Lithuania

Is Lithuania safe to visit?

Yes. Lithuania is a calm, well-run EU country with a Level 1 US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary, and it rose 3 places to 24th of 163 on the 2026 Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary. We score it 81, just above Latvia (80). The main catch for visitors is not crime but disruption: balloons launched from Belarus have repeatedly shut Vilnius airport, and the Belarus border can close at short notice. Ticks are the health risk most people overlook.

Balloons, borders and Vilnius airport

Vilnius airport sits about 30 km from the Belarus border, and that has become a problem. Since October 2025, balloons carrying contraband cigarettes have drifted across into the airport's airspace. Reuters reported that the airport had closed more than 10 times by late January 2026; NPR reported that the closures had stranded thousands of passengers, and one lasted 11 hours. Lithuanian officials blame smugglers and accuse Belarus of a "hybrid attack" for not stopping them.

In late October 2025 Lithuania closed the Belarus border, and Belarus held more than 1,000 Lithuanian trucks in return. The crossings reopened within about three weeks. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says only the Medininkai–Kamenny Log crossing is open now, for private vehicles, with no scheduled buses, and it advises against all travel to Belarus. Poland has also brought back checks on its border with Lithuania.

The FCDO notes that some Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia have crossed into Lithuanian airspace, and Reuters reported several stray drones coming down across the Baltic states in late March 2026. None of this has targeted visitors. It does mean a flight to Vilnius can be held, diverted or cancelled at short notice, so leave slack before onward connections.

Crime: a big fall, still above Western Europe

Lithuania once had one of the highest homicide ratesHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary in the EU. Eurostat recorded 3.45 intentional homicides per 100,000 people in 2018 and 2.63 in 2024. The 2026 Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary says Lithuania has seen the world's largest improvement in how safe people feel since 2008, with the share who feel unsafe falling sharply.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary is blunter about theft: petty crime is common. Pickpockets work busy places and public transport, coats and handbags go missing in bars, and drinks have been spiked in Vilnius and at festivals. Tourist scams are less organised than the bar overcharging reported in Riga. Keep bags on you in bars, watch your drink, and use a taxi app or a registered, metered taxi.

Roads: much better than they were

ETSC counted 138 road deaths in 2025, or 48 per million people. That was 11% more than in 2024 but 43% fewer than in 2015, when Lithuania was among the worst in the EU. The rate is now close to Hungary's and above the EU average of 43.

Drink-driving used to be a big part of the problem. ETSC reports that drink-driving deaths halved between 2020 and 2024, after mass breath tests and a law change: driving over the limit now triggers a criminal investigation. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says the legal limits are stricter than in the UK. Do not drive after even one drink, keep dipped headlights on, and expect elk on rural roads at dusk.

Ticks, cold and the Curonian Spit

Healthcare in Vilnius and Kaunas is good, tap water is safe, and 112 reaches all emergency services. The overlooked risk is ticks. ECDC recorded 13.4 cases of tick-borne encephalitis per 100,000 people in Lithuania in 2022, the highest rate in the EU and about 16 times the EU average. CDC recommends the vaccine for travellers with a lot of outdoor exposure. Use repellent, wear long trousers in the forest and check your skin every evening.

Winters are cold and icy, and Baltic storms batter the coast in autumn. On the Curonian Spit, a UNESCO site of dunes and pine forest, swim only at guarded beaches and remember the southern half belongs to Russia's Kaliningrad region. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that walking south along the spit will eventually take you into Russian territory.

How we scored it

Natural hazards (86), violent crime (83) and health (83) are solid, with health held back by the EU's highest tick-borne encephalitis rate. Road safety (80) gets credit for a steep long-term fall. Conflict (80) and petty crime (75) are the weakest factors: balloon closures, a volatile Belarus border and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's plain warning about theft put Lithuania a little behind Estonia.