Siauliai Transportation

1 more image

We arrived in Siauliai by bus from Klaipeda (3,5 h) and left Siauliai by bus to Panevezys (2 h).

Other services from Siauliai include Vilnius, Kaunas and Riga (Latvia). Siauliai's bus station is located at Tilzes 109, just south of the main shopping street.

2 more images

Siauliai is located in northern Lithuania, 40 km (24 mi) south of Latvian border. I got to Siauliai by own car driving all the way from Poland through Kaunas, Kedainiai, Skemiai and Seduva. It's a good quality highway of light or moderate (Seduva - Siauliai) traffic.

Main international roads go through Siauliai:
1. E77 (A12) called Via Baltica: Sovetsk (and futher Kalininigrad in Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea) - Siauliai - Riga (Latvia) - Tallinn (Estonia) - Helsinki (by ferry; Finland); it's also called Via Hanza (Berlin - Riga).
2. E272: Palanga (on Baltic Sea coast; A11) - Siauliai - Seduva (A9) - Panavezys and futher east via Daugavpils (Latva) to Russia (north to Pskov and Saint Petersburg).


Other options:
1. train by Lithuanian Railways
2. bus
Both bus and train station is located in downtown on walking distance, south of main street: Vilniaus Gatve. The railway lines Vilnius - Klaipeda, Vilnius - Mazeikiai, and Vilnius - Riga cross Siauliai. More here.

There is a bus going to Hill of Crosses. The destination is about 12 km from Siauliai, on the way to Joniskis, so Siauliai – Joniskis bus fits for a trip. After getting out of bus it is about 2km to turn right and go straight road to Hill of Crosses. If it is not convenient way of getting here, better to use taxi or use transportation of travel agencies.

Journey by bus cost about 2 litas (July 2008).

Two lines of trains go to/through Siauliai – one Vilnius-Siauliai line, other is Vilnius-Klaipeda. I took one with end station Klaipeda, as it departure earlier, at about 6AM, so it is possible to start sightseeing of Siauliai from about 9 - 10AM.

Worth mentioning, that train from Vilnius through Siauliai to Klaipeda doesn’t go through Kaunas as buses do, but turns to Jonava, Kedainiai, so it is impossible to make stop in Kaunas.

Although Siauliai is Lithuania's fourth largest city, it is still small enough to be explored on foot.

Most sights are in walking distance from the central shopping street Vilniaus which is pedestrianised in the very heart of the city centre.

2 more images

If you are travelling around Lithuania by public transport, then it might be very useful to know how to get to the famous Hill of Crosses. It is located about 12 km notheast of Siauliai on a side street near the main road A 12 to Riga.

To get there take a bus to Joniskis from Siauliai bus station. Get off at the stop Domantai where a brown sign marked "Kryziu Kalnas" stands. From there you still have to walk a further 2 km along the tree lined side street.

There are less than 10 buses per day serving the route to Joniskis and the last one leaves Domantai (near the Hill of Crosses) around 16:30 h. So check the timetable in advance. The coaches towards Riga come along Domantai as well, but I am not sure if they have a scheduled stop there. Just ask the driver in advance.

A single fare Siauliai - Domantai was 1,50 Litas (0,5 Euro) in Summer 2006.

2 more images

The main street (Vilniaus gatve) and most of city attractions are on walking distance. The cathedral is located on a hill some 10 min. northeast of Vilniaus gatve: take Tilzes gatve up, the cathedral on the right. Check on interactive map of Siauliai. I've also seen some locals riding bicycle in downtown.

As soon as I noticed tall, white, church tower, I hit my car toward it and stopped in front of the cathedral (a lot of parking space there). I had only very schematic map of Siaulai in my travel book but I easily found short route to downtown and parked car there very close to Vilniaus Street. As it was Sarurday I was not forced to pay for parking.


DRIVING DISTANCES

Border crossing points:
Poland:
Budzisko -

Kalvarija: 260 km.

Latvia:
direction Riga - 40 km.

Belarus:
direction Minsk - 240 km.

Lithuania:
Kedainiai - 100 km
Vilnius - 220 km
Kaunas - 150 km
Klaipeda - 170 km.

Poland:
Suwalki: 290 km
Warsaw: 580 km
Krakow: 870 km
Tychy: 880 km.

Others in Europe:
Riga, Latvia - 130 km
Tallinn, Estonia - 450 km
Berlin, Germany - 1160 km
Prague, Czech - 1210 km
Budapest, Hungary - 1280 km.

4 more images

The small Siauliai train station is quite busy at certain times with national and international trains like the Riga to Simferopol one. Also the inside of the station is worth a look, especially the various clocks which show the times in various places.