๐งญ Lithuania: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Lithuania feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 106 written places.
Reserved at first and warm once trusted - small talk is skipped but sincerity is not.
โ Considered polite
- Bring an odd number of flowers if invited to a home - even numbers are for funerals
- Shake hands with direct eye contact, and hold eye contact when toasting
- Be on time - punctuality is read as basic respect for business and dinner alike
- Accept second helpings when eating with locals - refusing can read as rejection
โ Better avoided
- Shake hands across a doorway threshold - it is considered bad luck
- Give chrysanthemums or all-white bouquets - the first mean funerals, the second belong to brides
- Rush to first names - titles and surnames hold until you are invited past them
- Mistake the initial reserve for coldness - conversation warms quickly once you are known
๐ก Worth knowing
- Cards and contactless work almost everywhere - Vilnius buses even take a bank-card tap for tickets
- Tipping is around 10% in restaurants for good service, not an obligation
- Weekday lunch specials (dienos pietus) are the best-value meal in any city
- Big supermarkets open on Sunday and smaller shops close - museums rest on Mondays instead
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only list the kind of gear we would pack ourselves.
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.