Nida
Nida (German: Nidden) is a town in Lithuania located on the Curonian Spit. The town was first settled by Germans in the 15th century AD and was part of Prussia before 1945. It is very popular with German tourists because the German writer Thomas Mann had a summer house here which he regularly visited in the early 1930s.
Get in
By bus
Bus times:
- Smiltynė > Nida: 07:10 (working days), 09:10, 10:10, 11:10 (weekend), 12:10, 14:10, 16:10, 18:10, 19:10 (weekend), 21:10
- Nida > Smiltynė: 06:10 (working days), 08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 17:00, 18:00 (weekend), 20:00
The bus takes 50 min for the full distance, depending on whether the bus does side tours to the smaller villages. It cost €3.40 between Smiltynė and Nida, €1.40 between Smiltynė and Juodkrantė, and €2.30 between Juodkrantė and Nida.
By ferry
Most travellers arrive via ferry from Klaipeda:
- in summer, 2 direct ferries from Klaipeda to Nida, 2 hr, €12. Timetable.
- any season, hourly ferries from Klaipeda to Smiltyne, 6 min, €0.80 return. Timetable: Old Terminal [dead link] (pedestrians) and New Terminal [dead link] (cars). Then take a bus from Smiltyne to Nida.
By car
A car or a motorbike entering Neringa municipality that contains most of the spit on the Lithuanian side is charged an ecological fee of €5, and campers are charged €15 (2017 rates).
From Russia
The land border to Russian province Kaliningrad at Nida - Morskoje has a 24-hr service. Ecological fee - 250 руб.
Travel to Russia requires a valid Russian visa. The port has no regular passport/customs services, contact Nida border station (Smiltynės plentas 23) in advance +370 469 52 284.
Get around
See
- Hill of witches in Juodkrantė
Do
You can rent a bicycle and ride all the way to Juodkrante (about 30 km), visiting Preila and Pervalka en route. The bicycle track goes by the Curonian Lagoon for about 15 km, then through a pine forest and finally by the sea, letting you to see lots of beautiful sceneries. Don't forget to stop by the Vecekrugas dune (~1 km before Preila) and the Dead Dunes (Negyvosios kopos) near Pervalka.
Buy
Eat
First of all - fish. Try some smoke-dried eel or bream.
Drink
Sleep
- Monk's Bunk Nida, G. D. Kuverto 8-2. Private rooms and a dorm. Bike rentals. Nice, cozy place. Probably the only hostel in Nida. From €12.50 in season.
Go next