Dreverna’s success story: It was the end of the world, where even the road ends, now it reaches 10,000. guests per day

We visit Dreverna on a day when the sun shines in the morning and the wind rises and rains in the afternoon. Seems to do here during the rain?

“This is where the road ends”

L.Juknienė, who works at Dreverna Amusement and Recreation Park, which includes the harbor, camp, restaurant, and other coastal entertainments, smiles and offers to simply read a book at the camp house, overlooking the Juodkrante dunes. And its proximity, a speedboat ride takes less than 15 minutes.

“We started in May 2017: it was our first tourist season and then we opened.” Then there was the red square and the shed. Still, there was nothing else here. If we look at the cabins that are now in the camp, the view was like on the other shore now: a meadow, with a gravel path to the observation tower. I received an offer to work here at the end of 2016. My husband and I came to see him, I went up to the tower and said: after all, you understand that this is the end of the world, even here the road ends, ”Liudmila recalled at the beginning. of the project.

I received an offer to work here in 2019. in the end. My husband and I went to see him, I went up to the tower and said: after all, you understand that this is the end of the world, even here the road ends, said L. Juknienė.

Until then, the woman who worked in the municipality administration of the Klaipeda district admits that Dreverna was a completely unknown land for her: That was my opinion.

I started searching the internet for what is written about Drevern and came across a text “Delfi” titled “Only 7 km from Juodkrante – a complete anti-resort”. Then I told my husband that I have a master’s degree in tourism, that I don’t want to go to a complete resort to work. Another article was “I started a business in the dead end of Lithuania: if I could go back in time, I would never take it.” It was about a homeowner, the whole article was about a money funeral because there is nothing here and so on. That’s where we started. “

The square near the port and the port itself were built with the help of EU structural funds, the port is owned by the state. After receiving European support, the municipality promised to find a partner to manage the port, but several tenders had to be organized, there simply were no candidates. But in May 2016, UAB Hortivita won the Klaipitaciónda District Municipality concession tender and took over this territory.

Commit to invest 238 thousand. 2.5 million euros.

“The whole beautiful story and our first motto was: ‘Dreverna port is my love port’. It has its own prehistory: the owner’s wife, like me, graduated in tourism, wanted to dedicate herself to rural tourism. This is how they met in the port of Dreverna. A concession proposal was presented, “said L. Juknienė.

Under the concession agreement, the entrepreneurs promised to invest 328,000. euros Now, as L. Juknienė says, more than 2.5 million have been invested. euros to this area.

In the first year, in 2017, we accepted around 54 thousand. guests, 2018 – about 66 thousand. and 2019. During the inauguration, in one day about 10,000 visited us. visitors

“We are committed to creating six jobs, today we have more than 60, we are no longer counting. Only with myself, and I am the head of the Department of Tourism, I employ around 40 people, who have no restaurant, ferry, or water entertainment. During the year, we had to serve at least 5,000 people under the contract.

Already in the first year, in 2017, we accepted around 54 thousand, in 2018. – around 66 thousand. And in 2019, when we were celebrating the opening ceremony in May, around 10,000 people visited us in one day. Visitors Then the press wrote that the car accident in Drevern was about 15 km, “said Lyudmila about the commitments and the reality.

According to her, already at the beginning of the first season, she and her colleagues said that she was starting to create a success story for Dreverna: “It was our position and that’s why we presented ours. I can safely say that until this year we have not bought any item in any medium and they have spilled. We were both unexpected and we kept wondering where that success was.

In 2017, there was no restaurant, only the port, 12 houses, the “Gilija” ferry is slow. In comparison, the ship “Benas” now sails to Juodkrante for 12 minutes, “Gilija”, about an hour one way. The first articles were about the fact that those who cannot afford a vacation in Palanga or Neringa are offered Dreverna, there is no need to seek peace in Latvia, here is an escape from the hustle and bustle of Palanga. He hit us with self love. “

So far, the main guests are Lithuanians, focused on families. The cabins here are for eight people, suitable for families with children with playgrounds, a children’s port. There is also a swimming pool with heated water, two saunas, a Jacuzzi.

Good luck – news every year

The price during the season for two people is 80 euros, an additional person – 15 euros. You will hit the road and live in a cabin, says Lyudmila. In low season, the price for two is 70 euros and 10 euros for an extra person. November – two costs 60 euros. The season here begins on May 1. and ends on September 30. “We work all year, both in the restaurant and in the camp, only the boats do not sail because they are already elevated. The ferry goes up until September 1,” said L. Juknienė.

The investment will probably never pay off. This is not a store where you put sour cream, sell it, and you get 30 percent.

The quarantine also significantly adjusted the season in Dreverna: It didn’t start as usual since the beginning of May, but in June, when people were flooded, there were about a third more of them here than in June last year. However, even during the quarantine, the orders, as Lyudmila says, hardly lost, because on the weekends all the cabins reserved for the season were already in March.

“The investment will probably never pay off. This is not a store where you put sour cream, sell it, and you get 30 percent. The cabins are new, but they are constantly used, so you need to constantly invest, invest in inventory, its renovation, development. In the first year we had 12 houses, in 2018 – 18, last year – 31 houses and a swimming pool, this year we already have 34 houses, a SPA complex, a new bunk bed. In the restaurant, which opened in 2018, it was necessary to build an annex, to open a larger room. The vicious circle of who owns your house can tell you that it always has a cost. And here is a very large farm “, – called L.Juknienė.

According to her, success is also determined by the fact that the news appears here every year. And where is the view through the windows of the houses and from the terraces, to the Dead Dunes in Juodkrante. “The success story is because the whole family has to be here all the time, to do it, to breathe, to live it. So I am often asked who is the director here, I show the man who washes the pads. Or repair the ferry, “says L. Juknienė about the owners and managers of the company.

However, Lyudmila does not hide her desire for greater involvement from local businesses, as visitors want to park their car comfortably, buy smoked fish, and find some more entertainment.

Ethnographic farm

One of the attractions is the ethnographic farm of the worker Jonas Gižas in Dreverna. There we meet Daiva Buivydiene, Director of the Klaipeda District Tourist Information Center and Head of the Pomeranian Tourism Group. According to her, all the beauty of Dreverna that the guests see now started here.

“It just came to our attention then. Our idea in the municipality was that there should be a recreational marina and a place so historic that it allows activities to be carried out for others, to provide tourist services, and to live fairly well from there. In Soviet times, there were a fishing pier here, Dreverna had access to the Dreverna river, pointing to the river near J. Giza’s ethnographic farm, said D. Buivydienė. “After the collapse of the Soviet economy, the pier was privatized, the gates closed and such a beautiful settlement had to languish because its inhabitants could not engage in business and tourism. “

In 2003, D.Buivydienė prepared an application, which included a recreational marina, the current port, technical project, detailed plans – this was the beginning. “Then we made a reconstruction plan for this farm (which was donated to the municipality). The idea was that this farm would be like a historical attraction, and the business continues to develop. The municipality makes its contribution here, creates attractiveness, creates marketing projects here, and creates more conditions and does not hinder the development of business, “said the director.

According to her, this has become a real boost for the partnership between the public and private sectors: the municipality of the Klaipėda district has transferred the management of the already built port to the private sector, which is investing. “Then a very good result comes out. A true success story,” says D. Buivydienė bravely.

The farm of Jonas Gižas, a former shipbuilder, is the only one that has survived on the east side of the Curonian Lagoon. He built furnaces and other ships specifically for the lagoon.

There is no shortage of boats.

Today there is no shortage of ships in Dreverna and throughout Pomerania. Juodkrante, which is located on the other side of the lagoon, can be reached in just 12 minutes, this is the only time you take a high-speed boat.

But you can choose another route from another port. We sailed on the “Baltas” boat with Captain Igna Paulius from the village of Minija, most often called Minge, on the Minija River through Uostadvaris, Lake Krokų lankai, the Curonian Lagoon to Rusnė.

“We will see Cape Ventė, very far away. Nida, we will make such a large arc and scale the Pakalne River,” Ignas said on the route.

Although the sky threatened to be flooded with rain, navigation provided tranquility. You can look around, follow the eyes of white herons, swans, and flocks of smaller birds. Or listen to Igno’s stories, for which he still finds a moment while driving the ship.

When asked if everything related to shipping on shore is as easy as the mood to navigate, Ignas smiles. According to him, the sailing conditions should be improved, since the interest for pleasure on board is high, so the travel offer could be even higher.

This was also emphasized by L. Juknienė of the Dreverna Amusement and Recreation Park: the lock is not wide, the ships do not sail, therefore they cannot offer routes to the Mingė village.

“It is not allowed to distribute the lock, only the ships pass, the larger ships cannot. We cannot offer leisure itineraries so long that they are really fun, rewarding and sustainable. The entrance channels are problematic because they do not allow us to deepen them, the depth is only 1.2m, so we don’t get bigger ships with bigger drafts, we can just pass by, greet each other and sail to Nida with a sore heart that we can’t be here, “said L.Juknienė.

However, this is only one of the problems that does not hinder the main objective: that people go not only to the sea, but also to Pomerania. And know who he is.

The journalists’ tour to Minor Lithuania was organized by the National Tourism Promotion Agency “Travel in Lithuania”. The content of the article is not affected.