There are several ways to get there.
Fly
Kaliningrad Hrabrovo Airport is not far from Kaliningrad. From there bus 144 goes hourly with stops heading in to the city center for 50 Roubles. Big spenders may use the Taxi service, which is more like 500 Roubles, paying at the desk at the airport. Ignore those who approach you in the airport, even if they have a name-tag saying Official Taxi in English.
From inside Russia Aeroflot, Rossiya, or Sky Express leaves from Moscow or St. Petersburg while airBaltic leaves from Copenhagen or Riga, Latvia and Air Berlin leaves from (you guessed it) Berlin.
Track
Let’s say, you don’t like flying. I know I don’t. What about the train?
Trains that go to and from Moscow use Moscow time. That’s different from Kaliningrad time. Beware! Check the current schedules because I can tell you that there should be a train going from Berlin everyday but is there? If there is, it takes 17 hours to get there.
If you are coming from Moscow, there is a much better chance. That will take 22 hours. From Minsk, only 11 hours, but who cares. From St. Petersburg (now there is a city!), 26 hours. Sure, you can get there from Kiev, Kharkiv, Murmansk and Chelyabinsk, but again, who cares. Trains from Black Sea resorts like Sochi (61 h) and Sevastopol (41 h) are for getting back home from vacation.
During the summer, a train called PKP leaves Gdynia and goes through Sopot and Gdansk before heading for Kaliningrad. At least, there was, check the website.
What About by Car?
Oh. You want to go by car? The good news is: the roads are good. The bad news? No signs. Maybe on a big road but in Cyrillic, of course.
Driving rules are similar. Unfortunately, Russians do not follow rules. Luckily, the traffic police will stop you because they like to stop foreigners and expect bribes. They may be able to give you directions, too.
It’s easy to get to Kaliningrad by car, from Poland or Lithuania. What is hard is getting across the border in less than 5 hours. If you find out why, let us know. Kaliningradskis find the bus goes through faster. Only 4 hours!
Catch a Bus
There are two companies that run buses from Gdansk to Kaliningrad. Zelenogradsk-Trans charges 50 Zloty or 500 Rubles, depending on which way you are traveling. You can buy tickets until 6 PM at the underground level of the bus station behind Gdansk’s train station. Maybe the bus driver has some to sell. The bus leaves Gdansk at 06:00, 15:00 and 17:00 from Platform 11 in Gdansk and arrive at Autobus Vokzal in Kaliningrad.
KenigAuto leaves Gdansk at 6:30 and 15:30 to Kaliningrad. Come back to Gdansk at 6:30 and 16:30. Price is also 500 Rubles. You can watch TV in Russian and drink free coffee. Buy your ticket in advance, seats are numbered. It leaves from another platform in Gdansk, further right. But in Kaliningrad, they leave from Moskovskiy Prospekt (where the company is located) or from the Train Station, not far from the entrance. Confused? It’s Russia!
You can also get there from Vilnius on a bus leaving at 13:15.
Float
In the summer, there is a boat service between Kaliningrad, and Frombork, Krynica Morska and Elblag, Poland. The Lithuanian Lisco ferries (http://www.lisco.lt) has a cargo ship departing Karlshamn (Sweden) on Tuesdays at 18.00 and on Saturdays at 16.00 arriving to Baltiysk (Russia, Kaliningrad region) 16 hours later. The ferry back from Baltiysk departs on Thursday at 1.00 and on Sunday at 23.59.
This ferry goes through Klaipeda (Lithuania) where you can board it as well, on Wednesday at 14.00 and on Sunday at 13.00 arriving to Baltiysk 8 hours later. The ferries are seasonal, so get details from the companies websites.
In Town
City has bus, minibus, trolleybus, and tram networks. The best way to explore the city is by bus. The public transportation system is very good. Fares are 12 rubles and the waiting time is short. Tickets on the buses are handed out by the conductors.
Taxis within the city may have meters, but most prefer to negotiate fares in advance. Minimum charge within the city is at least 100 Rubles, even for short distances.
Traveling Your Dream 