Located the furthest south of all the Baltic states, Lithuania’s sandy beaches, enchanting castles and cobblestoned towns combine to make this country an ideal place for geocaching — and now, it has the added distinction of being the latest addition to the geocaching country souvenir collection!
To celebrate geocaching in Lithuania, we’ve pulled together this list of five awesome geocaching experiences you’ll definitely want to add to your bucket list:
This EarthCache takes you to the most famous national park in Lithuania, which is also listed as a UNESCO site. Here you will find sand dunes and lush forests jutting out into the Curonian Lagoon.
Photo by geocacher bolyak.
“What a place. The true magic of nature showed here. And tonight’s lighting was perfect. A beautiful sunset in the west and glimmering lights from the cities in the east. The wind on our back walking upwards was perfect.” — Team Davidsson
Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius, is known for the city’s Old Town. Here you’ll find impressive architecture dating back to the 13th century, like the cathedral near this geocache. While you’re there, you might also want to check out GC1Z4H6.
The Vilnius Cathedral was first built in the 13th century, but has been rebuilt and restored many times since then.
“Wow wow wow! I liked this one very much. I didn’t expected it in such visible location, very well masked! Thank you for the great cache.” – SNlEGS
After visiting the Vilnius Old Town, you can catch a view from above at the Gediminas’ Tower, pictured in the new Lithuania souvenir. This tower has become a symbol for Lithuania.
From the Gediminas’ Tower, there are spectacular views of the famous Old Town in Vilnius.
“Found on our Baltic Cycle Tour with cb_caching. Wonderful place with fantastic panoramic view, best to visit in the morning sun…” – Geolej
This series of geocaches will take you on a tour of Lithuania’s border towns. Be sure to bring your passport, as some of the geocaches will take you into Lithuania’s neighbor countries, Russia and Belarus, which are outside of the European Union.
Photo by geocacher valdisj at one stop on the series, GC5CV3C.
“Thank you for guiding us to this church: when coming closer, we have noticed a professional orchestra was doing their final check for this night’s concert in this church. We used the opportunity to listen to Edvard Grieg’s music and went for the cache later.” – TheWinterClan
Visit the city of Kaunas to soak in Lithuanian art, culture and history. Be sure to make a stop at the Kaunas Grand TB Hotelto swap out a trackable!
Located nearby: the Kaunas Castle and another great geocache (GC58XD1).
“WOW! Once [the muggle] left, we found the key and opened the mysterious door. The geocache idea – amazing. Thanks to the hider for such an exciting treasure!” – Raccoons. Casimir
We’ll unveil one new souvenir every week until all FIVE are officially released and awarded by mid December. Learn about last week’s new souvenir announcement, Slovenia, here.
But good news: This year, we invite you to say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016 with two new geocaching souvenirs. Find a geocache or attend an event on December 31 to earn the Goodbye 2015 souvenir. Then, start your year off right with the Hello 2016 souvenir, which can also be earned by finding a geocache or attending an event on January 1.
How do I earn both souvenirs?
Earn the Goodbye 2015 souvenir by finding any geocache or attending an event on December 31, 2015.
Earn the Hello 2016 souvenir by finding another geocache or attending a different event on January 1, 2016.
Can you earn two souvenirs for one event if it starts on December 31 and ends on January 1?
Nice try. To earn both souvenirs, you’ll have to submit two different logs for two different geocaches and/or events, one on each day.
Can I schedule back-to-back events to earn both souvenirs ?
Nope! The geocaching guidelines prohibit event stacking. To avoid event stacking, Event Caches should be separated by time, organized by different geocachers, have a minimum duration of 30 minutes and take place at a different location than other events. Please check out the geocaching guidelines for more information about planning an Event Cache.
How do I throw a great New Year’s geocaching event?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check out this blog post for how to throw an awesome geocaching bash in 5 easy steps.
Whether you celebrate the new year by eating grapes (like in Spain), decorating your home (as they do in Japan), or geocaching (as they do all over the world), New Year’s is a time to remember the past year and welcome the next.
How will you say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016?
New Year’s is an opportunity to celebrate the end of one year and welcome the beginning of the next. While end-of-year traditions come in many shapes and sizes, celebrations around the world will all have one thing in common this year: geocaching.
We invite you and your loved ones to say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016 with two new geocaching souvenirs. Find a geocache or attend an event on December 31 to earn the Goodbye 2015 souvenir. Then, start your year off right with the Hello 2016 souvenir, which can also be earned by finding a geocache or attending an event on January 1.
Sounds like a good way to start your year off, right?
So without further ado, here are five easy steps to hosting a great New Year’s geocaching bash!
Step #1: Pick a theme.
Like creating a new geocaching username, all great Event Caches start out with a theme. Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:
New Year’s could be the perfect time for Signal the Frog to marry Signal the Frog.
Host a “DNF Forgiveness” party. In Japan, New Year’s is considered a time for renewal — for forgetting the problems of the past and forgiving any grudges or misunderstandings. Make your event a safe space for geocachers to move on from those DNFs that have haunted them in 2015.
Throw a muggle initiation party. Do you have friends who would love geocaching, but haven’t tried it out yet? Planning a New Year’s Event Cache can be the perfect way to get them started! Make the event both fun and educational, and invite your fellow geocachers to bring their non-geocaching friends too. Newbies can then get started by finding their first geocache the very next day.
Keep things warm & cozy. Plan a daytime event on January 1 at a coffee shop or cafe so that geocachers can warm up (or cool down) with a tasty beverage after finding their first geocache(s) of the year.
Step #2: Select the date and time of your event.
This is an easy one: plan your event for December 31 or January 1 so that it qualifies for a souvenir. In picking a time, be sure to think about your guests. If you’re encouraging families to bring young kids, you may want to plan your event earlier in the evening on New Year’s Eve or even schedule a daytime event on January 1.
Reminder: The geocaching guidelines prohibit event stacking. To avoid event stacking, Event Caches should be separated by time, organized by different geocachers, have a minimum duration of 30 minutes and take place at a different location than other events. Please check out the geocaching guidelines for more information about planning an Event Cache.
Step #3: Find your venue.
You can host Event Caches anywhere available to the public — a restaurant, park or even your house. But be sure to find a place that has enough space.
Step #4: Plan fun and engaging activities.
Have you ever been that person at a party who hovers awkwardly around the buffet? I sure have. A great way to make your event fun for all is to schedule activities that help your guests meet each other. Here are four ideas to get you started:
Set up a photo booth. This can be as easy as finding an area with a simple background. Have your guests share their geocaching resolutions for 2016 using this downloadable template and take a photo. (Don’t forget to then share these using #geocaching on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.)
Play the “geocaching predictions” game. Ask guests to write down their geocaching predictions for 2016 (e.g. “I will find my 25th T5 geocache” or “Moun10Bike will finally beat me to an FTF this year”) and throw them into a bucket. Take turns reading the predictions out loud and guessing who wrote them.
Geocaching bingo. Create a bingo card based on geocaching achievements (e.g. “Earned a new country souvenir” or “Found more than 100 geocaches”). Guests will need to find other geocachers at the event who have completed the achievements in 2015 to fill in their board.
Bake a lucky trackable into a cake. In Bolivia, coins are baked into sweets so that whoever finds the coin has good luck for the next year. Give your guests the gift of geocaching good luck by hiding trackables in the dessert. But maybe mention this to them beforehand…
Step #5: Invite friends, new and old!
Create a new event on Geocaching.com to have your event listed on Geocaching.com. (This will also qualify your event for the Goodbye 2015 or Hello 2016 souvenir.) Remember, events must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event date. Once your event has been published, share the event listing with your local geocaching organization and social media.
Whether you’re already a well-established social butterfly or a first-time attendee, geocaching events are a great way to meet new people who share your love for geocaching. We hope these tips help you host a rockin’ New Year’s geocaching bash and we’d love to hear your ideas too!
What tips do you have for throwing a great geocaching New Year’s event? Tell us in the comments below.
On October 11, you can earn a new souvenir for celebrating the geocaching game board. What’s that, you ask? The whole entire Earth!* All you have to do is go out and find an EarthCache on International EarthCache Day.
EarthCaches don’t have physical containers, but instead bring you to a unique location and teach you an earth science lesson. To make the find, you’ll have to check the EarthCache’s description and answer questions based on where you are.
If you’re using the free Geocaching Intro App, finding and logging an EarthCache is easy. You can just send your answers to the cache owner via Message Center. Visit the search page to find an EarthCache near you.
Set up a photo booth.
