Nida

The present town is 5 km south of the original settlement, engulfed by sand dunes in the 1730s. Replanting of woodland from the 19th century halted the dunes' advance.

This area has traditionally been German-speaking, part of Prussia from 1701. Its fishing village and haunting landscape of sand dunes drew artists in the 19th century, and in the 1930s it was the summer home of novelist Thomas Mann. That population was deported after the Second World War, and the Lithuanian communists turned it into a private holiday resort for party officials, a sort of Sandals Soviet Socialist Republic, so Nida was little developed and its old buildings preserved.

Coming from Klaipėda is the usual route; the city has trains and buses from elsewhere in Lithuania plus Riga.

How to use the ferry to get to Smiltynė on the Curonian Spit side, see Klaipėda.

By bus:

In summer buses run twice a day direct from Vilnius and Kaunas via Klaipėda.

Kopos Bus from Smiltynė runs year-round, connecting with the ferry and taking an hour to Nida. It carries bicycles and stops at Juodkrantė; also on request at villages such as Pervalka and Preila, but otherwise scoots by on the highway.

By car:

With your own vehicle, head to Klaipėda New ferry terminal (Naujoji perkėla) for the 10 minute crossing to Smiltynė, then follow Highway 167 down the Curonian Spit via Juodkrantė to Nida.

From Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia:

You can drive to Nida with the correct documentation for yourself and vehicle. Drive northeast up the spit from Zelenogradsk via Lesnoy, Rybachii and Morskoe.

1 Pogranperekhod Kurshskaya / Neringa border post is open 24 hours. There's no public transport here; bicycles may cross but not pedestrians. See Lithuania#Get in for the entry rules coming northeast: Lithuania is part of the EU Schengen Zone, but in 2023 bars entry to Russian citizens. See Russia#Get in for the rules going southwest: there's a special e-visa for Kaliningrad Oblast, free and quick to obtain, for citizens of 51 countries including most of Europe. Those ineligible for the e-visa, such as US or British passport holders, must go through the usual bureaucracy of obtaining a standard Russian visa. Either way, you must sort out your documentation before reaching the border, there is no "visa on arrival".

And don't lark about on the beach or in the water beyond the border fences, the guards will assume you're making a recce for an illegal crossing or smuggling run, and invite you in for a less-than-friendly chat. Most border transgressions are by small craft gone astray, or by ice-fishermen convinced the catch will be better just a few metres the other side.