Kayaking the River Vilnele, Vilnius

Madeleine Knight
Sep 14, 2016
2 min read

From beginners, Kayaking the River Vilnele can be exciting and quite challenging, for enthusiasts it can be a relaxing ride - or there is the option to kayak the river at night!

For this activity we chose to go with Pipiro Baidares. The guy who met us was prompt and full of useful information for us novice kayakers. We met in the centre of Vilnius at around 4pm on the road Upės g. (as shown on the map below), where we left our car and were driver about 20 minutes out of the city. With paddles and lifejackets at the ready, you are set free onto the river, which begins with a slow pace along a river lined with trees. The rive can be very shallow at times - especially during the summer months - and so you have to keep a constant watch for underwater rocks and shallow sections. There were a couple of times we had to actually get out the Kayak and push as we were totally grounded!

As you paddle along there are quite a few fallen trees to navigate, from overhead branches to submerged tree trunks, which can be exciting and quite challenging. There are also some fast moving sections of water that bring quite a thrill and sense of accomplishment as you get a little soggy and have a lot of fun!

About half way through you will reach Belmontas. This absolutely beautiful restaurant is situated right on the river and does some amazing traditional Lithuanian food, and beer! At this point you do have to exit the kayaks and carry them a few meters, to pass the waterfall there.

After this small break, there is another hour or so of scenic paddling, before you begin to come into civilisation. You will find yourself floating past Vilnius Academy of Arts and Gediminas Tower, then onto the main section of the River Neris where you'll paddle under the Mindaugas, White and Green Bridges that connect each side of the city. Finally, you will be met by the guy who drove you earlier in the day, at a pre-determined spot right in the centre of the city - conveniently close to where you parked your car!

We arrived back in the city around 8:30pm, and luckily had three GoPro's with us (this is what happens when photographer/videographers get together) for the beautiful sunset! See the video of our adventure below!