther Prolog Plus/.Bycycles equipped with suspension fork and light aluminium frame. There are ladies' and standard bicycles with a transverse bar,all of them equipped with bottle cages,back racks for panniers and lights with dynamo.

The price above includes bicycle pump, lock with long cable (one per two bicycles), repair kit with basic tools for repairing flat tires (one per couple).