If you are ready to admire Lithuanian nature, take 4-hour drive from Vilnius to Rusne island along the old Panemunes route. This means you will have a ride along river Nemunas with some stops for castles, great places to visit in Lithuania. While Rusne is the only island in Lithuania, located near Kaliningrad in Nemunas delta.
We have packed all family to our adventure car- Voksvagen 1986 and started our time in Lithuania.
Our route:
The first stop was after 90 min drive near Kaunas, quite famous tourist attraction – Raudondvario castle. You can walk the beautiful park and enjoy the Renaissance manor. If you got hungry, you can have a lunch with traditional Lithuanian food in a local restaurant.
Within the next hour you will appear next to the river Nemunas and take a picturesque road along it. Our next stop is to climb the Seredzius hillfort, enjoy the panoramic view to the river and have an ice-cream. It was extremely hot day, so the great way to refresh. We enjoyed a stop to swim in a river too, however no pictures))
The main stop on this route is dedicated to Panemunes castle (we have skipped Raudone castle, which you can visit too). The initial hill fort of Teutonic Knights was replaced by XVIII century one of the most beautiful Renaissance era building in Lithuania. There is a hotel, museum and a restaurant located in the castle. Reserve some time to walk the park and ride Lithuanian breed horses – Zemaitukai. Don’t be scared, they are very friendly and simultaneously you will support local stables.
After next two hours’ drive we are reaching Rusne. We have stayed on a camping next to river Almata due to the Rusnes festival. As the map shows, we are located next to Russian part of Kaliningrad, which is just behind the river Skirvyte. You can rent a motor boat and have a ride on a river. Walk the open air museum with original, still inhabited old wooden houses, try the local freshly smoked fish and walk monkey’s bridge.
