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Travel and Tourism in Lithuania
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Lithuania.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- litas (LTL)
- Climate
- Lithuania's climate is moderate. Summer brings average temperatures of 65°F (afternoon highs in the 70s and 80s) and plentiful rain. July is the warmest month. Summer days are long, with only a few hours of darkness. Winters tend to be cold, damp, and overcast. Temperatures average about 30°F, and days are very short. Average annual precipitation amounts to about 26 inches.
- Ethnic Groups
- Lithuanian 80.6%, Russian 8.7%, Polish 7%, Belarusian 1.6%, other 2.1%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day (or National Day), 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania established its statehood and its concomitant independence from Soviet Russia and Germany; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared the restoration of Lithuanian statehood and its concomitant independence from the Soviet Union
- Geographic Coordinates
- 56 00 N, 24 00 E
- Location
- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
- Airports
- 102
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Ethnographic Regions and Folk Culture
Lithuania is not a culturally uniform country. Within its borders, which encompass a territory shaped by centuries of political and demographic history, there are four distinct ethnographic regions, each with its own accent, its own traditions, its own crafts, and its own way of being Lithuanian. Understanding these regional distinctions illuminates much about the texture of Lithuanian culture and explains why the folk traditions of the country are so extraordinarily rich and diverse.
Aukštaitija -- the Highlands -- occupies the northeastern part of Lithuania, a landscape of rolling hills, dense forests, and literally hundreds of glacial lakes. Aukštaitija is in many ways the heartland of Lithuanian folk culture, the region where traditional practices in woodcarving, weaving, choral song, and seasonal festival have been maintained with the greatest continuity.
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Medical care in Lithuania has improved, but medical facilities do not always meet Western standards. There are a few private clinics with medical supplies and services that nearly equal Western European or U.S. standards. Most medical supplies are now widely available, including disposable needles, anesthetics, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals; however, hospitals and clinics still suffer from a lack of equipment and resources.