Let the Lithuania landscape slide past your window as you travel 40 minutes to Trakai, located 18 miles (28 kilometers) west of Vilnius. Learn more about the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Battle of Grunwald, and Vytautas the Great (1392-1430).
There are many beautiful lakes in the region. Visit Trakai Castle and Museum of the 15th century (in the middle of Lake Galve). It is the only insular castle throughout Eastern Europe - Island Castle is one of the most visited historical-architectural monuments in Lithuania. The visit is approximately 1 hour and you will have free time for shopping and relax.
Trakai is also home to Karaites, a Turkish ethnic group practicing a religion akin to Judaism, who came to Lithuania from the Crimea in the 14th century as warriors for Grand Duke Vytautas. Today the country's smallest ethnic minority counts under 300 members.
Very enjoyable and interesting tour - excellent tour guide
Review by: Barbara D, October 2017
I am enjoying Vilnius very much but it was nice to glimpse a little bit more of Lithuania. We were lucky enough to go on a beautiful autumn day when the colours of trees around the lake at Trakai were spectacular.It is a wonderful spot., and the village houses different and interesting from any other country I've visited. Essentially though this is a reconstructed castle and though well done, for me there was little atmosphere inside the castle itself. The guide was informative and pleasant, the journey straightforward. The only slight feedback I would offer that would be easy to fix was more of a welcome from the driver and the guide when we individually got on the bus. A smile and a hello doesn't take much, but none of that happened until the last pickup and we were all on board. A little thing but it would have started the trip in a more friendly and relaxed fashion. Incidentally this trip could have been easily booked in Vilnius at the same price as online. Having said that it is nice to have something planned in advance, and I would recommend the trip.
Review by: Adam D, September 2017
Great place to visit
Review by: kim w, September 2017
The whole trip was wonderful and the quide excellent. Maybe mmore time for people who want to take a boating trip.
Review by: Fergus F, September 2017
This tour was well worth the money, it was well organized and very informative and I would recommend it to anyone.
Review by: Constanse M S, June 2017
Really lovely half day trip to Trakai which is well worth a visit. Our guide was knowledgeable and gave us a good tour of Trakai. If I were to go again I'd probably spend less time inside the castle and more time for example taking a boat around the islands / relaxing by the shore. Top pick for a sunny day!
Review by: Gail Lisa O, May 2017
Guide extremely informative and helpful Julia. Very interesting tour.
Review by: nightsmk2, April 2017
Very beautiful castle, worth a visit.
Review by: Catherine M, March 2017
Wonderful tour
Review by: Judith A, February 2017
Excellent tour - our guide was really knowledgeable and enthusiastic, so we learned a lot about Lithuanian history. The castle itself is in a stunningly beautiful location and as we went in February the lake around the castle was frozen solid so we walked across the ice to get to it, which was quite special. My 15 year old son reckoned this was a bucket list experience! The only thing I would change would be to have a bit more time since we didn't have an opportunity to walk round Trakai itself.
Review by: william b, October 2016
Nice place to visit, good historical atmosphere, but not much depth of experience to be had.
Review by: Stephen R, September 2016
such a great guide and understanding people as I just got to site as they were taking off and they came back for me. Saw and learned a lot.
Review by: Leia V, September 2016
Very knowledgable guide and really liked all the information we learned. And we still had free time after to get lunch and check out the shops. Great little tour outside the city to a very skillfully refurbished castle!
Review by: Bert V, September 2016
Beautiful place! Great tourguide!
Review by: Kimmy C, July 2016
The tour itself was good. Our guide, Tomas was knowledgeable and kept us well-informed of Lithuania and Trakai's history. The castle itself is probably worth seeing with its history if you've got time. The ruins of this castle has been built upon, so there is an air of artificiality. It was probably a hard choice whether to rebuild the castle or just keep the ruins. I reckon they should've just kept the ruins, but you can check it out to discover yourself. The surroundings of the area were nice, and you could take a nice stroll too in the spare time of the tour.
Review by: William B, July 2016
Very nice day trip. Thomas, our guide, was exceptional. Highly recommend it.
Review by: zute, June 2016
OK, I really liked this tour. The hard part was finding out that although they tell you to meet at the Bell Tower, their van is actually across the street from the Bell Tower. After that, the tour guide was friendly and very informative. Once arriving at Trakai, she guided us through all the major rooms in the castle, then gave us over an hour to go through the other rooms, explore the souvenir shops, and get lunch. I found the souvenir shops here better quality and cheaper than the ones in Vilnius.
Review by: Alison M, June 2016
Great tour. Very interesting. Lost a star as not enough time spent inside the fortress and getting a history, seems a bit rushed. But great for the price!
Review by: Anthony P, May 2016
Everything as promised - great guide and driver, modern air conditioned coach, on time and Trakai is beautiful. Coming out of season probably best as this looks somewhere that might be crowded in the Summer. Plenty of good lunch spots near the castle.
Review by: Keith P, April 2016
Tommy was a good guide, talkative, and informative.
Review by: Matthew S, March 2016
Great destination, enjoyable tour and very helpful guide.
Review by: Tetiana Z, March 2016
Trakai Castle is very beautiful place and is located very close to Vilnius, so it would be a pity to miss it. Our guide was very professional, but sometimes too historical. But now we know much of Lithuanian history and present time. The bus was very comfortable, the trip to castle was about 30-40 minutes. All the time our guide told about things we passed by or different facts from history. At the lake shore he helped to find the best place to take photos. Then he bought tickets and guided the group through the castle. In the end we had free time about an hour to take photos, buy souvenirs and drink some coffee. We came back to Vilnius in time. _br/_ About the castle: the place is really beautiful in all seasons, I guess. We were in winter. It's a lake with several islands. The castle is rebuilt and many exhibits are not authentic, but the atmosphere of medieval castle is so great. Also this is cool adventure for children. There were many of them in the castle.
Review by: Kevin L, December 2015
Due to the small group two Russian Tourists and myself I thought the tour may be cancelled, however it went ahead so amassive thank you to the driver, the tour guide Tomas and the Russian couple.
Review by: Jemma L, October 2015
A great trip, we loved it
Review by: Peter M, August 2015
Very informative and a wonderful place to visit. Although it was rebuild and not authentic as originally was but its very nice. It was a hot sunny day around 34 decrees celsius. As everyone can expect food take away outside are too expensive but on all it was an excellent and informative tour
Review by: OZLEM T, June 2015
It was great. Worth seeing place. Great guide, very punctual organization.
Review by: Theresa M, June 2015
The bus ride out of the city was interesting as we joined various groups. In the end the drive to the Castle went smooth. Our guide walked us through the main fortress and gave us information on the various rooms and overall history. Afterwards you have free time to walk through the museum, shop or grab a bite to eat.
Review by: Hugh S, June 2015
Fabulous tour. Our guide Julia was very knowledgable and funny. Plenty of time to see the castle and have lunch. Highly recommended.
Review by: Stephen D B, June 2015
Excellent tour! Worth the money.
Review by: DUNCAN B, June 2014
Beautiful area and very pleasant and informative guides!
Review by: Dr Yi Ren, January 2014
I did this tour during our trans-Mongolia/Siberia train trip holiday. It was a good tour. The tour guide was really friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. But the castle itself does not have much to see, If you have been to other castles in Europe, you probably feel this one is pretty average. The castle is beautiful for photos, considering how much I paid and I don't feel it is a good value for money.
Review by: ringoffire, December 2013
A half day tour. Informative. Our guide was very helpful. Recommended.
Review by: David S, December 2013
Best tour of all in Lithuainia. Magnificent view of the castle!
Review by: Stephen H, August 2013
lovely castle on the lake, very pretty and a pleasant area to spend some time. tour was good and so was our guide, Victoria.
Review by: Mehmet Yusuf Y, August 2013
The tour to Trakai Castle was satisfactory. Our guide was very friendly, but obviously a less experienced person. However, I am glad that I and my wife joined this tour.
Review by: Jean K, August 2013
Very good tour guide and tour.
Review by: Sirpa L, April 2013
The castle tour was interesting, but there was not enough time for a snack before return trip. Also I would have liked to hear more during the return trip.
Review by: ROSLINA R, September 2012
Our guide was very good and informative but the tour duration was a bit short and there wasn't sufficient time to visit the other castle ruin or the wooden houses in the town. An extra hour in Trakai would have been better.
Review by: Joanne S, June 2012
It was a great tour. Really enjoyed hearing the information that our tour guide offered us. Maybe a little rushed, an extra half an hour of free time would be great.
Review by: Gualberto A, June 2012
all ok
Review by: Robert Y, May 2012
I was very pleased with the tour. There were several things that I liked the most:
Review by: Harris K, January 2012
Excellent side trip form Vilnius- do not miss.
Review by: Graham B, August 2011
Excellent trip with a knowledgable guide! Well worth the money but it could have been a bit longer!
Review by: Jo, August 2011
well organised. tour guide was very knowledgeable.
Review by: LE DINH T, August 2011
The tour guide is very knowledgeable and helpful! She is a professional in both guiding and language (English) skills. Thank you!
Review by: mattyhouser, August 2011
tour guide was awesome!
Review by: beavertonjoy, July 2011
Wonderful tour. Enjoyed the commentary about the history from the tour guide. We would recommend this tour to all our friends and family.
Review by: Jo, June 2011
well organised. tour guide was very knowledgeable.
Review by: JACQUES L, May 2011
very good
Review by: LE DINH T, May 2011
The tour guide is very knowledgeable and helpful! She is a professional in both guiding and language (English) skills. Thank you!
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