From Miles to Smiles Stylish travel for professionals seeking luxury at affordable prices
There are a ton of companies that will happily take you to Trakai Castle. The problem is, they will also charge you over the odds for the privilege. Most tours were charging around €25 per head, and it seems like a waste of money, when it is so easy to visit Trakai Castle independently.
Here’s my step by step guide to visiting the castle for around €10 each.
How to get to Trakai
From the bus station, take a Kautra bus to Trakai from stop 6 or 7. Buses are pretty frequent, take around 30 minutes and cost €1.80. There are even cheaper Toks buses, but I recommend the Kautra bus because it is quicker (30 minutes v 55 minutes), it includes free wifi and has a toilet onboard. You can book in advance or simply pay on the bus, and if you book a return, it costs just €1.44 for the return leg. Families also get 40% off.
Total cost for two on a Kautra bus thus costs €3.24 each
You can view the full timetable but please note, you will need to walk to the castle from Trakai bus station and it is about a mile. It’s pretty flat and the quaint village is worth the effort, but if you are worried about getting lost, download this map. If you have impaired mobility, taxis are available at the station and should cost little more than a few Euro each way.
Entering the castle
Entry to the castle costs €7 for adults and €3.50 for students (I knew that MBA course would come in useful some day!). Total cost for entry for two was just £10.50, and there’s a range of historical displays inside the main tower to keep you entertained for a few hours.
Our total costs
Travel and the cost of entry to Trakai cost us a total of €16.98, saving over €33 on the price of an organised tour.
Why visit Trakai?
A visit to Trakai makes a great day out from Vilnius, which can easily be reached from Doncaster Sheffield Airport with Wizz Air. You get to see a little of the countryside, and Trakai is a very quaint town reminiscent of a bygone age. The castle is sublime, and although it was only restored at the turn of the 20th century, it is a castle fit for any medieval princess.
I was in Lithuania last year and I didn’t have a chance to see this. I wish I would have known about it. I would have loved to visit this beautiful place.
Wow! I love how affordable this beautiful castle is to visit. I will have to make this a priority when I’m in Latvia! I love the red stone. Beautiful.
I simply love castles, and so it’s so easy to love Trakai Castle! The Romanesque design is enticing…especially it’s location next to water 🙂
You have provided us with a great way to save some cash and experience life here. We did not know this place existed so we are going to have to come back and see it. And you can go via WizzAir, that makes it more accessible!
Trakai Castle looks beautiful! I am planning a trip to Lithuania so will add the castle to my list. Good tips on making it cheaper – I always prefer to use local buses than organised tours.
I only had the chance to visit Vilnius, which I got to see more of Lithuania. This looks really nice.
The castle is lovely! I am a huge fan of visiting castles when I am traveling, the older they are, the better. Trakai looks stunning and I appreciate the tips on keeping it low budget.
Oh wonderful! I visited Trakai on a trip to Vilnius a few years ago, it was in December but we were lucky with the weather in that it was sunny and a good 10 degrees warmer than typical for that time of year. Trakai was very impressive!
Trakai looks stunning – and your tips are great. does Wizzair fly from other UK airports?
Yes they have a hub in Luton and then there is also Bristol plus a few others. Check them out. I love their planes! They are fun and funky and we only ever have good experiences