Kaunas, which is surrounded by seas and rivers, offers not only boating this sailing season, but also other activities to experience the leisure pleasures of water.
What do you have to offer?
Sailing on yachts and ships around Kaunas city and district are just some of the entertainment that can be tried on the water this season. Both waterboarding and water amusement parks await visitors.
One of the waiting entertainments is the “Let’s celebrate the river” initiative, which allows you to experience Kaunas by kayaking or rafting. This event will return on the city’s birthday, May 25.
“The route of various activities and events in the water and on the coast will stretch from Panemune beach to Santaka. There are river rides, active tasks, live music, various performances, creative workshops, picnic areas and many other activities. The program is currently being coordinated with artists and creators. The detailed program should become clear in the next two weeks,” Agnė Augonė, head of the Culture Department, told Kauno diena.
Events for Kaunas’ 616th birthday are also planned between the rivers – in Santaka. May 25-26 music by Lithuanian and foreign artists will be heard here, fairs and a medieval town will be bustling. A cozy family space with areas for picnics, games, music, and dancing will be located on the Nemunas coast. All Kaunas residents and guests of the city are welcome to the free events.
“We want to be happy that we are paying more and more attention to our origins – the rivers by which Kaunas is located. This year, on the city’s birthday, May 25, the Kaunas culture like-minded initiative “Let’s celebrate the river!” is organized with the Kaunas Artists’ House and other partners. There are also experiential routes around the rivers, and pleasure boats invite you to travel along the rivers.
The offer of water entertainment in Kaunas is really plentiful – there are plenty of places where you can go windsurfing, inflatable paddleboards are becoming more popular, you can celebrate holidays on the water, go on jet skis, kayaks, rafts and catamarans. Although everyone’s attention is drawn to water bodies in the summer, we suggest that you do not forget that Kaunas’ excellent swimming pools and their ever-growing network help prepare for the warm season in winter. In them, you can enjoy the pleasures of the spa, learn to swim and use other wellness services”, – Tadas Stankevičius, head of Public Enterprise “Kaunas IN”, emphasized water entertainment.
Representatives of the Directorate of Inland Waterways (VVKD) also laid out routes where you can sail from the ports in Kaunas. According to the information available to VVKD, “Raketa” will sail on the Kaunas-Nida-Kaunas route this year as well.
“We hope that water routes such as Kaunas-Zapyškis-Kulautua, Kaunas-Raudondvaris will be intensively used. There will also be an opportunity to try routes from the port of Jurbarkas small ships. We should not forget the pier built last year at the “Žalgiris” arena,” said VVKD director Vladimiras Vinokurovas.
Popular: more and more ships are kept in the equipped ports. / Photo of Regiment Zakshensk.
Sports enthusiasts
According to Tad Vasiliauskas, head of the Sports Department of the Kaunas City Municipality, five big events are planned for water sports lovers, in which it will be fun not only to participate, but also to watch them from the shore.
Here is May 18. The “Kaunas Jet 2024” jet ski competition will be held in Nemunas, at the Kaunas passenger pier. On June 1, Kaunas lagoon will host the Lithuanian coastal rowing competition for the European Championship.
In the middle of summer, on July 20-21, the newly equipped track of Lake Lampėdžis will host the Open Lithuanian Rowing Championship for U19 and U23 age groups. In September, in the Kaunas marina or in the Kaunas passenger pier, jet skis will once again be the king – this racing season will be crowned by the battle for prestigious trophies in the “UIM Enduro Baltic Cup 2024” competition. At the end of the sailing season, the international sailing regatta “Autumn Wind 2024” is still waiting. We wish sailors a good wind in the Kaunas lagoon in October.
“The beach season is scheduled to open on June 1. Residents of Kaunas are welcome on the first and second beaches of Kaunas lagoon (near T. Masiulio street), Panemune (near A. Smetonas al. 4) and third Lampėdžii (Raudondvarios pl. 161B) beaches. Whether it will be possible to open the Lampėdžių baths at Gervių Street will depend on the repair work taking place there.
The city has planned 20 lifeguard positions – at least two lifeguards and a shift supervisor will work on each beach. People who care about people’s safety will have rescue boards, radio communication equipment, defibrillators and other work tools”, said T. Vasiliauskas about the preparation for the season and added that the selection of lifeguards is currently underway, and the quality of the bathing water will be tested according to the established schedule.
Entertainment: you can explore Kaunas from kayaks or paddle boards. / S. Baltušis photo.
Infrastructure development
In order to expand the offer of water entertainment, beaches in Kaunas are maintained, abandoned places are revived for new life. A children’s playground, variable weight trainers and a wooden track are planned to be installed on the Lampėdisi beach, on the side of the campsite, and changes are also visible at the Kaunas lagoon.
“Water entertainment is available for the people of Kaunas without leaving the city: well-maintained beaches, renovated city parks with recreational infrastructure near the rivers, revived Lampėdis with a rowing track, Neptune’s Bay with a port and the nearby “Bangpūtis” sailing sports base.
Of course, the choice of water entertainment in Kaunas will expand even more when one of the most ambitious projects in the city will be implemented and a lock will be built for uninterrupted navigation on the Nemunas through the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant (HE),” remarked Kaunas Vice Mayor Andrius Palionis.
We pay more and more attention to our origins – the rivers by which Kaunas is located.
He pointed out that a few years ago, Neptune Bay was surrounded by fences, gates and accessible only to the “chosen”. Now the city will turn this place into a civilized space, where there will be convenient places to store and launch boats. The rowing base “Bangpūtis” is also being built, so it will be another attraction. The contours of the school can already be seen from afar: constructions are being installed, work on finishing the facades, installation of showcases is starting, preparations are underway to install internal engineering systems.
“Soon, this space will become another picturesque, green area of the city for all Kaunas residents to spend their free time. Ship owners are already seeing obvious changes in the modernizing port, and a modern captaincy with auxiliary facilities will soon be built for their convenience. The embankments around the bay have already been strengthened, a slip has been installed for launching and lifting ships from the water”, said A. Palionis.
In this bay, a pontoon pier with 200 berths has been newly installed. It will soon be expanded almost twice to accommodate over 350 ships. “Once the season starts, the column on the water for safe refueling will also operate. In the near future, environmental management will also begin: from the installation of roofs to the planting of lawns,” added the vice mayor.
“Various types of ships are kept at the port of Nemunas Bay. They are rented for various events, entertainment and celebrations. Each boat owner and his guest can be called a water tourist: traveling by boat from here, they can visit a number of picturesque places and attractions in Lithuania.
Currently, almost all 200 berths are reserved for the whole season in the marina located in the northeastern part. There are many more people who want it, so Kaunas municipality will soon install pontoon piers on the western side of the bay as well,” said Justas Limanauskas, director of the budget institution “Parkavimas Kaune”.
VVKD takes care of the so-called winter port of Kaunas. It is estimated that about 50 ships will be stored here at one time this year.
Kaunas city municipality photo.
Manages the Nemunas road
VVKD stated that currently navigation in the main waterways of category E started on March 11. and will last until November 30. In other waterways of national importance, navigation began on April 22. and will last until October 20.
In total in 2024 479.7 km of inland waterways of state importance will be operated, which is 12.7 km more than last year. All operational roads are marked with navigational signs, except for waterways running through narrow rivers, where navigation is safe when sailing in the middle of the river, and marking is done as needed (in Pakalnė, Rusnaitė, Nevėžio, Minija rivers, King Vilhelm canal).
Last year, VVKD completed the modernization project of the main Lithuanian waterway from Kaunas to Klaipėda (200 km). The impact of the buns is already being felt. Hydrographic specialists are convinced that their effects will become evident in a couple of years.
“This year, the focus is on the upper reaches of the Nemunas, it is planned that after cleaning and fixing the bed of the father of Lithuanian rivers near Alytus and Druskininkai, in the future it will be possible to reach Birštonas by boat from these cities, and after the construction of a ship lock through the Kaunas HPP, it will also be possible to reach Jurbarkas or Klaipėda. The maintenance works of the upper reaches of the Nemunas will be continued, in cooperation with the municipalities of the city and district of Alytus, Druskininkai. In the second half of the year, it is planned to start managing the section of the Nemunas River, which is intensively used for shipping, from Švendubrė to Druskininkai and Liškiava, with the aim that already in 2025, during the season, this section of the waterway could be fully used for shipping”, said V. Vinokurovas about the Nemunas maintenance works .
The head of VVKD indicated that in 2025 shipping will be ensured in the entire Nemunas – from Druskininkai and Alytus to Birštonas. “Works on a navigable lock at the Kaunas HPP, cleaning of the Nevėžio and Neris rivers are planned, and in the end, connecting Kaunas and Vilnius by shipping route. In the vision of Lithuanian inland waters – 1 thousand. km of waterways. “Historically, Lithuania has never had inland waterways of this length,” he said.
The completed modernization works of the Nemunas road encouraged not only recreational but also commercial shipping by barges. “After ensuring the necessary depth of the lower Nemunas waterway, this road is completely open for cargo shipping. Opportunities have been created to transfer a significant portion of road-transported cargo to river transport, to provide cheaper and more environmentally friendly cargo transportation services, and to reduce the share of heavy traffic on roadways,” V. Vinokurov said.
VVKD calculates that last year, after the announcement of the start of cargo shipping, 20 barge trips were already made. This year, it is planned that the amount of cargo will increase. The main waterway of Lithuania (E41) stretches along the Nemunas River and the Curonian Lagoon, it connects Kaunas and Klaipėda, and is also part of the trans-European inland waterway transport network TEN-T.
“This road directly connects Kaunas with the port of Klaipėda and international routes in the Baltic Sea. After VVKD started to regularly transport cargo in Nemunas, it is planned to transport 100,000 tons in the first phase alone. t of cargo per year. Contracts with cargo carriers are being actively concluded, they are attracted by the possibility of convenient and efficient transportation of cargo, especially non-standard dimensions, very heavy and bulk cargo”, said the director of VVKD.
Photo of regiment Zakshensk.
Water entertainment in Kaunas
1. Swimming with paddleboards, wakeboarding, towing boats, training (laivonuoma.lton Facebook “Wakesurf Kaunas”, vandenlentes.lt, ciongo.lt).
2. The “Wake Up Kaunas” waterboard park in Lampėdžii has a two-tower “Wake Line 3” system with one of the longest tracks in Europe. The first indoor waterboarding system in Lithuania is also offered (wakeup.lt).
3. Renting jet skis, boats (breezit.lton Facebook “Extremali nooma”, jetrent.lt, on Facebook “Billion Jetski water entertainment”).
4. Extreme swimming in the water formula in the Kaunas lagoon (gift island.lt).
5. Kayak rental and swimming in Nemunu from Kaunas HPP (robis.lt, irklinis.lt, paneriopoilsiaviete.lt).
Tours, excursions, other water entertainment:
1. Trip by ship “Raketa” (laivasraketa.lt).
2. “Party Cruiser” cruises within Kaunas city limits and beyond (laivonuoma.lt).
3. Recreational and educational trips on the ship “Viktoria” (pramogu-laivas.lt).
4. Sailing on yachts, catamarans (plaukimasjachta.lt., laivainuoma.lt).
5. Boat trips “Vakare” (laivasvakare.lt).
6. Recreational flight on the plane “Amphibija” over the Kaunas Lagoon (aeropilot.lt).
7. Excursions (nemunastravel.lt, pipilakiojimai.lt, gerve.lt, ekskrisjosidomiai.com).
8. “Like Bike” cycling routes around various water bodies in the city of Kaunas (ikebike.kaunas.lt).
Photo of regiment Zakshensk.
