Travel to Riga
You can choose beetween a number of options if you plan to visit Riga.
By plane
The main airport of Latvia is in Riga, 7km (4 miles) from the city (travel time 15-20 minutes). Bus no. 22 runs every 20-30 minutes to the city centre. An express bus service goes to various hotels in the city. If you are a visitor from Europe, you'll most likely arrive to Riga, if you come outside of Europe, you'll most likely have to make a connection in a European capital, like London, Munich or Barcelona. Intercontinental direct flights are available from New York, Tel Aviv and Dubai. The airport of Riga offers a large number of services, like car rental, travel agencies, post office, bank, restaurants, and shops. Many airlines offer services to Riga: Air Baltic, Ryanair, EasyJet, Uzbekistan Airways, Aer Lingus, Aero Airlines, Aeroflot, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines, Finnair, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines System, Turkis Airlines.
You'll find regular international flights to/ from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kiev, Köln, London, Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Minsk, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, St. Petersburg, Rome, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Tampere, Tashkent, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Vilnius and Warsaw.
By car
Riga has good connections to the surrounding countries. The Via Baltica runs north-south from Tallinn to Warsaw through Riga, Vilnius and Kaunas. The Via Hanseatica runs from Berlin to Riga through Gdansk, Kaliningrad and Siauliai. Corridors also run east-west, linking Riga to Moscow, Ventspils, Liepaja, Vitebsc and Pskow. The A2 northeast from Riga leads to Cesis. Car rental is available in all of the larger cities, airports.
You will need a valid driving license, automobile registration card and the vehicle insurance documents (including Green Card).
Permitted speeds:
50 km/h - within built-up areas
90 km/h - outside built-up areas
You can use your car up till 3 months, if you are not resident in Latvia. After 3 months you need to register it. Driving with headlights is obligatory during both day and night.
Mobile phones: Use of mobile phones while driving is not permitted
Maximum permitted amount of alcohol in blood: 0.2 mg.
Use of seat belts is obligatory.
All petrol stations sell Eurosuper 95, Super 95, Super 98, Super plus 98, Normal and Euro Diesel fuel.
By bus
Buses are the cheapest, quickest and most convenient way to travel around and between the Baltic countries. Many coach services offer a connection to Riga from the nearby European countries, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Estonia and Lithuania. Travelling by bus is very cheap, the bus network is very comprehensive, the bus stations have a good connection to the city centres.
By train
Travelling between Russia and Latvia by train is far more comfortable than by bus. Riga is connected to a number of Eurocity lines, the rail network connects all major Latvian towns. Direct lines to Latvia depart from Poland, Germany, Russia, and Lithuania. The EC and IC services offer the same high standards, as in any other countries, including restaurant, sleeping car, the train stations are all equipped with post office, newsstand, shops, snack bars.
Eurocity and Intercity
ˇ Moscow or St. Petersburg, Russia
ˇ Minsk, Belarus
ˇ Vilnius, Lithuania
ˇ Lvov, Ukraine
By ship
Regular ferry services are available from / to Stockholm, Kiel and Lübeck. |
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