Traveling Around Lithuania – A Collection of Regions

The national tourism promotion agency Lithuania Travel invites local travel enthusiasts to expand their collection of experiences across Lithuania’s regions. Those who have already explored the previously introduced routes "Chronicles of Southern Lithuania: Druskininkai–Varėna–Lazdijai" and "Through the World of Aukštaitija: Kaunas District–Jonava–Ukmergė" can now plan new adventures with the routes "A Collection of Samogitian Stories: Plungė–Telšiai–Kelmė," "Tales of Suvalkija: Kazlų Rūda–Vilkaviškis–Šakiai," and "Small Cultural Capitals: Švėkšna–Dreverna–Šilutė."

“We are experiencing a real boom in local travel, so now is the perfect time to strengthen the habit of discovering Lithuania’s regions. They are often overshadowed by the big cities and resorts, which is why we see it as a priority to use tourism as a tool to reduce this divide and to build closer ties with local communities. In addition, by planning trips to the regions not only in summer, we also help to address the issue of seasonality,” said Vice-Minister of Economy and Innovation Agila Barzdienė, encouraging people to travel.

According to the Local Tourism Survey, although the usual travel destinations still dominate among Lithuanians, interest in less popular regions is also growing – this year, nearly half of residents (43%) have traveled within them. This reflects a changing mindset among travelers – increasingly, people are seeking not only well-known and familiar places, but also authentic and as yet undiscovered experiences.

“It is interesting that the 2025 Euronews Travel Trends Review also notes that modern tourists are increasingly avoiding well-known destinations: as many as 68% of Generation Z travelers value places where they can see and experience something new over very popular and familiar locations, about which there is already plenty of information online. Therefore, Lithuania Travel is also encouraging local tourists to turn their attention to the regions and to visit at least some of the 60 municipalities, leaving as few ‘blank spots’ on the country’s map as possible,” points out Neringa Sutkaitytė, local tourism expert at the national tourism promotion agency Lithuania Travel.

She adds intrigue by noting that the Suvalkija route presents the region as a place where you can sip acorn coffee, try kropeliai pastries and Zanavykai-style kugel, where pheasants and owls are “hunted,” where concerts take place in a straw arena and exhibitions are displayed in a telephone booth, where the offspring of the Stelmužė oak tree and an orchard of 650 apple trees thrive, where possibly the oldest lake in Lithuania ripples, where steam rises from a sauna on the water, where goats accompany you on forest hikes, and where a rope park invites you to adventure.

In Samogitia, you will be following in the footsteps not only of bears, little devils, and witches, but also discovering Baltic pyramids, a Lithuanian Taj Mahal, a Samogitian Versailles, the Great Samogitian Wall, a troll forest, tundra, a yurt village, and you will crown your impressions with tastes such as šmakalas, cibulynė soup, Samogitian braid bread, or ice cream with cheese. Nowhere else will you meet a lucky grasshopper or see two thousand pairs of scissors all in one place.

The Minor Lithuania route invites travelers to visit this year’s two Lithuanian Small Cultural Capitals – Dreverna and Švėkšna – as well as the town of Šilutė, located in the exotic Nemunas Delta region. From the legend of the giant gnawed by wolves and a ship-shaped ancient plant garden to an overnight stay on a yacht in Dreverna, from coffee tastings on board and the flavor of Memel strudel to story-filled nature trails in Šilutė, from a virtual tour of Švėkšna’s synagogue to a hydrangea paradise and one of the most beautiful manor parks in Western Lithuania.

The routes are designed for 2–3 day trips.

Although the vast majority of local tourists (84%) travel around Lithuania by car, Lithuania Travel, in cooperation with LTG Link, encourages changing habits and choosing more sustainable travel options. Therefore, train schedules are also included in the routes.

The routes can be found HERE.