Lithuanian beachgoers seek more toilets and showers

Beachgoers along Lithuania’s coast want more convenient infrastructure, including public toilets and showers closer to the shore, while companies responsible for maintaining the beaches say vandalism makes it difficult to provide additional facilities, LRT reports.

Some beaches are expected to receive new facilities next summer. In Liepāja, however, toilets are available along the entire beach, meaning visitors do not have to go far when they need them.

“For example, there are toilets on the beaches in Liepāja. They are really, really lacking here, especially when you have children. It is very difficult,” one woman told LRT. She added that portable toilets were not particularly popular with children, although the situation was gradually improving.

Visitors interviewed in Karklė said infrastructure was also appearing on more remote beaches without lifeguards. “Benches have appeared, as have changing cabins, which were not there before. It is very beautiful,” one visitor said.

Palanga’s entire beach area has 40 public toilets, but their opening hours vary. Gediminas Valinevičius, director of the Palanga municipal services company, said access was limited primarily because of vandalism. He also noted that it becomes dark by around 11 p.m. and that toilets operating around the clock can be found near the pier, 100 to 200 metres away, where there is lighting and more people.

According to Valinevičius, Lithuanian beaches are much narrower than those in Latvia. When it is windy and the sea is rough, waves wash over the dunes, meaning toilets and showers cannot be installed everywhere. New cafés have been designed for Palanga beaches, and container toilets are planned near them. Showers are also being considered.

Klaipėda has permanent public toilets near all six of its largest beaches, as well as five more in Smiltynė. They operate around the clock, although visitors complain about cleanliness. Žigintas Narmontas, director of the Klaipėda Beaches company, said cleaners visit three or four times a day during busy periods, but toilets can quickly become dirty again while staff are working elsewhere.

Showers and additional toilets are also planned for Klaipėda’s beaches. Narmontas said connecting the beaches to utility networks would not be difficult, but preventing vandalism would be harder. A toilet in Giruliai was blown up, he said, while another at Second Melnragė was badly damaged this spring.

Visitors said they wanted toilets as close to the beach as possible. One woman from Šventoji said the toilets there were located some distance from the sea and that she would prefer them to be closer. Another visitor said showers and toilets would be especially useful after spending time in the sand.

In Neringa, eight public toilets operate in the beach zone: one each in Pervalka and Preila, and three each in Juodkrantė and Nida. Another eight toilets are located in the settlements.