How to Get to Kaunas from Poland: Bus, Train, Flight and Car

The simplest ways from Poland to Kaunas are the coach (the fastest from Warsaw takes about 5 h 35 min, from Suwałki about 1 h 45 min), the train with a change at Mockava just over the Lithuanian border, or driving the Via Baltica, now a dual carriageway along its entire Polish section. In November 2026 there are no direct flights from Poland to Kaunas, so flying means going via Vilnius. Lithuania is one hour ahead of Poland, and temporary checks are in place at the border. Below: every option compared, journey times from five Polish cities, and what to do if you arrive late in the evening.

The four options at a glance

By coach from Warsaw, Białystok, Suwałki, Gdańsk and Kraków

FlixBus has the most direct services to Kaunas. Coaches arrive at the bus station at Vytauto pr. 24 in the New Town, and some also stop at the Ninth Fort (IX fortas) on the edge of the city by the A1 motorway. If you are heading for the centre, get off at the bus station.

The figures come from FlixBus route pages and were current on 5 November 2026. The number of departures varies by day of the week and season, and the carrier's page gives inconsistent journey times for Białystok, so check the specific service before you buy. Białystok and Suwałki are the shortest routes: Suwałki to Kaunas is about 120 km, short enough to come for an evening concert and go home the next day.

The long runs from Gdańsk and Kraków and the overnight coaches from Warsaw need some thought about arrival time. A coach that reaches Kaunas at dawn means several hours in town before check-in. An evening arrival after a whole day on the road is a good reason to have a bed lined up near the station or in the Old Town.

By train: the change at Mockava

There is no through train from Poland to Kaunas. Polish and Lithuanian tracks use different gauges, so the journey splits at Mockava, the first station on the Lithuanian side. There you cross the platform from a PKP Intercity train to an LTG Link train that stops in Kaunas and runs on to Vilnius. The timetables are coordinated, and you can buy one ticket for the whole trip at intercity.pl or ltglink.lt.

In the 2026 timetable two trains run to Mockava through Warsaw: the Hańcza from Kraków and the Wigry from Szczecin. Both pass through Białystok and Suwałki. Warsaw to Kaunas takes about 6.5 hours. The third link with Lithuania is the Jaćwing between Suwałki and Vilnius. On 15 October 2026 PKP Intercity announced that from the December timetable change the Jaćwing will be extended to Białystok, making day trips from Podlasie to Kaunas and Vilnius possible. Check the new times at intercity.pl before you travel.

The train suits people who want to work on the way or are travelling with children. One thing to note: in the 2026 timetable one of the arrivals in Kaunas is after 22:00. The railway station (M. K. Čiurlionio g. 16) is about 2.5 km from the edge of the Old Town, so at that hour a taxi or Bolt is the easiest option. All the ways in are covered in our guide Kaunas station to the Old Town.

The new Rail Baltica line is still years away. In April 2026 Lithuania's Transport Ministry named the end of 2033 as its target for completing the whole project in Lithuania, and the Kaunas–Vilnius section will not be ready before 2030.

By car: the Via Baltica through Suwałki and Budzisko

From Warsaw take the S8 to Ostrów Mazowiecka, then the S61, the Polish part of the Via Baltica, through Łomża, Ełk, Augustów and Suwałki to the border crossing at Budzisko. Since 2 October 2025, when the second carriageway of the Łomża bypass opened, the entire Polish section of the Via Baltica (310 km from the border to the S8) has two lanes in each direction. On the Lithuanian side the route continues as the A5 via Marijampolė to Kaunas. Upgrade works may still affect parts of that stretch, so allow for delays.

• The border. Poland and Lithuania are both in Schengen, but Poland has run temporary checks on its border with Lithuania since July 2025. According to Reuters they were extended from 1 October 2026 until 30 March 2027. Keep your documents handy and allow some extra time.
• Road charges. Passenger cars need no vignette in Lithuania. E-vignettes apply to buses and goods vehicles; from 1 January 2027 the Via Toll system is due to replace them for those same categories.
• Time zone. Lithuania is one hour ahead of Poland. Add that hour when working out your arrival and check-in.
• The Old Town. Since August 2024 driving into Kaunas Old Town costs €2 (a reduced-pollution zone; the fee includes your first hour of parking). Zones, rates and free spots are in our Kaunas Old Town parking guide.

Underground Kingdom Boutique (Savanorių pr. 1) sits outside the reduced-pollution zone, and parking in the nearby green zone on Šv. Gertrūdos street is free in the evenings, overnight and at weekends. Handy if you drive in on a Friday evening.

By air: via Vilnius

In November 2026 there are no direct flights from Polish airports to Kaunas. The shortest air route goes through Vilnius: LOT flies from Warsaw to Vilnius several times a day, and the flight takes about an hour. From Vilnius Airport the Ollex coach runs to Kaunas in about 1 h 15 min, stopping at the Circle K station at Savanorių pr. 404B rather than at the bus station. Details and alternatives are in our guide Vilnius Airport to Kaunas.

From Warsaw, flying rarely beats the coach once you add the trip to Chopin Airport, check-in and the onward journey from Vilnius. It makes sense if you are flying in from further away with a connection in Warsaw, or planning a few days in both capitals anyway.

Kaunas as a stop on a Baltic trip

Many travellers from Poland pass through Kaunas on the way to Vilnius, Riga or Tallinn. Kaunas lies on the route and makes a good first overnight stop after several hours on the road: in the morning there is time for the Old Town and Town Hall Square before you set off rested.

• To Vilnius it is about 100 km. The LTG Link express takes from 59 minutes, coaches about an hour and a half. Compare the options in Kaunas to Vilnius by train, bus or car.
• To Riga the coach is the most convenient: Lux Express, Ecolines and FlixBus, with the fastest services taking about four hours. More in How to get to Kaunas.

After you arrive: late evenings, events, a bed for the night

The most common pattern from Poland is an evening arrival: driving after work, an afternoon coach from Warsaw or a late train via Mockava. What matters then is that your bed does not depend on reception hours. All three MyKaunas stays have self check-in from 15:00: we send the door instructions before your trip, so you simply let yourself in. Quiet hours are 22:00–08:00.

It is also worth checking the calendar. Kaunas regularly hosts concerts at Žalgirio Arena, basketball games and festivals, and on 27 November 2026 at 18:00 the Christmas tree is lit on Town Hall Square. Current dates: events in Kaunas, Žalgirio Arena concerts and the Kaunas Christmas market 2026. After an evening event, heading back to Poland overnight means several more hours on a coach or behind the wheel; a night in Kaunas and an unhurried trip home in the morning is usually the more sensible plan.

Which one to choose? For a couple after a long journey, Underground Kingdom Boutique: rooms in brick vaulted cellars from 1908, quiet from the street, a private bathroom, and the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium within walking distance. If you want to stay right in the Old Town with a balcony, choose the Picturesque Old Town Apartment; for a longer, more comfortable stay, Old Town Pearl Suite near Kaunas Castle. With luggage, a taxi to the door is the easiest way to reach either Old Town apartment.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against FlixBus, PKP Intercity, Via Lietuva, LRT and Reuters. Timetables change in December; before you travel, check intercity.pl, ltglink.lt, flixbus.com and the carrier's own site. Header photo: Kaunas railway station. Photo: Nenea hartia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.