The Curonian Spit: Nida and Juodkrantė

The Curonian Spit is a sand spit about 98 km long between the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon. Its northern 52 km belong to Lithuania, the southern part to Russia’s Kaliningrad region. At its widest, just north of Nida, it is almost 4 km across, and in many places you can walk from the lagoon to the sea in a few minutes.

‍

It was people who set the dunes moving: from the 16th century forests were felled and cattle grazed, and drifting sand buried more than one village. In the 19th century the dunes were fixed and replanted, and it is this landscape of people struggling with nature that UNESCO protects.

• The Old Ferry has moved. The ferry for foot passengers and cyclists now leaves from Šiaurinis ragas, E. Galvanausko bulvaras 1, not from the Danė embankment.
• A pier is under repair. At the New Ferry one pier is being repaired until about December, so only one ferry can berth at a time and waits may be longer.
• A new park website. The national park’s information is now at nerija.lrv.lt; the old address redirects there.
• Agila has reopened. Nida’s tourist information centre reopened after reconstruction in early October.

You can reach the spit by public transport too, but it makes a long day, with about five hours of travelling.

‍

• Buses from Palanga to Klaipėda run about every 30 minutes.
• From Klaipėda bus station it is about a 25-minute walk to the Old Ferry at Šiaurinis ragas.
• The ferry costs €1.70 for a foot passenger, the return included.
• From Smiltynė the bus takes about an hour to Nida and costs €8, or €3 to Juodkrantė; a bike is €10. The buses are timed to the ferries and wait if a ferry is late.

‍

The bus timetable changes every month, so check it on visitneringa.com before you set off, and make sure you know when the last bus leaves Nida.

The Hill of Witches is a 42 m hill where Midsummer has been celebrated since time out of mind. In the summers of 1979–1981 folk artists carved more than 80 oak sculptures here, and the path among them is one of the most fun walks with children anywhere on the coast.

‍

On the northern edge of Juodkrantė is Amber Bay. In the 19th century dredgers dug up about 75 tonnes of amber here, and the Neolithic and Bronze Age amber pieces found with it are known as the Juodkrantė Treasure. A little south of the village, on Heron Hill, grey herons and great cormorants nest. The colony is liveliest from February or March into the summer, and you will smell it before you see the birds.

Between Juodkrantė and Pervalka lies the Nagliai Strict Nature Reserve with its grey dunes. They are called “dead” because, fixed in the 19th century, they no longer move. The only way into the reserve is the 1.1 km educational trail from the car park at kilometre 31 of the road.

‍

In 2026 the regulated visiting season ran until 18 October: €5 for adults and €2 for students and pensioners, bank card only. From 19 October to 31 March you may walk the trail on your own, in daylight and without leaving the path.

Nida sits at the southern end of the Lithuanian part of the spit. Parnidis Dune rises about 52 m, and it keeps getting lower: between 1984 and 2004 it lost about 15 metres, partly to people climbing its slopes. On top stands the sundial-calendar, wrecked by Hurricane Anatoly in 1999 and rebuilt in 2011. From the top you see the lagoon, the sea and, to the south, dunes that are already in Russia.

‍

In Nida itself, look in at the 1927 fisherman’s homestead, the neo-Gothic church of 1888 and the old cemetery with its krikštai. Thomas Mann’s house on Mother-in-Law’s Hill was built in 1930, and the writer spent three summers there. A ticket for three of Neringa’s museums costs €5 (€3 for pupils). Off-season they open Tuesday to Saturday, so they are closed on Sundays and Mondays.

• Keep to paths and boardwalks. A footprint becomes a hollow, and a hollow becomes a gully. Climbing the slopes of Parnidis Dune is prohibited, and the east side of the dune is off-limits altogether.
• Do not cross reserve boundaries. The Nagliai and Grobštas reserves may be entered only on the marked trail, the cycle path or the beach between the water and the foot of the dune. Walking along the lagoon shore from Juodkrantė to Pervalka is forbidden.
• Park only in car parks or on the road shoulder, never on sand or the forest floor. Breaking the park’s rules can cost a €30–150 fine.
• Do not feed the foxes, however tame they look. Ticks are active from March to November.
• Fires only in places built for them, and tents only at the Nida campsite.
• The border. A little south of Parnidis Dune runs the border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region. Keep well away from it.

From 20 June to 20 August is the most expensive and the busiest time: a €50 fee, paid parking in Nida from June to August and queues for the ferry. If you go in summer, leave early, before 9.00, or take the bus.

‍

In autumn, winter and spring the fee is only €10, parking is free and the dunes are nearly empty. Just remember that the museums then open Tuesday to Saturday and the lighthouse is closed. The heron and cormorant colony is liveliest from February or March into the summer.