Vilnius Day Trip To Dzukija national park Including Grutas Park
Description
Take a full-day tour from Vilnius to Merkine and nearby attractions. Explore parts of Dzukija National Park, located at the confluence of the Merkys and Neman rivers, and see highlights such as the Pyramid of Merkine, Cepkeliai Marsh, Grutas Park, Liskiava Monastery Ensemble, and Druskininkai.
Tour Options
Itinerary
After morning pickup at your accommodation in Vilnius, your guide takes you on the 1.5-hour drive to Merkine. Upon arrival, head to the Three Crosses area, which acts like a gateway to the dome and pyramid. Proceed to see the dome and Pyramid of Merkine, which was built in 2002 by a local man as an act of spiritual inspiration.
Next, continue to Cepkeliai Marsh, the largest swamp in Lithuania and part of Dzūkija National Park. Explore the marsh on foot with your guide
Grutas Park (Stalin’s World), a sculpture garden of Soviet-era statues along with playgrounds and cafes. See statues of Lenin, Marx, Stalin, and other figures, set among the green gardens. Have lunch either in Marcinkonys village or Grutas Park, then go to the Liskiava Monastery Ensemble, an architectural gem from the 18th century. Finally, stop in the spa town of Druskininkai before returning to Vilnius in the evening.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Guest accommodation in Vilnius
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Reviews(2)
This tour was extremely very poorly organized and highly unprofessional. For me, the main reason for taking it was visit to a swamp in Dzukija national park. As it happened, my guide/driver has never been there before (according to his own words) and was unable to find it. The only information he had about the location of the boardwalk over the swamp was google map on his phone. So we spent more than an hour driving aimlessly back-and-forth over country roads before we finally hit - but pure luck - the actual location. While driving to the national park, we were passing through some remote villages and I was impressed by old wooden houses in one of them, so I asked the driver to stop so I could take pictures. He then told me that he could show me a well-preserved ancient village full of old wooden houses. I said that I would like to see that instead of the monastery that was on the original list. So after Dzukija we drove for some 40 minutes to some random modern village with no ancient buildings at all. I was absolutely shocked, and when I asked the driver why he took me there, he provided some confusing explanation how that village had "interesting constitution" (!!??). By that time it was too late and it was time to go back to Vilnius. All in all, I lost more than half a day of this rather expensive excursion because of him getting lost and then taking me for unspecified reasons to that stupid village that has absolutely no interest of any kind at all. Go figure! Next time a see a tour organized by Vilnius City Tours, I know what I'll do: AVOID!!!
Thats so sad to hear that our beginner guide did fail. Thank you for the honest review, it will definetly impact that we will not use his service anymore.
<p>Giedrius was a very flexible and accommodating guide, taking us to everything we wanted to see in about 9 hours. We especially enjoyed going to the Merkine Museum to learn more about my husband's heritage in Lithuania. The water sampling and cable car ride in Druskininkai was fun, the Pyramid of Merkine a bit eerie and Grutas Park definitely unique! Giedrius customized the trip so that I did not have to climb too many stairs due to my hip injury. Fantastic day.</p>
