Road freight inside Lithuania: distances, driving times and rules

Distances and driving times between five Lithuanian cities

By road, Klaipėda is about 215 km from Kaunas, 310 km from Vilnius, 175 km from Šiauliai and 240 km from Panevėžys. Kaunas and Vilnius are about 100 km apart. At an assumed average of 60 km/h, a truck needs about 5 h 10 min of driving from Klaipėda to Vilnius.

The distances come from one route planner, OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, from city centre to city centre, checked on 19 October 2026. Klaipėda, Kaunas and Vilnius lie on the A1 road, which carries most of the distance between them. A truck can take another route, and the address in each city changes the distance.

The driving times are our estimate at an assumed average of 60 km/h, the same as in our guide to road freight transit time. On the A1 motorway a truck can be faster, and towns and junctions make it slower. The times leave out loading, unloading, breaks and traffic. At this speed, only Klaipėda to Vilnius and back needs more than 9 hours of driving. Use the times to compare routes. They are not a delivery time.

Same-day delivery from Klaipėda to Vilnius

Same-day delivery from Klaipėda to Vilnius fits the EU driving rules when loading starts early. Under Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, one driver may drive 9 hours a day, or 10 hours twice a week. At an assumed 60 km/h, the trip to Vilnius takes about 5 h 10 min of driving, so the truck can unload in the afternoon.

The European Commission states that the rules cover national as well as international road haulage, so a load inside Lithuania follows them too. After 4.5 hours of driving, the driver takes a break of at least 45 minutes. A daily rest of at least 11 hours ends the day. Our guide to road freight transit time shows how the rules turn longer distances into days.

In our illustration, loading in Klaipėda starts at 07:00 and takes 1 hour. The truck leaves at 08:00. After 4.5 hours of driving, the driver takes a 45-minute break at 12:30. The truck reaches Vilnius at 13:55, and the receiver unloads it in 1 hour, by 14:55.

At 14:55, the driver has 3 h 50 min of the 9-hour limit left. The return to Klaipėda needs about 5 h 10 min more, so the driver finishes it after the daily rest. The illustration is not our delivery time. We confirm the time for your date.

Loading at Klaipėda port terminals and warehouses

Loading at a Klaipėda port terminal or warehouse starts at the time the site gives the truck. Waiting at the dock uses the driver’s working day, which ends in a daily rest of at least 11 hours. A long wait in the morning can move a delivery in Vilnius to the next day.

Ask the terminal or warehouse how it loads trucks before you book. If the site works with booked time slots, send us the slot. If it loads in order of arrival, send us its opening hours. We then plan the truck for that time.

RNJ Transport plans these loads from its office at Šilutės pl. 105A in Klaipėda. For a pickup at a terminal or a warehouse, send us the details below.

• The name and address of the terminal or warehouse
• The pickup or release reference that the site needs
• The booked slot, or the opening hours if the site has no slots
• Any document the driver must show at the gate
• The number of pallets, their size and the gross weight

Weekends and public holidays in Lithuania

Article 123 of the Lithuanian Labour Code lists the public holidays, and on these days people usually do not work. A load that should arrive on a holiday or at a weekend needs a receiver that is open. Ask both sites about their closed days and weekend hours before you book the truck.

Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day never fall on a weekday. Drivers need a weekly rest too. Under the EU rules, a driver takes a weekly rest after six working days. It lasts 45 hours in a row, or 24 hours every second week.

Full truck or part load inside Lithuania

A full truck carries one shipper’s goods direct from loading to delivery. A part load shares the truck with other goods and stops for them on the way. The longest route in our table takes about 5 h 10 min of driving, so a full truck can load and deliver on the same day when both sites are open.

A standard curtainsider trailer takes 33 euro pallets on about 13.6 loading metres and carries about 24 tonnes. Our guide to part loads and full trucks explains the half-trailer rule for this choice.

Inside Lithuania, RNJ Transport carries full loads. Our own 2 MAN TGX trucks with curtainsider trailers mostly run between Lithuania and Sweden and take domestic loads when they are free. Otherwise we book a checked partner carrier. You get one contact person and one invoice, whichever truck carries your goods. For a few pallets, ask us which option fits.

Documents and road charges inside Lithuania

A load inside Lithuania is outside the CMR Convention, which covers carriage between two different countries. Article 6.808 of the Lithuanian Civil Code says that a consignment note (važtaraštis) or another document confirms a contract of carriage. Agree with us before loading which document travels with the goods and who signs it.

Tell us the value of the goods when you book, so we can talk about cover before the truck leaves.

From 1 January 2027, Lithuania charges trucks a road toll for each kilometre on toll state roads. The Via Toll system replaces vignettes for vehicles of categories M2, M3, N1, N2 and N3. The Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA) set the rates by vehicle class, number of axles and emission class. The truck operator pays the toll.

From 2027, a longer route on toll roads means a higher road charge for the truck. Road tolls are included in the fixed price we agree with you, and you get one invoice.

Booking checklist for a load inside Lithuania

Send these six details with your request for a load inside Lithuania. Each one changes the truck, the time or the price. With all six, our team can plan the truck under the driving rules and confirm the loading and delivery times for your date.

1. 1

   Route and dates

   The pickup and delivery addresses, the loading date and the latest delivery time.

2. 2

   Load size

   The number of pallets, the pallet size, the gross weight and whether the pallets can be stacked.

3. 3

   Site times

   Opening hours, booked slots and closed days at both ends, including public holidays.

4. 4

   Port details

   For a Klaipėda terminal: its name, the release reference and the time the goods are ready.

5. 5

   Document

   Which document travels with the goods, and who signs it at loading and at delivery.

6. 6

   Value of the goods

   The value of the goods, so we can talk about cover before the truck leaves.