Getting Around Vilnius
Vilnius is a compact, walkable capital, and most visitors find that a mix of walking in the centre and public transport for longer hops covers everything they need. The city has no metro and no trams, so the network is built around buses and trolleybuses, supplemented by taxis, ride-hailing apps, and a small airport train.
On Foot
Walking is effectively your only option inside the Old Town. The old streets are pedestrianised, and even taxis avoid the area. Because the historic core is one of Europe's largest and best-preserved old towns — and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — exploring it on foot is both the practical and the rewarding choice.
Buses and Trolleybuses
City buses and trolleybuses are the backbone of public transport in Vilnius. JUDU is the official portal for both, offering timetables, route maps and travel planners in English. Routes are colour-coded on the city transport map: standard buses are marked in blue, express buses (labelled with a "G" for Greitasis) in green, and trolleybuses in red. Numbers overlap between the categories, so a bus, an express bus and a trolleybus can share a number while running entirely different routes — always check the route, not just the number. Services generally run from early morning until around 23:00, with separate night buses covering the small hours.
Buying tickets is straightforward, and contactless payment is the norm:
- Contactless single ticket: a single ride on a bus or trolleybus, purchased by contactless payment only, valid for 60 minutes.
- Mobile apps: m.Ticket (requires a local phone number) and Trafi. Trafi is available in English and accepts a foreign debit or credit card, provided the SMS confirmation code comes through. Trafi has a minimum purchase, and you can load several single tickets at once or activate several at the same time for a group. It also sells 24-hour, 72-hour and 30-day tickets.
- JUDU card (formerly Vilniečio kortelė): a smart card with a small upfront fee, onto which you load tickets. Validate by swiping the card over the yellow electronic reader on the bus, which starts the clock. The card also carries discounted 24-hour and 72-hour tickets.
- Where to buy or top up: Lietuvos spauda and Narvesen kiosks (including at the airport), Maxima and RIMI grocery stores, and JUDU Customer Service Centres at the Railway Station, Vincas Kudirka Square and the Vilnius City Municipality Building.
- Discounts: seniors over 70 receive 50% off, and European Union students receive 80% off. Show your ISIC card, ID or passport when buying the smart card and during ticket control.
The Vilnius Pass tourist card may include public transport on its 72-hour version, but not on the 24- or 48-hour passes. Note that it is generally hard to break even on these passes, however many museums you visit.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
There are several taxi and ride-sharing services in the city, including Taksi 1820, Uber, Jazzexpress and A2B. Cars are typically new and equipped with debit and credit card readers. Smartphone and internet booking options include Uber, eTAKSI, Bolt and Yandex.
One important practical warning: street taxis may charge around twice as much as those hired by phone or app. If you flag a car on the street, a common trick is to dial the number printed on the vehicle, tell the dispatcher your address, and book it that way instead.
Getting from the Airport into the City
Vilnius Airport (VNO) sits just south of the city centre and is the principal airport in Lithuania, with flights from most major airports in northern Europe and the Mediterranean, plus destinations such as Keflavík, Istanbul, Tel Aviv and Red Sea resorts. There are no domestic flights within Lithuania, but you can fly in from Riga and Tallinn. Most flights are operated by budget airlines, and the airport has the usual facilities including car hire. Several options connect it to the city:
- Bus: buses leave from outside Arrivals every 15–30 minutes and take about 15 minutes to downtown. The simplest approach is to buy a single ticket by card; you may pay extra for bulky luggage. Bus 1 runs from the airport (Oro uostas) to the central bus and railway stations (Stotis), and Bus 2 runs via the LFF football stadium to the same stations. For the return journey, wait at Stop H between the stations, which has a real-time display. Bus 88 runs via the football stadium, the Gate of Dawn and the MO Museum to Konstitucijos Prospekt and Europa Square in the business district north of the river. Night Bus 88N follows the same route every 30 minutes through the night and is the only night service at the airport. Bus 3G is an express service via Lukiškės Square and Konstitucijos Prospekt to the northern suburb of Fabijoniškės.
- Train: a train runs from the airport to the main railway station roughly every two hours, taking about eight minutes. Buy on board from the conductor, and you may pay a small extra charge for bulky luggage.
- Taxi: the rank outside Arrivals has capped rates, so you know the price before you set off. Fares are higher at night than during the day, and higher again to the Old Town than to the stations.
- On foot: with light luggage, decent weather and an hour to spare, you can walk it. The route follows the broad Felikso Vaitkaus gatvė for a short distance, then turns right to head north on Dariaus ir Gireno gatvė — a busy road, but with a sidewalk. It crosses into downtown over a railway bridge; turn right (east) for the stations and Old Town, or continue straight ahead for areas west of the Old Town.
If you are arriving at Kaunas Airport instead, note that it lies well to the west of Vilnius and northeast of downtown Kaunas. It has fewer budget flights than Vilnius. Ollex runs a direct bus from Kaunas Airport to Vilnius, with pick-up and drop-off at the Panorama Hotel opposite the railway and bus stations. Otherwise, take Kaunas local bus 29 downtown, where you can pick up frequent buses and trains onward to Vilnius.
Arriving by Train or Bus
Vilnius railway station sits just south of the Old Town's Gate of Dawn, next to the bus terminal and a small shopping mall with cafés. It has a helpful ticket office, a waiting room, and coin-operated luggage lockers in the basement (note that these are not accessible around the clock). The second floor houses a railway museum. The bus station is right next to the railway station, so arrivals by either mode put you within easy reach of the centre.