The tour will commence with a 40-minute drive to one of the must-see places in the area the Curonian Spit. The Curonian Spit is almost 100 kilometers in length, a curved sand dune that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic sea coast.
What's included
- English Speaking Guide
- Air-Conditioned Transportation
Highlights
Itinerary
08:00
The Curonian Spit is home to the highest moving sand dunes in Europe and is often chosen by the movie-makers as a place for filming. During the tour, you will learn how the Spit appeared here and what threatened its existence. The guide will tell you what the Vikings were doing here and what language was being used in the local population, the Kurs.
Your guide will help you try to resolve the phenomena of the Dancing Forest found here, it is known for its unusually twisted trees, you won’t hear the birds or see any animals here. There are several explanations of this – some seem to think it is down to biological reasons, others include secret developments and UFO.
The guide will show you the wooden steps which will bring you to the Epha hill with the best view of the dunes, lagoon and Baltic Sea. Find out how dunes devastated the local settlements and what is done to prevent soil erosion. After the tour, you will have some free time to take a walk or grab a snack with hot tea, make photos and purchase some souvenirs.
After the free time, the tour will proceed to Zelenogradsk, formerly known as the German name Cranz but was changed after World War II in 1946.
During the journey, your professional English-speaking guide will be talking about the many stories, legends, and history this destination has to hold, starting from the Viking times. The guide will be giving you information about the history of the Teutonic Castle and how the town became the main seaside resort in Prussia, due to the picturesque promenade and wonderful viewpoints.
Zelenogradsk is a town of cats, there are numerous sculptures and graffiti which the guide will point out during the tour of the town, there is even a special cat street light! The tour will continue to the water tower, built-in 1905 and now houses the cat museum Murarium, boasting the largest collection of cat memorabilia in Russia. There is an opportunity to climb the tower and enjoy the amazing views of the city from the very top…but be warned this climb is heavy going.
The tour will commence with a short drive to the city of Svetlogorsk, located on the Baltic sea. A cozy European-looking town formerly known as Rauschen, but renamed in 1947. The town became a holiday resort almost 200 years ago when it became popular with European visitors due to the seaside location.
During the panoramic tour of the city the guide will be pointing out the beautiful villas with towers built at the beginning of the last century, each of these buildings is surrounded by trees.
After the panoramic tour, there will be some free time to explore the area and the beautiful promenade. There are plenty of restaurants to take a coffee or shop for souvenirs before meeting back with the tour guide.
At the end of the tour, you will arrive back at the cruise ship in plenty of time for your cruise ship’s departure.