Friday in Palanga: crowds and Katunskytė in the streets

Friday night on the main street of Palanga J. Basanavičiaus – a real commotion. There are so many people that it is difficult to see the end of the street.

The voice of the legendary performer V. Katunskytė is heard from one of the restaurants on J. Basanavičiaus Street. Around the restaurant – crowds of people. Whoever is sitting on the benches across the street, who is standing at the entrance of the restaurant, there are also a lot of people inside the restaurant.

The performer sings her most famous hits, lots of congratulations and wishes from the performer for anniversaries from the stage.

It is true that V. Katunskytė is not the only one acting in Palanga. On J. Basanavičiaus Street alone, you can count almost ten buskers playing guitars, violins, pianos or just singing, and there is also live music behind the closed doors of some hotels.

The hotels are full

On Friday morning, the Palanga hotels said they no longer had a single room available for the weekend. When checking the hotel’s occupancy at night, booking.com indicates that it is almost 90% busy this weekend. all hotel rooms.

Rasa Kmitienė, director of the Palanga Information and Tourism Center, says the summer season in Palanga is believed to have started in May, when restrictions on movement between municipalities were lifted.

According to the specialist, the number of vacationers in Palanga increased almost every week and almost regardless of the weather. It is noted that the weather is beginning to affect the number of tourists less and less. If the weather worsens, more and more people use the spa, go to the pools, take a walk through the pine forests or along the beach.

“We realized that the pine forests full of people apparently affected by the period of the pandemic, diseases or something like that sitting at home wanted to go for a walk in nature. The pine grove beaches of Palanga are the most wonderful place, where you can not only have fun, but also saturate your lungs with clean air ”, comments R. Kmitienė on tv3.lt.

But it is difficult to guess what the summer that has just begun will be like. It is not yet clear what the epidemiological situation will be in the summer, what limitations will need to be overcome.

“We hope that with the entry into force of the Green Passport in July, travel will become more active, not only outbound tourism, but also inbound tourism. We hope that Latvians, Estonians, Poles and neighboring countries will start to move. The situation will be a little more difficult with Belarus, but it is to be expected that the Russian guests will move to the Lithuanian coast. We also expect a lot for the Scandinavians, the Germans and all other countries, “says R. Kmitienė.

According to the interlocutor, most of the tourists came to the Lithuanian coast from Russia, Belarus, Germany, Latvia and Estonia. It is true that the top five are different each year.

It is estimated that most of the people who will be able to come here with their cars should come to the beach this year.

Traffic jams formed towards the seashore

On Friday, large traffic jams ran towards the seashore. It is reported that due to the works carried out on the main road near Kaunas, car traffic is restricted, resulting in car congestion on weekends and during rush hours.

Intensive road repair work is currently underway near Kaunas (91.36 km), the construction of a new bridge over the Neris (99.29 to 100.47 km) is being completed and the most dangerous intersection of the road network of national importance. Reconstructed viaduct and connecting roads under construction (from 102.90 to 107.00 km).

The SE Lithuanian Highway Administration (hereinafter referred to as the Highway Administration) asks drivers for patience and understanding, because due to weather conditions, the road construction season in Lithuania lasts much less than 12 months, and the time of Most active work often coincides with the travel season.

Reconstruction works are being completed on separate sections of the nationally important A1 Vilnius – Kaunas state highway and there may be traffic restrictions in several other locations. From Kaunas to Klaipėda, in order to improve the condition of the road surface and ensure the qualitative indicators of the road surface for this type of road, simple road repair work is also carried out on certain sections. The Highway Administration asks drivers to be vigilant, to respect speed limits and other traffic signs.

Travelers are advised to choose alternative routes to the coast. E.g. For those traveling in the direction Vilnius – Klaipėda, it is recommended to choose the road through Panevėžys, Musninkai, Jonava, Kėdainiai or other routes, without going through Kaunas.

For those traveling from Marijampolė to Klaipėda, a route through Šakiai is possible. On the A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda highway, near Kaunas, the average daily traffic intensity is the highest in Lithuania, reaching more than 50 thousand. cars per day.