Without a car, the easiest day trips from Kaunas are Vilnius (from 59 minutes by express train), Kėdainiai and Birštonas (about an hour by bus, with frequent departures) and Pažaislis Monastery on the edge of the city. Trakai Castle and the Hill of Crosses can be reached by public transport, but with changes and long journeys, so a car makes those days much easier. Rumšiškės and the Panemunė castles are realistically car trips. In winter, check opening days before you go: Trakai Island Castle closes on Mondays and Tuesdays from December, and the Rumšiškės farmhouses stay shut until spring. Below: everything compared in one table, then each trip in detail and a two-day plan.
All the trips in one table
| Destination | By bus or train | By car | Good for | In winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vilnius | train from 59 min (express), bus about 1 h 30 min | about 100 km, about 1 h | first-time visitors, museums, a different city in one day | no seasonal limits |
| Trakai Island Castle | train with a change at Lentvaris, or via Vilnius | about 80 km, about 1 h | history, lakes, photos | Nov: Tue–Sun; Dec–Feb: Wed–Sun, 10:00–18:00 |
| Hill of Crosses (Šiauliai) | bus about 2.5 h to Šiauliai + local bus or taxi | about 2 h | one of Lithuania's best-known sights | hill open at any time; short daylight |
| Rumšiškės open-air museum | microbus or intercity bus + walk | about 30 min | families, rural architecture | park only, interiors closed until spring |
| Kėdainiai | bus about 1 h, about hourly; a few trains a day | about 45–50 km, under 1 h | a quiet old town, history of the Radziwiłłs | old town open; check museum hours |
| Birštonas | Kautra buses up to 19 a day | under 1 h | a walk by the Nemunas, spa, an observation tower | town and walks open; tower hours follow daylight |
| Pažaislis Monastery | trolleybus 5, 9 or 12 + 600 m on foot | inside Kaunas | a half day, Baroque architecture | check visiting times before you go |
| Panemunė castles | not practical | Raudonė about 60 km, Panemunė about 70 km | a scenic drive along the Nemunas | Panemunė Castle: Tue–Sat 10:00–17:00 |
Distances are approximate and measured from central Kaunas. Long-distance buses leave from Kaunas bus station (Vytauto pr. 24), trains from the railway station (M. K. Čiurlionio g. 16). Tickets: ltglink.lt for trains, autobusubilietai.lt for buses.
Vilnius: the simplest trip of all
The capital is about 100 km away and the link is the best in the country. Since March 2026 a non-stop LTG Link express covers the distance from 59 minutes; regular trains take about 1 h 10 min to 1 h 20 min, and buses about an hour and a half. You can leave after breakfast, spend a full day in the Old Town and be back in Kaunas for dinner. Trains, buses, tickets and the last departures are compared in our guide Kaunas to Vilnius by train, bus or car.
A practical tip: if you also want Trakai, do it from Vilnius on the same day only by car. By public transport, Vilnius and Trakai are better as two separate days.
Trakai Island Castle
The red-brick castle on an island in Lake Galvė is the trip most visitors ask about first, and for many the main reason to rent a car for a day. From Kaunas it is about 80 km along the A1 motorway, roughly an hour's drive.
Without a car there is no simple direct route. The usual option is a Kaunas–Vilnius stopping train to Lentvaris, then a change for Trakai. Connections at Lentvaris are infrequent, so plan the outbound and return legs together in the LTG Link journey planner before you set off. The alternative is to go via Vilnius, which adds time but gives more departures.
Opening hours. According to the Trakai History Museum, the Island Castle opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00 in November, and Wednesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00 from December to February. From April to September it is open daily until 19:00. The last visitors are admitted half an hour before closing, and on the eve of public holidays the museum closes an hour early. An adult ticket costs €12 from October to March and €14 from April to September.
How long to allow: half a day with a car, a whole day by public transport. In winter it gets dark early, so aim to arrive by late morning.
The Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai
The Hill of Crosses lies about 12 km north of Šiauliai, near the village of Domantai. Crosses of every size cover a small hill and the ground around it, and visitors still add their own. Pope John Paul II prayed here on 7 September 1993.
By car it is about 2 hours from Kaunas each way, which makes it the longest trip in this guide. Without a car, take a bus to Šiauliai (Kautra runs roughly hourly; the journey is around 2.5 hours), then a local bus towards Joniškis to the Domantai stop and follow the signs, or take a taxi. Some trains also run between Kaunas and Šiauliai; check ltglink.lt for the day you travel.
In winter: the hill itself is open at any time. The Šiauliai district tourism centre lists the information centre's hours as Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00, from October to March. The real constraint is daylight: in December it is dark by about 16:00, so leave Kaunas early.
Rumšiškės: the Lithuanian open-air museum
About 20–25 km east of Kaunas, beside the Kaunas Reservoir, farmsteads, windmills and wooden churches have been brought together from all over Lithuania. Since 2023 the museum has been called the Lithuanian Museum of Ethnography (Lietuvos etnografijos muziejus), but signs and maps often still say Rumšiškės or the Open-Air Museum.
Getting there: about half an hour by car on the A1. Without a car, the museum describes three options: a microbus from Kaunas towards Rumšiškės (on ordinary days it stops at the Rumšiškės pavilion, about 500 m from the central entrance), intercity buses on the Vilnius–Kaunas highway (about 1.8 km on foot from the stop), and the train to Pravieniškės (about 5 km from the entrance). Check the stops and times on autobusubilietai.lt.
In winter, from 16 October to 31 March, the museum opens daily 10:00–16:00 as a park: you can walk the whole site, but the building interiors are closed. In November 2026 the adult ticket on the museum's website costs €4. The full experience, with open houses and summer events, runs from May to September.
Kėdainiai: an old town on the Nevėžis
Kėdainiai lies about 45 km north of Kaunas on the River Nevėžis. Its old town grew up in the 17th century around the market square, where the houses of Scottish merchants still stand. The Radziwiłł family, who owned the town, are buried in the crypt of the Calvinist church, and the 1655 Union of Kėdainiai was signed in their castle.
Getting there: Kautra buses run from Kaunas bus station roughly every hour and take about an hour. There are also a few trains a day, and Vilnius–Riga trains stop in Kėdainiai too. By car it takes under an hour. Half a day is enough for the old town; the town's museum branches have their own hours, so check them before you travel.
Birštonas: a spa town in the Nemunas loops
Birštonas is a small resort on a bend of the Nemunas, inside the Nemunas Loops Regional Park, about 40–50 km south of Kaunas. It suits an unhurried day: a walk along the riverside promenade between Vytautas Park and Central Park, the interwar mineral water fountains, the Church of St Anthony of Padua and Vytautas Hill, where a wooden castle stood in the 14th century.
Getting there: Kautra runs up to 19 buses a day from Kaunas; by car it is under an hour. The Birštonas observation tower, which the town promotes as the tallest in Lithuania, has opening hours that follow sunrise and sunset, so check visitbirstonas.lt before a winter visit. Spa centres take bookings; reserve ahead if a sauna or pool is the point of your trip.
Pažaislis Monastery: a half day without leaving the city
Pažaislis is technically not a day trip: the Baroque church and monastery stand on the north-western shore of the Kaunas Reservoir, within the city limits. Building began in 1667, founded by the Grand Duchy chancellor Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac for the Camaldolese order; since 1992 the complex has belonged to the Sisters of St Casimir.
Take trolleybus 5, 9 or 12 to the last stop, "Kauno marios", and walk about 600 m. Visiting times change with the season and church services, so check before you go. It combines well with a morning in the Old Town.
The Panemunė castles: a drive along the Nemunas
West of Kaunas, the road along the right bank of the Nemunas passes several manors and castles: Raudondvaris about 10 km from the centre, Raudonė about 60 km and Panemunė Castle about 70 km. This is a car day; public transport is not practical. In winter (1 November to 30 April) Panemunė Castle opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00–17:00, and its tower has a viewing platform 26.5 m up. Check the other stops' hours separately.
A two-day plan: Kaunas plus one trip
- Day 1, Kaunas. Morning in the Old Town: Town Hall Square, Kaunas Castle and Vilniaus gatvė. Afternoon on Laisvės alėja and the interwar modernist buildings; take the Aleksotas funicular for the view. Evening dinner in the Old Town. Ideas: things to do in Kaunas and, for the colder months, Kaunas in winter.
- Day 2, out of town. Without a car: Vilnius, Kėdainiai or Birštonas, with an evening back in Kaunas. With a car: Trakai in the morning and Rumšiškės on the way back (both are along the A1), or the Hill of Crosses as a full day.
- Day 3 (optional). A half day at Pažaislis or a second trip, then departure.
Before you fix the dates, look at the calendar: concerts at Žalgirio Arena, basketball and festivals can decide which evening you spend in Kaunas. Current listings are in events in Kaunas.
Kaunas as your base
Kaunas sits in the middle of the country, so every destination above is within about two hours. Staying in one place means unpacking once and coming back each evening to the same bed, rather than moving hotels every night. It is also usually cheaper than staying in Vilnius, and a car is easier to park here.
A few practical details. All three MyKaunas stays have self check-in from 15:00: we send the door instructions before your trip, so a late return from Šiauliai or a delayed train is not a problem. Check-out is by 11:00. If you leave on the day of a trip, the railway station has self-service luggage lockers; see our guide Kaunas station to the Old Town. If you drive, the zones and free parking spots are explained in the Kaunas Old Town parking guide.
Which stay suits which trip? For a couple with a car, Underground Kingdom Boutique (Savanorių pr. 1) sits at the start of Laisvės alėja, outside the Old Town's reduced-pollution zone; parking on nearby Šv. Gertrūdos street is free in the evenings, overnight and at weekends, and the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium is within walking distance. The rooms are in brick vaulted cellars from 1908, quiet after a long day on the road. Travelling as a family or a group, with a kitchen for evenings in, choose Picturesque Old Town Apartment with its balcony over M. Valančiaus street or the larger Old Town Pearl Suite near Kaunas Castle. More options are compared in where to stay in Kaunas.
Checked on 5 November 2026 against the Trakai History Museum, the Lithuanian Museum of Ethnography, the Šiauliai district tourism centre, Panemunė Castle, Pažaislis Music Festival, Kautra, LRT and the Kėdainiai and Birštonas tourism sites. Opening hours and timetables change, and timetables change in December; before you travel, check ltglink.lt, autobusubilietai.lt and each site's own page. Header photo: Kaunas railway station. Photo: Nenea hartia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best day trip from Kaunas without a car?
Vilnius is the easiest: the LTG Link express takes from 59 minutes and trains run all day. Kėdainiai and Birštonas are also simple, with buses roughly every hour or more often. Pažaislis Monastery is inside Kaunas, a trolleybus ride from the centre. Trakai and the Hill of Crosses are possible by public transport, but connections are slower.
How do I get from Kaunas to Trakai Castle?
By car it is about 80 km on the A1 motorway, roughly an hour. Without a car, take a Kaunas–Vilnius stopping train to Lentvaris and change there for Trakai, or go via Vilnius. Connections at Lentvaris are infrequent, so plan the whole trip in the LTG Link journey planner before you leave.
Is Trakai Castle open in winter?
Yes, with shorter weeks. According to the Trakai History Museum, the Island Castle opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00 in November and Wednesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00 from December to February. Last entry is half an hour before closing. An adult ticket costs €12 from October to March.
Can I visit the Hill of Crosses as a day trip from Kaunas?
Yes, but it takes a full day without a car. Šiauliai is about 2 hours away by car and around 2.5 hours by bus. The hill is 12 km north of Šiauliai, so you need a local bus towards Joniškis or a taxi. The hill itself is open at any time; the information centre keeps weekday hours.
Is the Rumšiškės open-air museum worth visiting in winter?
Go knowing what to expect. From 16 October to 31 March the Lithuanian Museum of Ethnography in Rumšiškės opens daily 10:00–16:00 as a park: you walk among the farmsteads, but the interiors are closed. It is about half an hour from Kaunas by car. In November 2026 an adult ticket costs €4.
How many nights should I stay in Kaunas to fit in day trips?
Two or three nights work well: one full day for Kaunas itself and one or two days out. With Kaunas as your base you unpack once, and every destination in this guide is within about two hours. All three MyKaunas stays have self check-in from 15:00, so a late return is not a problem.
