Where to stay in Lithuania

Vilnius

• The old town is one of the largest in eastern Europe and staying inside it is affordable in a way that Prague or Tallinn no longer are.
• Uzupis, the self-declared artists' republic across the river, is walking distance and quieter.
• Vilnius does not have Riga's stag-party problem to anything like the same degree, so old town noise is less of a booking risk.

The coast

• Nida and the Curonian Spit are a July and August proposition. Prices double in season and much of it closes out of it.
• Book months ahead for the season - the spit has limited accommodation and it is protected land, so no more is being built.
• Palanga is the busier, louder resort; Nida is the quiet, expensive one.

Practicalities

• You will be asked for your passport at check-in.
• Rural homesteads (sodybos) are a real category and often include a sauna and a lake, at prices that seem improbable.
• Winter is very cheap and Vilnius is genuinely atmospheric under snow.