- Place
- Smiltynė, Klaipėda City Municipality
- Region
- Curonian Spit
- Type
- working yacht and motorboat marina, sailing base, hotel, and event complex
- Address
- Smiltynės g. 25, Klaipėda
- Coordinates
- 55.69743, 21.11909
- Visit duration
- 30-60 minutes to view the harbour setting; allow separate time for a stay, event, or boat service
- Best time
- a bright morning or evening in the warm season, when more yachts are in the basins; check specific service hours in advance
Klaipėda Yacht Club, Smiltynė Marina, Smiltynės jachtklubas
Two basins between the lagoon, pines, and city port
The map pin at 25 Smiltynės Street marks a complete working complex, not a single pier: two sheltered marina basins, pontoon berths, boat-service areas, a hotel, and event spaces. For a land-based visitor it is a short stop to observe the sailing environment of the Curonian Lagoon; for a sailor it is a marina with defined mooring and technical services.
A dense rhythm of masts, white hulls, and orange mooring buoys makes the site easy to recognise. Low flat-roofed buildings line the shore, with grey metal galleries and stairs and occasional accents of bright orange brick, while Curonian Spit pines rise behind them. Across the lagoon are the structures, ferries, and cranes of Klaipėda's industrial port.
That contrast defines the place: a quiet yacht basin meets a working seaport, and late twentieth-century architecture meets the protected landscape of the spit. Smiltynė Yacht Club is nevertheless neither a museum nor a public waterfront promenade. View it only from outdoor areas open at the time and do not cross barriers.
The 1929 club and the 1936 Smiltynė base
Sailing history in Klaipėda predates the present complex. VLE dates the city's first sailing regatta to 1869 and describes Memeler Segel-Verein, founded in 1884, as Lithuania's first sailing club. The Lithuanian Klaipėda Yacht Club traces its formal foundation to 13 February 1929.
The club's foundation and the opening of its Smiltynė base are separate milestones. Yachts remained on the city side of the harbour until 1935; in 1936 they moved to a newly prepared basin in Smiltynė, where a yacht hangar was built. A sailing school also opened in Klaipėda that year and operated for two years. The current operator can therefore reasonably describe the Smiltynė tradition as dating from 1936, but that does not replace the club's 1929 foundation date.
Lithuanian sailing activity here ceased after Germany seized the Klaipėda Region in 1939. Klaipėda Yacht Club was re-established in 1946, and a regatta returned to the Curonian Lagoon in 1947. These are documented milestones in organisational and sporting continuity, not legend.
The 1973 complex and revived boathouses
A Klaipėda City Municipality study states that the yacht club expanded substantially in the early 1970s. The main club building and hotel, designed by architect Algimantas Zaviša, were built in 1973 together with several utilitarian structures. A new pier followed in 1987.
After a long decline and infrastructure reconstruction, boats returned to the basins in 2014. In a further phase from 2015 to 2017, the hotel was refurbished and some smaller boathouses were adapted as apartments while retaining their low scale, fragments of brick and reinforced concrete, and connection to the marina basins.
The site should therefore be understood neither as an unchanged 1936 yacht club nor as an entirely new resort. It is a layered sporting, technical, and hospitality complex where an interwar sailing location, 1973 architecture, and twenty-first-century adaptation overlap.
A working 65-berth marina
The official marina site lists 65 berths for yachts and motorboats from 3 to 15 m long. Basin depths are given as 2.5-3.5 m and the entrance depth as 3.8 m. The marina accepts and stores boats year-round, with water and electricity at berths, sewage pump-out, lifting services, showers, toilets, laundry and drying facilities, and winter storage.
Skippers are given the position 55° 41.847 N, 21° 07.250 E, VHF channel 68, and 156.425 MHz. These details are for navigation and contacting the marina, while this page's land pin marks the complex itself. Contact the harbour duty officer before entering to confirm a berth, depth, and conditions that day.
The marina's internal rules restrict walking in pontoon-berth areas to registered marina users who meet the operator's requirements and their guests. An open gate does not imply unrestricted passage. Mooring, lifting, and repair operations take priority.
Hotel, restaurant, hours, and prices
A three-star hotel operates on the site with rooms and apartments, conference halls, a children's playground, and bicycle hire. The official hotel page mentions a restaurant terrace overlooking the harbour, but separate off-season information clearly states that the restaurant closes in winter. Confirm the day's food-service hours and whether non-residents are accepted before travelling.
On 14 July 2026, the detailed hotel terms listed check-in from 16:00, check-out by 12:00, and seasonal reception hours of 9:00-20:00. The harbour duty officer hands over keys after that time, but late arrival must be arranged when booking. The official pages also display a broader 24-hour service icon, so rely on the detailed booking terms and direct confirmation.
There is no single attraction ticket or price list for the entire complex. Accommodation, events, food, mooring, and technical services are charged separately. On the review date, the marina website offered a link labelled as a 2026 price list, but the downloaded PDF itself was headed 2025, so no amounts are repeated here. Confirm the current rate with the hotel or marina office.
Getting there and nearby stops
The Curonian Lagoon separates Smiltynė from central Klaipėda. The Old Ferry Terminal is most convenient for pedestrians and cyclists, followed by an approximately 15-20 minute walk south along Smiltynės Street. Cars cross at the New Ferry Terminal, which lies south of the yacht club.
Ferry schedules and fares can change with the season, day of the week, and weather, so check both crossings on the operator's official site on the day of travel. Hotel guests park free in the hotel's car park, but a day visitor should not assume that every space on the premises is public parking. Follow signs and staff instructions.
Continue a short visit north toward Smiltynė Kurhaus, the Albatross Monument, and the Lithuanian Sea Museum, or walk through the pine forest to Smiltynė Beach. Supervise children beside the water, do not climb on mooring equipment, and keep marina work routes clear.
