Is it still cheaper to spend holidays in Lithuania?

After surveying hotel prices in Lithuania’s prime resorts, DELFI reports that spending a weekend in mid-August weekend at Trakai could set you back €154 (Trakai Argo hotel), but if you are looking for something even fancier, there are offers of up to €450.

A double room at a four or five-star hotel in Palanga on the Baltic coast can cost anywhere between €190 and €640 for a weekend, while accommodation in Nida, a resort on the Curonian Spit, could cost between €158 and €580.

Prices in France’s Côte d’Azur or by the Lake Como in Italy are not much different. For example, a summer weekend at a four-star hotel in Nice would set you back about €340, while in Spain’s Valencia comparable offers vary between €176 and €253.

Linas Žabaliūnas, president of the Lithuanian Rural Tourism Association, says that the relatively high prices have to do with the short season in Lithuania, which means that hoteliers must make their revenue during a shorter period, while the costs of maintaining infrastructure are nearly the same as in Southern Europe where tourist seasons last nearly all year round.

Moreover, he says, spending holidays in Lithuania is still cheaper for locals if one takes into account travel fare to Italy or Spain.

“Sure, you could get comparable quality for the same price in Italy, but you need to get to Italy, which takes two additional days of travel,” Žabaliūnas says. “Whereas here, you get into your car after work and, an hour later, you’re stretching your legs on a lake with quality accommodation, good internet connection, enjoying peace and quiet.”