THE ROAD TO LITHUANIA

Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers -

Lithuania is one of the three Baltic countries, and you can visit them all at once. Lithuania lies along the Baltic southeastern coast, and borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, and Poland and Kaliningrad to the southwest. Sail west across the Baltic Sea, and you’ll arrive at Sweden and Denmark.

Lithuania has around 99 km of sandy coastline, of which approx. 38 km is directly on the Baltic Sea.

The highest areas are the Moraines in the western and eastern highlands, but the tallest is Aukštojas hill at 294 m. Lithuania lies on the border between coastal climate and continental climate, with wet, mild winters and summers. According to a geographical calculation the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, is just a few miles south of the geographical center of Europe.

Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has approx. 560,000 inhabitants in the town itself, and is located in the southeastern part of the country. Vilnius has been Lithuania's historic capital city since the Middle Ages, but it was only in 1991, that it became the capital of a free Lithuania. Neri is the largest river flowing through Vilnius, and the city is located in southeastern Lithuania, where Vilnia River meets the Neri River.

The distance between Vilnius and the Baltic Sea and Klaipėda, the main Lithuanian port city, is about 312 km. The distance is quite far, but other cities such as Kaunas, Šiauliai and Panevėžys can be reached both faster and easier. They are respectively 102, 214 and 135 km from the capital, so you can easily get there and back in the same day.