Klaipėda is only half an hour’s drive from the hotel, yet a day there feels nothing like Palanga: Old Town cobbles, a tall ship on the Danė, a ferry ride of a few minutes across the strait and an aquarium inside a 19th-century fort on the other side.
Below we have set out how to fit it all into one day: on which days both the Sea Museum and the Old Town museums are open, what the tickets and the ferry cost, when the last ferry leaves, and two plans for the day: one by bus in winter and one by car in summer.
From the hotel
About 28 km, 30 min by car to the Old Town
Foot ferry
€1.70 return, hourly in autumn and winter
Sea Museum
October–March: Friday to Sunday only
Best day in winter
Friday or Saturday
Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0
Most important: pick the day
From October to March the Sea Museum opens only Friday to Sunday, while the Castle and Blacksmith museums in the Old Town open Tuesday to Saturday. Both are open only on Friday and Saturday, so in winter plan the trip for one of those days.
Map: the Old Town, Smiltynė and the way there
- Theatre Square and Ännchen von Tharau The heart of the Old Town: the Simon Dach fountain with Ännchen von Tharau. The statue went up in 1912, was lost during the war and was recreated in 1989.
- The Magic Mouse A tiny sculpture by Theatre Square: rub its nose and make a wish.
- The tall ship Meridianas A sailing ship built in Finland in 1948, once a training ship for the maritime school and now a city symbol on the Danė quay.
- Ship-museum M52 Sūduvis A former warship, part of the Sea Museum, moored on the Old Town side. Ticket €6 (reduced €3).ljm.lt
- The Black Ghost A bronze ghost climbing out of the Danė by the castle marina, linked to a local legend from 1595.
- Klaipėda Castle Museum Priešpilio g. 2. The remains of the castle Klaipėda grew from: the “Kurtina” archaeology exhibition, 16th–18th-century posterns and “Muziejus 39/45”. Ticket €6, reduced €3.Tickets
- Blacksmith Museum Šaltkalvių g. 2. A real forge with bellows, a hearth, weather vanes and iron crosses. With the staff’s help you can forge a Baltic ornament yourself. Ticket €3.Tickets
- Old Ferry terminal (Klaipėda) E. Galvanausko bulvaras 1. A ferry for foot passengers and bikes only, €1.70 return. Hourly in autumn and winter, every 30 minutes in summer.Timetable
- Old Ferry landing (Smiltynė) The ferry landing in Smiltynė. The Sea Museum is 1.8 km away on foot along the lagoon, about 20 minutes.
- Lithuanian Sea Museum The aquarium in the 19th-century Kopgalis fort: some 180 species in 25 tanks and an 18 m tunnel with sturgeon nearly two metres long swimming overhead.Tickets
- Dolphinarium Shows with Black Sea bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions, in a hall for 1,000. The show needs its own ticket.Tickets
- Fisherman’s homestead A reconstructed coastal fisherman’s farmstead and an open-air yard of old fishing boats. Open May–September.
- New Ferry terminal (cars) Nemuno g. 8. The car ferry, running around the clock. A car with its passengers €23.20 return.keltas.lt
- Klaipėda bus station Butkų Juzės g. 9. From here it is about 2 km to Theatre Square and about 30 minutes on foot to the Old Ferry.
- Palanga bus station Buses to Klaipėda. About 1.7 km from the hotel, 20 minutes on foot.autobusubilietai.lt
Kopgalis: the fort, the aquarium and the dolphins
The Lithuanian Sea Museum sits at the very northern tip of the Curonian Spit, at Kopgalis, in a 19th-century Prussian fort that guarded the entrance to the port. German troops blew up its central redoubt as they retreated at the end of the war; today the redoubt holds the aquarium, with some 180 species in 25 tanks and, since the reconstruction, an 18-metre acrylic tunnel with sturgeon nearly two metres long swimming overhead.
The dolphinarium puts on shows with Black Sea bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions; the current programme is called “Žaliasis spindulys” (The Green Ray). On 16–20 and 26–27 December the Christmas show with dolphins, “Beauty and the Beast”, returns.
From May to September the fisherman’s homestead and the yard of old fishing boats are open too, and the café is in the dolphinarium foyer. On the last Sunday of every month the exhibitions, the aquarium and the ship Sūduvis are free, though the dolphin show is not.
Tickets and the ferry
- Foot ferry
- €1.70
- Ferry with a car
- €23.20
- Aquarium
- €10 / €14
- Dolphin show
- €12 / €18
- Castle Museum
- €6
- 3 Old Town museums
- €9
What to know about prices
- A ferry ticket covers the return trip, so keep it for the way back. Bikes travel free.
- The Sea Museum has two price levels: lower in January–April and October–December, higher in May–September. For pupils the aquarium costs €5 (€7 in summer), and pre-school children go in free.
- The aquarium and the dolphin show are separate tickets. For a family of two adults and two school-age children, both together cost €70 in winter and €102 in summer. Children under 4 sitting on a lap see the show for free.
- In the Old Town a combined ticket for the Castle, Blacksmith and Lithuania Minor History museums costs €9 (reduced €4.50).
- Sea Museum tickets are sold at ljm.lt or at the ticket office; in summer it is worth buying show tickets in advance.
A winter day: by bus, on a Friday or Saturday
- 09.00To the bus stationAbout 20 minutes on foot from the hotel to Palanga bus station, then about half an hour by bus to Klaipėda.
- 10.15The Old TownTheatre Square, the Magic Mouse, the Meridianas, the Black Ghost and the Castle Museum, which opens at 10.00.
- 12.00Ferry to SmiltynėIn winter the Old Ferry sails hourly, on the hour.
- 12.30Lunch at KopgalisA 1.8 km walk along the lagoon and lunch at the dolphinarium café.
- 13.00The aquarium and the fortAllow an hour and a half to two hours.
- 15.00Dolphin showFrom November to March shows are at 12.00 and 15.00; in October on Fridays at 13.30.
- 16.15Ferry backFrom Smiltynė the ferry leaves at quarter past the hour; the museum closes at 17.00.
- 18.00Dinner and homeDinner in the Old Town by the Danė, then the bus back to Palanga.
A summer day: by car
- 09.00Setting offHalf an hour’s drive. Leave the car in Klaipėda rather than taking it on the ferry: parking in Smiltynė is scarce and charged from 1 May to 15 September.
- 10.00Foot ferryIn summer the Old Ferry sails every 30 minutes. The museum opens at 10.30.
- 11.30DolphinsIn July and August shows are at 11.30, 13.00, 14.30 and 16.00. Buy tickets in advance.
- 13.00Aquarium and homesteadThe aquarium, the fort, the fisherman’s homestead and the old boats: three to four hours in all.
- 15.30Back to the Old TownIn summer the Castle Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday until 18.00, with tickets sold until 17.30.
- 17.30The Danė quayA stroll among the sculptures, dinner and half an hour’s drive back to Palanga.
Getting there
- By car: about 28 km and 30 minutes to the Old Ferry. The cheapest way is to leave the car in town and cross on foot: €1.70 instead of €23.20. Parking in Klaipėda is charged by zone and can be paid with an app.
- By bus: buses between Palanga and Klaipėda are frequent, every half hour in summer. Timetables and tickets at autobusubilietai.lt. From Klaipėda bus station it is about 2 km to the Old Town.
- By bike: the coastal cycle path through the Seaside Regional Park, about 30 km each way. Bikes ride the ferry for free, and the bus is easier for the return.
- The Curonian Spit entry fee is collected further south, at Alksnynė, so a trip to Smiltynė and the Sea Museum alone does not pass that checkpoint.
Before you set off
All set. Have a great day in Klaipėda!
Worth knowing
After a day of aquariums and ferries, Palanga welcomes you back with quiet: from the hotel it is only 350 metres through Birutė Park to the sea. And if tomorrow is another day out, the Curonian Spit waits on the other side of the strait.
Sources
Where this information comes from
- Lithuanian Sea Museum: opening hours
- Lithuanian Sea Museum: prices and discounts
- Lithuanian Sea Museum: important information
- Sea Museum: how to reach us
- Sea Museum tickets online
- Smiltynės perkėla: ferry timetable
- Smiltynės perkėla: fares
- History Museum of Lithuania Minor: opening hours
- History Museum of Lithuania Minor: prices
- Castle Museum
- Blacksmith Museum
- Klaipėda tourism portal: ferries to Smiltynė
- Klaipėda tourism portal: parking
- Klaipėda tourism portal: Ännchen von Tharau
- Klaipėda tourism portal: the Meridianas
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopaedia: Lithuanian Sea Museum
- Palanga TIC: getting here by bus
- Map and routes: OpenStreetMap, OpenFreeMap
- Photo: Klaipėda castle harbour, Arvydas Venckus, Unsplash
- Photo: the Meridianas, Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0
Opening hours and prices come from the official museum and ferry pages, for the season October 2026 to September 2027. Distances and times are OpenStreetMap routes without traffic. Information checked on 21 October 2026.
Palanga guide
