It doesn't matter if you are an experienced traveler or if you are in Europe for the first time, you are quite capable of organizing your trip to Riga on your own. Without dwelling on the merits of the city, which we have written about many times, here are five stages of planning a trip on our own.
Time planning for a trip to Riga
Riga is a very popular city among tourists, it is visited by over a million guests a year, and the city hall plans to bring this figure to 1.5 million tourists a year. And this is with a population of 700 thousand inhabitants, that is, there are 1.5 tourists per one resident of Riga.
But all the same, we hasten to reassure you, even during the peak periods, tourists are absorbed in Riga and Jurmala in such a way that for Muscovites the city may seem deserted.
The best period to visit Riga is from May to August, as well as during the Christmas and New Year holidays. If you are planning a trip at this time - take care of hotel reservations and transport tickets 2-3 months in advance.
If you prefer a calm atmosphere, then we advise you to come in the second half of April, or from September to mid-October.
The tourist flow decreases, but the weather often gives warm sunny days. Plus, hotels at this time reduce their prices for accommodation, so you can save up to 30-50% of the summer room rate. Below we will share the secret of how to book a hotel in Riga most profitably.
Registration of an entry visa to Latvia
Latvia is included in the countries of the Schengen zone, which means that if you have a Schengen visa in your passport, you can skip this item - the road to Riga is open to you.
If you don't have a visa, you will have to apply for it.
We have described this process in sufficient detail on our website in the section ““, here you can read about the necessary documents, the procedure for filling out the questionnaire, etc.
We book a hotel in Riga
Yes, we start with the hotel.
There are several reasons for this - you can get to Riga by various means of transport, the number of only flights per day reaches five (Aeroflot, Transaero, Utair and Airbaltic). But there is still a train, a bus, a private car, finally. There are also a lot of hotels in Riga (about 200), however, in the high season, the occupancy reaches 100%. Finally, hotel reservations can be canceled, but plane tickets can be problematic.
With booking, everything is very simple, without further ado, it is enough just to go to one of the on-line services for booking hotels.
The risk at this stage is minimal, because no one forbids it later.
We plan how we will get to Riga
We have already done an overview of the most economical ways to travel, which you can read by following this link ().
In our understanding, the best solution is an airplane. With completely reasonable prices, you do not waste a night on the train (with a mandatory rise at three in the morning for customs control), do not waste your nerves crossing the border by car and do not shake on the bus for fifteen hours.
Getting ready and dreaming about the trip
The worries are over, it's time to plan your trip. To begin with, we search the Internet for travel guides around Riga.
You can't, there are sites, and so to download to your phone? And you don't want to buy books - carry them around the city with you later?
Well, it’s quite a reasonable desire, which we are meeting halfway - on our website you can download (and, free) four parts of the Riga City Guide -
No copyright infringement - the guide has been prepared by the site and we give you all the rights to use and distribute it! (just don't change anything in the text) In the near future, the fourth part will be released - "Riga - the pearl of Art Nouveau". We can promise that it will not be the last.
Finally, we have available advice on where and how to pay for parking .. oh, it's not good to praise yourself, so let's stop here and wish you an unforgettable vacation in the most beautiful city in the Baltics!
Don't let the rising currency rate scare you. If you plan your trip well, the trip will cost you a fraction of the cost. I was convinced of this once again during my last trip to the Baltic countries, now I am sharing with you my advice.
1. Buses between Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn for 3 euros
The capitals of the Baltic countries are connected by a bunch of bus routes with great service (toilet, heating, Wi-Fi and even free monitors).
The carrier SimpleExpress throws out 5 promotional tickets for each flight exactly six months before departure. Travel Vilnius-Tallinn, Vilnius-Riga, Riga Tallinn and back for only 3 euros.
There are also ongoing promotions in the bus companies LuxExpress, Ecolines, and Eurolines.
Discounts can be up to 70% and a ticket for an international route costs around 5 euros.
2. Discounts on railways and buses.
There is a 15% discount on Lithuanian railways when buying a round-trip ticket. Remind the cashier about this. In Latvia, travel by electric trains on weekdays during working hours is a quarter cheaper. Between Estonian cities it is better to travel by SuperBus. The ticket costs 2 euros (the cunning ones indicate the price in Eureka, but you can't get away from paying for the reservation).
3. Do not overpay for travel in cities.
The cost of travel in public transport for our money is crazy. For example, in Riga, a ticket when bought from a driver costs as much as 2 euros! However, the same ticket in the machine will cost you 1.15 euros. If you will use transport more than 4 times in 24 hours (from the date the coupon is broken through), then it is more advisable to buy a travel card for 5 euros.
In Tallinn and Vilnius, you should buy a special plastic card for multiple trips. They cost 2 and 1.5 euros, respectively. In the capital of Estonia, it can be returned (but only at the customer service center), Lithuanians do not return money.
4. Get free cards at tourist centers.
Each tourist information center provides a free paper map of a city, region or the entire country. As a rule, they are located in the main squares of cities, train stations and airports. Do not hesitate to ask travel agency workers about the events that take place in the city, free museums and where inexpensive but tasty food.
5. Business lunches, canteens and fast food.
On weekdays at lunchtime (usually from 11 to 15), many restaurants offer set meals (or business lunches) at a significant discount. For example, in the center of Tallinn in the Karja Kelder restaurant, minced meat soup (this is how it was presented to us) and the main dish (pictured) cost us only 3.7 euros.
There are still Soviet canteens in Vilnius. Lithuanian they will be Valgykla.
If the goal is to satisfy hunger, then in Riga fast foods you can buy a complex: burger, french fries and cola for 2.65 euros.
6. Where is it more profitable to refuel?
The cheapest gasoline among the three Baltic countries is in Estonia. A liter of the 95th costs a little more than euros. You will have to pay the most in Latvia. The difference in the price of fuel between states is within 10 cents.
7. No money for the museum and parliament.
There are a number of interesting museums where admission is absolutely free or the fee is purely symbolic. For example, these are museums of money at banks in Estonia and Lithuania. It's not boring here - it's very modern and interactive. You can even print your own money or treat yourself to a bank-branded candy.
Also in the Baltic countries there is a great opportunity to visit local parliaments. You can sign up for an excursion to the Lithuanian Sejm or the Estonian Parliament in advance.
Art museums in Tallinn have the so-called "One Euros of Wednesday". Entry once a quarter on Wednesdays for only 1 euro. Check the museum website before you travel!
Some museums have free admission with a press ID. And it doesn't matter if it's "Zhmerynsky worker" or "Forbes Ukraine". For example, in the interesting Maritime Museum Tallinn. Employees of other museums (including ours) also have a similar benefit.
8. Shopping from catalogs in supermarkets.
The lowest supermarkets in Lithuania. We're mad about their chocolate curds! Price from 0.2 eurocents. Citrus fruits - like ours. Please bring your promotional price brochure before entering the supermarket. Sometimes the discount can be up to 50%. Of course, everything that is cheaper is not worth buying, but in this way we bought ourselves delicious Riga sprats or double snickers with coffee in an IKI supermarket for 1 euro.
9. We book accommodation earlier.
We booked a hotel in Riga a couple of months in advance. In addition to discounts for early booking, we used a promotional code on the hotel website. Won over € 10 A friend of mine was using Airbnb. Had a private room in Tallinn for 9 euros.
I want to tell you how my friend and I ourselves, without agencies, visited the Baltics. I will not talk about the sights, only about the case. How to go yourself. This is my first independent trip.
At the time of our trip, such a tour of the three capitals of the Baltic countries cost 44,000 per person per week, but we got 23,000. Almost two days in each city. There is a difference!!! TIP: I always buy books from the Orange Guide series. A wonderful series. I take it with me on all trips when I go myself.
VISA. I must say right away that we decided to submit documents to the visa center. A little more expensive, but easier: if something goes wrong, they will still reprint the documents on their forms. For money. Documents are submitted to the embassy or visa center of the country where you will spend more time, namely nights, regardless of the sequence of visiting countries. We started from Lithuania, but we applied for a visa to the visa center of Latvia, because there were two days in Vilnius, but one overnight stay, and in Riga and Tallinn for two nights. The list of documents can be found on the websites. Along with the documents, be sure to bring copies of hotel reservations and copies of all tickets, insurance is required. Read carefully. For example, at the time of our registration, they did not accept hotel reservations from booking in Lithuania. Maybe something has changed. We booked on Hotels.com. There were not many people in the center, they handed over an hour and a half. We waited longer for the documents to be retyped. After 10 days my husband arrived and took the passports with visas. When submitting documents, you mark who will pick it up. Very comfortably.
MOVING BETWEEN COUNTRIES: we chose the bus. Tickets were booked on the website.
Very user-friendly site. Buses take 4 hours on average. There is not much to see on the road. The buses were empty. Maybe it's not a tourist season, or maybe so lucky. We chose the afternoon, left at 5 pm, arrived at 9 pm, slept, and in the morning with fresh strength to walk around the city. Hotels were chosen closer to the center and to the bus stations, so as not to spend extra money on the road ..
HOTELS. We chose inexpensive ones with the expectation of only spending the night. Breakfast.
VILNIUS. Arrived on an airBaltic plane. The plane is tiny: rows of 15, two seats across the aisle.
We flew perfectly. From the airport we took a bus to the Comfort Vilnius 3 * hotel. There are two hotels with a similar name in Vilnius and the locals misinformed us a little, but from the same hotel
to our extra 15 minutes on foot. Found. The hotel is small but cute. For a night or two, no more. There was not even a closet in our room.
We took only breakfast in all hotels. The food was decent, the linen was clean. All attractions are within walking distance. They did not spend money on the road anywhere.
We arrived in Vilnius at 10 am, the bus to Riga was the next day at 16.30. From the hotel to the bus station on foot 10 min. Almost two days were enough to see the main attractions and just walk around the city. But the review is not about that. Travel yourself, fear nothing.
RIGA. From the bus station to the hotel 4 * on foot 10 minutes. The hotel is very good. We got a discount when booking. Breakfast for slaughter, there was even champagne. There is no such breakfast in Turkish fives. Clean, quiet, 5-7 minutes to the center. The room even had an ironing board with an iron, kettle, tea, coffee. Bus to Tallinn at 17.00. Everywhere we went on foot, we did not spend on transport.
TALLINN. In Tallinn, from the bus station to the hotel 3 * by tram 10 min and walk 5 min. The hotel is not bad, but there is no shower tray in the shower, and water almost did not go into the hole in the floor and flooded the entire floor in the bathroom. But in a mock there was a mop, you know, with such an elastic band to collect water. But across the road is the Old Town and all the sights. Back to Moscow by airBaltic. By taxi 15 euros and in 20 minutes on the spot.
CONCLUSION: By yourself it is twice cheaper, you are your own masters, travel yourself and everything will be fine. We walked in all cities, I can’t say anything about the prices for transport.
- two countries and five cities.
Day 1. Moscow - Riga - Jurmala
I decided to start my journey from, to which I arrived by train (5 thousand re.). I love to travel by this particular type of transport, I like to look out the window and observe the cities, forests and fields flashing one after the other. I got into my compartment late in the evening, and the next morning I found myself in one of the most beautiful cities in the Baltic States.
I lived in a hostel for two nights in Riga Seaqulls Garret Hostel(60 EUR for two for two nights). As for the hostel, I will say that it was not the best choice - the beds creaked, they screamed outside the door, and terrible snoring was heard at night. Then I still had little experience + greed is my second nature. Now I am trying to fight this quality for the sake of comfort.
In general, you won't be able to relax in the hostel, unless, of course, you first stock up on earplugs. But the main thing is cheap and clean bed.
Leaving my things, I decided to postpone the inspection of the city until tomorrow, and on the first day of my trip to go to the famous resort city, which hosts the "New Wave", "Jurmalina" and other festivals. It's terribly interesting! We all think that Jurmala is a whole city, but no. This is one collective name for the whole coast, where such settlements as Dubulti, Bulduri, Lielupi and God forgive me, Stirnurags are located. But I went to Majori.
How did I get to Jurmala? Jurmala is located just 20 kilometers from Riga. The easiest way is by train, which leaves every 15-20 minutes from the central station in the direction of Sloka or Tukums.
The rest of the evening I spent in Riga, in the restaurant with cows "1221", which is located on "Blumenstrasse" - Tsvetochnaya street.
Day 2. Riga
Riga is a real medieval Europe, it is an old city on the cold Baltic coast. She is like a rich merchant's wife who guards her treasures. The city seemed to be frozen and does not want to change anything. This trip for me became like a journey through time.
All day I walked along the narrow streets of the city, ate in the best restaurants, went on sightseeing tours and fulfilled the "must visit" plan, which I wrote about.
Day 3. Trakai - Kaunas - Vilnius
Early in the morning I left Riga for a new country for me - Lithuania. I got there on a luxury bus, one might say a five-star bus with all the amenities. I alone had a whole chair on which the lunch lay. Before my eyes hung a TV, filled with films and music for every color and taste. And for all this I had to pay only some 1200 rubles.
It takes only three hours to get to Lithuania, but this trip was like a whole journey for me. Green fields, grazing cows and Lithuanian-Latvian villages flashed through the window. And it was so good! Look for bus tickets from Riga to Vilnius.
Upon arrival, I immediately checked into the hostel Jimmy jumps house(30 EUR). Cozy, not expensive, youth hostel, where in the morning you can make yourself a delicious breakfast with waffles.
Trakai is another reason to come to Lithuania for the weekend. This is a great travel idea for, shall we say, the May holidays. When they talk about the Baltic country, they first of all remember Trakai, a place that should be included in the "must see" list.
Trakai harmoniously combines an orange-colored castle; mirror surface of water; boats painted in the Lithuanian flag with fishermen sitting in them; quaint courtyards with ladybirds, hand-painted glass bottles. All this is complemented by sunny weather, spring mood and red tulips that grow everywhere here.
This is a wonderful place that harmoniously combines a castle, a mirror-like surface of water, boats painted in the Lithuanian flag and quaint courtyards with ladybirds, glass bottles, hand-painted with acrylics. All this is complemented by sunny weather, spring mood and red tulips that grow everywhere here.
Not far from Vilnius there is a wonderful town Kaunas, which has not yet been trodden down and untouched by crowds of tourists, which is definitely worth a look if you are in Lithuania.
Having returned to Vilnius, happy as an elephant, I quickly fell asleep. The next day promised to be fine and rich in pleasant impressions from walks in Vilnius.
Day 4. Vilnius
After exploring the city, it turned out that - this is an amazing place to relax during the May holidays. You even wonder how so many interesting things can fit in such a very small town.
We went to the Prie Katedros brewery, where we tasted local beer, climbed the Castle Hill, walked around the Old Town, examined all the painted houses in Uzupis.
We returned home by train Vilnius-Moscow (we paid 7 thousand per person for the compartment).
This route through the Baltic States turned out to be full and rich, we tasted a lot, and saw even more. For four days on the road, 38 thousand were spent for two, including travel, accommodation, meals and a couple of souvenirs.
