The Curonian Spit is a truly spectacular place and definitely one of the most beautiful areas I’ve discovered in Europe. The quaint towns with their German architecture are charming, the views are stunning, and there’s a great infrastructure for activities, too – it’s easy to hire bikes for a 30km bike ride from Nida to Juodkrante along a route which cuts through forests, skims beaches and zig-zags across the spit.
The Curonian Spit is a truly spectacular place
When I was trying to convince others to accompany me on a week-long trip to Lithuania, it was the images of beautiful beaches and pristine nature that won people over, and it still is when I tell people to go now. It’s a really unique place and a definite must-see in a country full of surprises.
The Curonian Spit was a big part of why I liked Lithuania so much.
Where is the Curonian Spit?
The Curonian Spit is a spit of land in the Baltic Sea shared between Lithuania and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The spit is only connected to the mainland at the Russian ‘end’, with a narrow channel of water separating the Lithuanian end from the rest of Lithuania.
The Curonian Spit: getting there
Inexplicable statue at Klaipeda’s harbour
The nearest town to the Curonian Spit in Lithuania is Klaipeda, the country’s third largest city. We stayed in Klaipeda at a basic but pleasant youth hostel close to the bus station, taking the ferry out to the spit both mornings we were there. We were there in early May, which was very clearly still off season. The ferries still ran but somewhat sporadically – we simply got to the harbour and waited.
The ferry then connects with a bus which runs the length of the Spit to Nida, the largest town, close to the border with Russia. Juodkrante is the another sizeable town on the spit.
Klaipeda is well connected to the rest of Lithuania by buses, as well as Latvia. We arrived by bus from Riga and on leaving got the bus to Siauliai.
The Curonian Spit: in photos
Here are just a few pictures from my visit.
