Taking children to Lithuania for the first time: a practical plan

The first time I took my children to Klaipėda, my son asked why everybody in the shop was speaking "Granny's language". Until then, Lithuanian had been something that happened in our kitchen in Manchester, on video calls and at Saturday school. In Lithuania it was suddenly on the bus, on the beach and in the ice cream queue. That shift is the real gift of a first trip, more than any castle.

This is a practical plan for parents abroad taking children to Lithuania for the first time, whether you grew up there yourself or are taking your partner's children to meet a family you barely know.

When to go

Summer is the obvious choice and usually the right one. From June to August the days are long, the sea is (just about) warm enough for children, and Lithuanian children are on their school holidays, so cousins are free. Two dates are worth planning around:

• Joninės, also called Rasos, on the night of 23 to 24 June, the midsummer festival with bonfires, wreaths and singing. 24 June is a public holiday.
• 6 July, Statehood Day, which marks the coronation of King Mindaugas and is also a public holiday, with events in Vilnius and many towns.

July and the first half of August are the busiest weeks on the coast, so book accommodation early. Late August is calmer, and the evenings are already cooler.

Christmas is the other popular time, especially for families who want children to experience Kūčios, the Christmas Eve supper, with grandparents. It is dark by mid-afternoon and often cold and grey rather than snowy, but for a family visit that hardly matters. Spring and autumn are cheaper and quieter, and good for short city trips if school calendars allow.

How long to stay

For a first trip with children, ten days to two weeks is a good length. Shorter, and the jet lag or travel days eat half the visit. Much longer, and children who do not yet speak much Lithuanian can tire of being the outsiders.

If grandparents live in Lithuania, split the time. Give them a solid block, at least four or five days, and plan the rest around a city and the sea. Children remember the days with grandparents as the trip itself; the sights are a bonus.

Grandparents or city

Many families face this choice. Here is how the two compare for a first visit.

Many families do both, starting in a city to settle in and then moving to the grandparents' village or town.

Where to go with children

Vilnius

Start with the Old Town, which is compact enough for small legs. Climb the hill to Gediminas' Tower for the view over red roofs (parts of the hill have been closed at times for repair work, so check before you go), then down to Cathedral Square and the Palace of the Grand Dukes. Older children enjoy Užupis, the artists' district across the little river Vilnia, and the parks along the Neris. The Vilnius TV Tower has a viewing level high above the city; children who remember nothing else from the trip tend to remember that.

Trakai

Trakai, about half an hour by car or bus from Vilnius, is the classic day trip. The red brick Island Castle stands on Lake Galvė and is reached by a footbridge. Hire a pedal boat or rowing boat on the lake, then try kibinai, the filled pastries of the Karaim community that has lived in Trakai for centuries. Most children will happily eat two.

Kaunas

Kaunas is smaller and calmer than Vilnius. Children like the Devils' Museum, a collection of carved and painted devils from Lithuanian folk art, the castle by the meeting of the Nemunas and Neris rivers, and the old funiculars that climb the hillsides, when they are running. Just outside the city, the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumšiškės shows old farmhouses, windmills and churches from every region, with space to run between them. It is also a good place to show children what a grandparent's childhood village may have looked like.

Klaipėda and the Curonian Spit

From Klaipėda, a short ferry crosses to Smiltynė on the Curonian Spit, a long, thin strip of dunes and pine forest that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. At its northern tip, the Lithuanian Sea Museum, in an old fortress, has an aquarium and marine animals. Check opening times and what is open before you go. Further down the spit, the Hill of Witches near Juodkrantė is a forest path lined with wooden carvings of witches, devils and folk characters, and the dunes near Nida are among the highest drifting dunes in Europe. Stick to the marked boardwalks; the dunes are protected.

Palanga and the coast

Palanga is Lithuania's busiest seaside resort: long white beaches, a wooden pier that is the place to watch the sunset, and the Amber Museum in a former palace set in a large park. It is crowded in July. Quieter beaches lie a short drive north and south.

Language practice that works

Children learn more Lithuanian in a week of real need than in months of lessons. You can help without turning the holiday into a class.

• Let children order their own ice cream, bread or pancakes in Lithuanian. Practise the sentence on the way.
• Give them a small job with a grandparent: feeding chickens, picking berries, carrying the shopping.
• Buy one or two children's books or comics in a Lithuanian bookshop and read them on the trip.
• Play the radio in the car and point out words they know.
• Do not correct every mistake in front of relatives. Praise the attempt.

If you are raising children in two languages at home, the trip is the moment it suddenly makes sense to them. There is more on that in our piece on raising children in Lithuanian and English.

Documents for children

This is general information, and border rules change; check with the airline, the Lithuanian embassy and your own country's travel advice before you book.

Every child needs their own valid passport or, for EU citizens travelling within the EU, a national ID card. Lithuania is in the EU and the Schengen area.

If your child is a Lithuanian citizen, they can have a Lithuanian passport or ID card. To get one, the child's birth must first be registered in the Lithuanian civil register, which can be done through an embassy, and then the passport is applied for there or at the Migration Department in Lithuania. Allow several months. If your child's right to citizenship is not yet confirmed, our piece on restoring citizenship by descent covers the basics.

Children who travel on a passport from outside the EU, such as a British, American, Canadian or Australian one, enter the Schengen area as visitors. Since the EU's Entry/Exit System began in October 2025, non-EU travellers are registered at the external Schengen border on first entry, which can add time at the airport. Children under 12 are not fingerprinted.

Travelling with one parent

Lithuanian rules generally do not require the other parent's written consent for a short trip with one parent. Other countries, airlines and border officers may still ask questions, especially if the child's surname differs from yours, which is common in Lithuanian families where a mother is a Petrauskienė and her daughter a Petrauskaitė. Carry:

• A signed letter of consent from the other parent, with their contact details and a copy of their passport.
• The child's birth certificate, showing both parents' names.
• Any court order about custody, if one exists.

If a child travels with grandparents or another adult and without either parent, a written consent from a parent is needed, and for travel outside the Schengen area it should be certified, for example by a notary or a Lithuanian consulate. Ask the embassy which form applies.

Health

EU citizens should bring a European Health Insurance Card, and UK citizens a UK Global Health Insurance Card, which cover necessary state treatment. Everyone should have travel insurance. Ticks are common in Lithuanian forests and long grass, and tick-borne encephalitis occurs there, so check children after walks and ask your doctor about vaccination well before a summer in the countryside.

A sample 10 day itinerary

This is one illustrative plan for a family flying into Vilnius in July with children aged roughly 5 to 12, with grandparents near Kaunas. Adjust to your own family's map.

Leave one day without plans. Rain, tired children or a cousin's birthday will fill it.

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Practical small things

• Car seats are required for children by law; bring your own or book them with the rental car.
• Lithuania uses the euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, but a few euros in coins help at markets and with toilets.
• Summer weather changes fast on the coast. Pack a warm layer and a rain jacket even in July.
• Many grandparents will feed children constantly. Accept it. It is part of the welcome.

The most useful preparation is the simplest: teach your children a few sentences for their grandparents before you leave, and let them say them on the doorstep. More trip ideas are in our travel and return circle.