Kaunas

Kaunas is a city in Lithuania.

Hitching in
when coming from Poland (or actually everywhere), ask your driver to let you out at the "Mega" supermarket next to the motorway in the north of town. There seems to be a free bus to the city center :)

Hitchhiking out


East towards Vilnius
When going to Vilnius you take a bus to the motorway. The best way is to take buses 10, 16 or 28 and get out at the bus stop 'Parduotuvė'. Cross the street, there's a path to the motorway where you'll find a bus stop. Other way is to take bus 37 or trolleybuses 7, 10, 15 or 16, get out at the bus stop 'Kauno saulėtekis'.Then cross the park, street and you'll reach Partizanų street and see the same bus stop called 'Parduotuvė'

South towards Marijampolė & Poland
The best way to get to Poland is to take mini bus 105 from the train station and to get off right after Garliava when you will see a petrol station. You can either hitch from the entrance road to the petrol station, or on the exit road from the petrol station. Hitching from the entrance road: place for vehicles to stop by the bus-stop in front of the station, or on the entrance road itself (or turning into the station). Hitching on the exit road (as shown in the photo): there is room for a truck to stop, but usually by the time they see you, they are going quite fast. This is not a busy petrol station but you can also catch the slow moving station traffic, most of which, unfortunately, is only going to Marijampole - be brave and turn these lifts down and hold out for one going directly to Poland if that is your destination. If you've ever tried to hitch from Marijampole or its bypass, you will understand perfectly. You might want to have a PL sign handy. You can ask your driver to let you off right at border. If you walk back towards Lithuania from the border and make a left, you will get to a very large parking where loads of trucks are parked there. You may be able to get a ride to close to any country in Western Europe.


 * Alternatively get a bus from the center to IX Fortas (I think its bus 23 or 35 buses), this is the main road where the motorway to Vilnius joins up with the E67 (Via Baltica north and south) - with a PL sign you should easily get a lift from a truck to the Budzisko-Kalvarija border checkpoint or further. Be aware that the border is now virtually non-existent, except for an occasional random check, so try to get a ride to at least Suwalki or Augustow.

West towards Klaipeda, north towards Latvia
The best option to reach Klaipeda is to take buses 38 or 21 and get out at the last bus stop next to the MEGA mall in the north part of the city. When you get out of the bus, go straight along the highway (in the direction Klaipeda/Riga). After you pass the mall parking and cross some side roads, climb up the hill a bit and you will find a bus stop right at the highway. It's relatively easy to get a ride from there.


 * Heading for Latvia you want to get on the Klaipeda road (the A1) and then turn onto the Via Baltica (the A8). You can accept rides going to where the roads split (20 km) and then hitch past that point. From there it should not take you more than 10 minutes to get a ride. Whatever you do, try not to get dropped off on the Panevėžys ring. Garthelgard got stuck there for more than 4 hours.

There is a great petrol station a few hundred meters north from the northern junction of the Panevėžys ring and a lot of space on the side of the road. ' "I was heading towards Riga. I took the bus number 35 to the stop called ojo forto muziejus and then walked back the same way the bus had come towards the big road E67. Go up the ramp going to E67 and you'll be on the bus stop. There is a lot of space for cars to pull over and many many trucks are going on this road to Riga. Chances of getting a ride are super.''

North-east towards Jonava, Ukmerge, Utena, Zarasai, Daugavpils
Take the bus 29 and get out at the bus stop 'Biruliškės'. It's a great spot to hitchike!

trash:Kaunas

nomad:Kaunas