Hmmm… So, on the Baltic Sea side of the Curonian Spit in Lithuania, there is the beach. Which I found striking. I actually think it must be better in the fall, than during the summer. I think the magic will disappear with hoards of sunbathers. This time it was just me, and two others in the far distance. Drawback, cold, windy, and this day wet, raining. Across from the beach is Nida. About 2.2 km. The biggest village on the spit, and it is not very big. It appeared to be mostly residential. Lots of those charming houses associated with the region. I must say I didn’t spot the brightly colored ones I’ve seen in photos. Suspect some images might have been photoshopped. Then again I didn’t search every nook and cranny. They have built a nice promenade that runs along the coastline, and the village is home to heron and cormorant colonies – I saw something overhead, but that was it, unless you count the ducks 😀 There might be cool things I didn’t come across. The rain got worse and worse. In the end we got an emergency alert, about strong winds, as far as I could make out, the message was in Lithuanian only. The things I did see, are most likely a lot nicer in great weather. Still the answer to my question would be, you might be just as fine making Juodkrantė your final stop on the Curonian Spit. Unless, the world is at another place, and you can cross the Russian border into Kaliningrad exclave. It’s just 3 km away.
Reaching Nida means travelling by ferry and bus from Klaipeda. Upon approaching Nida, I saw on the map that it would mean less walking if I did the beach first, and got off the bus at the intersection, where the bus turns left, off the main road. When I asked the driver if he could stop somewhere, he just looked at me like I was crazy 😀 There’s nothing around, for a tourist. A lady told me she was getting off at a bus stop a few meters ahead, and so did I. From there the beach is easy to find. Just follow the road going right, off the main road, then the boardwalk, and then the trail. Saved me 1.7 km. Getting to Nida, you backtrack until you reach the main road, and then walk straight. In the end you’ll reach the centre of Nida.
Neringa municipality website (in Lithuanian only, for now): visitneringa.com
At the beach
In town
