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A daily train links Warsaw & Vilnius for €25
You don't need to endure a bus! Until 2013 a comfortable daily train linked Warsaw with Vilnius with a change of trains at Sestokai on the Polish/Lithuanian border, where Polish standard gauge met Lithuanian 5' track gauge. This was cancelled in 2013 while the Rail Baltica project dug up the tracks, but in 2016 a cross-border Bialystok-Kaunas train started running over the new standard gauge Rail Baltica line. Since December 2022 a daily train service links Krakow & Warsaw with Kaunas & Vilnius as shown below, with integrated ticketing and cheap fares. From 2030 the Rail Baltica project is due to provide a 234 km/h standard gauge railway linking Warsaw, Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia.
Train times 2025
Remember that Lithuanian time is 1 hour ahead of Polish time. This service does not pass through any part of Belarus!
Check Polish train times for your date of travel at www.intercity.pl. Check Mockava-Kaunas & Kaunas-Vilnius times at ltglink.lt.
A regular train service links Kaunas & Vilnius in 1h30, check times at ltglink.lt.
Warsaw Centralna to Vilnius is 575 km (357 miles).
How to buy tickets
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Option 1, buy at seat61.transport-ticket.com
This is the easiest way to book. Seat61.transport-ticket.com has a direct connection to the LTG-Link (Lithuanian Railways) booking system, overseas credit cards no problem, you can pay in various currencies including €, £, $.
Booking opens 60 days ahead. Tickets can be printed out or shown on your phone.
It's powered by Distribusion, that's who you're buying from. It sells tickets at the official LTG-Link price with a trivial booking fee. Seat 61 gets a small commission when you book this way.
Tip: If tickets have sold out, check www.intercity.pl (Polish Railways) as PKP Intercity have their own quota of tickets.
Tip: You can check the Polish train formation, check car numbers & see which have WiFi, which are open-plan & which compartment-type using www.vagonweb.cz. Change cs to English upper left, then click Train formations, and search for Hancza.
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Option 2, buy at bilietas.ltglink.lt
You can also buy from Lithuanian Railways, in €. You can choose your seat on the Polish train from a seat map, the graphic shows 2 or 3 cars of the Polish train. Only the Polish train's car & seat number will be shown on your ticket, there are no assigned seats on the Lithuanian train. The LTG website initially refers to cars 1, 2 or 3. When you print your ticket it will show the correct car number, car 2 is really car 13!
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Option 3, buy at www.intercity.pl (PKP Intercity, Polish Railways).
Booking opens 60 days ahead. Tickets can be printed out or shown on your phone.
If you buy tickets at www.intercity.pl, you get a choice of sitting in a 6-seat compartment or in open-plan seating ('noncompartment') on the Polish train, and can request window seats. Some people prefer open-plan, a family or small group may prefer compartments. Only the Polish train's car & seat number will be shown on your ticket, there are no assigned seats on the Lithuanian train.
Tip: If both bilietas.ltglink.lt and www.intercity.pl have sold out, try booking Warsaw-Mockava at www.intercity.pl then Mockava-Vilnius at bilietas.ltglink.lt. Each operator may still have availability on its own train if you book each train separately.
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If you want to go 1st class
Only 2nd class tickets are sold for the whole Warsaw-Vilnius journey, but both Polish and Lithuanian trains offer 1st class. 2nd class is absolutely fine, there isn't a huge difference between classes, but on the Lithuanian Mockava-Vilnius train 1st class gets you an assigned seat and complimentary water, chocolate brownie and a coffee. If you want to go 1st class, here's how:
Step 1, book Warsaw to Mockava (or vice versa) in 1st class for 131 zlotys (€30) at the Polish Railways website www.intercity.pl.
Click EN for English top right. Booking opens 60 days ahead.
Book Warszawa (Dowolna stacja) to Mockava (LT). Find & select the direct train, scroll down, change second class to first class.
At the time I write this the 1st class car is car 11, your reservation should be in that car. You can check at www.vagonweb.cz, change cs to English, click Train formations & search for Hancza.
Step 2, book Mockava to Vilnius (or vice versa) for €21 at seat61.transport-ticket.com or the Lithuanian Railways website bilietas.ltglink.lt.
Booking for Lithuanian domestic journeys only opens only 30 days ahead, but there won't be any problem if you book as soon as it opens.
In 1st class, seats are assigned and on bilietas.ltglink.lt you can select one from a seat map.
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Taking a bicycle?
You can add a bicycle to the booking for €10 at bilietas.ltglink.lt. Bike places are limited.
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Interrail & Eurail reservations
To make passholder reservations for this route, see the Poland>Vilnius or Vilnius>Poland sections on the Interrail/Eurail reservations page.
Route map
What's the Polish train like?
The Polish train between Krakow, Warsaw & Mockava is a modern air-conditioned Intercity (IC) train called the Hancza, with 1st & 2nd class seats, reservation compulsory. The train will be shown on the departure boards at Krakow & Warsaw as going to Mockava. The Hancza is named after a lake in the Suwalki region.
The Hancza has a restaurant car, treat yourself to a Polish breakfast & lunch going east, dinner with wine or beer heading west. Cash & cards accepted.
The 2nd class cars are a mix of cars with open-plan seating and one car with classic 6-seat compartments. The 1st class car is a compartment car with side corridor and 6-seat compartments. Luggage goes on the racks above your seat (all cars) or (only in the open-plan cars) racks at the car ends.
There are power sockets at all seats, but no WiFi in the direct Krakow-Warsaw-Mockava 2nd class cars. If you need WiFi, simply walk back along the train to the 2 or 3 extra cars attached to the rear of the train between Krakow, Warsaw & Bialystok as these cars should have WiFi.
The stops at Bialystok and Suwalki (where the locomotive runs round the train and the train changes direction) are long enough to stretch your legs on the platform.
The Intercity Hacza about to leave Warsaw Centralna for Mockava. Click the interior photos for larger images.
You can select a 2nd class seat in a classic 6-seat compartment (above left) or an open-plan car (above right). Most travellers prefer open-plan seating, but if you're a family or group of friends you may prefer a compartment.
Restaurant car on the Warsaw to Mockava Hancza. I recommend the Polish Breakfast eastbound (above right), a sort of tasty ham-and-cheese omelette. For lunch eastbound and dinner westbound, try the wonderful zurek soup and the kotlet schabowy (schnitzel). Or just go along for a coffee or beer!
The 1st class car on the Hancza has classic 6-seat compartments, a little wider than the 2nd class ones.
What's the Lithuanian train like?
The Lithuanian train between Mockava & Vilnius is a modern air-conditioned Pesa 730 train, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesa_730M. It's air-conditioned with comfortable 1st & 2nd class seating, drop-down tables, toilets, large luggage racks, free WiFi, wheelchair space and accessible toilet, see virtual tour at traukinyje.lt/pesa730ml.
Hot & cold drinks (including an excellent bean to cup latte or cappuccino), snacks and sandwiches can ordered from a menu and brought to your seat by the train staff working out of a small catering compartment. You sit where you like in 2nd class, but 1st class seats are assigned. The 1st class fare includes complimentary water, chocolate brownie and coffee.
Easy cross-platform change at Mockava: In the photo above, that's the Polish standard-gauge train on the left, just arrived from Warsaw. You step off, cross the platform to the Lithuanian train on the right, running on Lithuanian-gauge track. Photo taken looking towards Warsaw. There's not a lot at Mockava!
The Lithuanian train arrived on platform 1 at Vilnius station, right on time!
Vilnius railway station, beautifully restored.
VIP lounge at Vilnius station
The VIP lounge at Vilnius station offers a peaceful environment with chairs, tables & free WiFi, with hot drinks & snacks to buy, open at all times the station itself is open. You can use the lounge for up to 2h before or after your journey if you pay €4 for lounge access on top of your Vilnius<>Warsaw booking, assuming you book using the LTG link website or app. Lounge access is included with a Mockava-Vilnius or 1st class ticket. More info at ltglink.lt.
Hotels in Vilnius
Hotels are cheap by western standards, with good hotels often under £100. Here are several recommended ones within easy reach of the station:
Grotthuss Boutique Hotel (above): At the affordable end, the highly-rated Grotthuss Boutique Hotel is in a historic building on a medieval street in the old town, just 11 minutes walk from the station, see walking map. I found this hotel delightfully quirky, I had a large room with old-school comfort (above right), the exact opposite of all today's corporate chain hotels. The hotel has a small wine bar next to reception, a welcome feature!
Shakespeare Boutique Hotel: Or try the Shakespeare Boutique Hotel, housed in a renovated 17th century palace in the old town 50m from Cathedral Square, also with great reviews. It's a 26-minute walk from the station, you may want to take a taxi!
Astorija Hotel (above): At the more upmarket end, the Radisson Blu Royal Astorija Hotel gets great reviews and is just a 13 minute walk from the station, see walking map. A classic building dating from 1901, today the hotel comes complete with indoor swimming pool.
Relais & Châteaux Stikliai Hotel: The Relais & Châteaux Stikliai Hotel is also in the old town in a historic building with Baroque and Gothic features, 18 minutes walk from the station, see walking map.