Our journey through the Baltics began in 2017 when we planned a short city break in Lithuania. Later on, Sebi wanted us to go to Estonia for his birthday (that was 2 years ago), and since we happened to be there in summer, we enjoyed the “almost white” night phenomenon for the first time. I say “almost white” because we still got 4 hours of darkness each night. Of the three sisters of the Baltic family, the largest one, Riga, was the only one left unexplored. This year we also made it to Latvia, and in this article I want to give you a short travel guide to Riga, covering everything you need to know if you are planning a city break in Riga.
In this mini-guide you will find the following tips:
- How to get to Riga easily and cheaply
- Accommodation in Riga (our recommendation)
- How to get from Riga airport to the city centre
- Prices and budget for a citybreak in Riga
Everything you need to know if you are planning a city break in Riga
Getting to Riga
If you want to explore the Baltic countries, I have a few suggestions for you:
- Citybreak in Riga – we flew to Riga from Milan Bergamo. Ryanair has a few direct flights from Milan to Riga, at pretty good prices (out of season). Milan is very easy to get to, and if you’ve never been to Italy’s fashion capital, you can take advantage of the opportunity.
- Baltic tour – if you want a different kind of holiday, consider a Baltic tour. The best option is to start your trip in Milan, with a first stop in Vilnius or Kaunas (Lithuania). Then you can take the bus to Riga and on to Tallinn. If time is on your side, you can take a ferry to Helsinki or even a trip to St Petersburg.
Bus details: the LuxExpress company runs services between the three Baltic capitals. The distance between Vilnius and Riga, and Riga and Tallinn respectively is approx. It takes about 4 hours and a trip costs an average of 15 euros.
Accommodation in Riga (our recommendation)
Perhaps because we visited in the off-season (in November), hotels in Riga were extremely affordable, financially speaking.
As we always try to get accommodation as close to the downtown area as possible, in Riga we settled for Welton Hotel and Spa – a 4-star hotel in the old city centre. It was by far one of our favourite hotels of all time. We had a attic room, super cozy and overlooking the city center. We also had a FABULOUS breakfast included, with great food and complimentary champagne.
How to get from Riga airport to the city centre (cheap and easy)
Riga Airport (Lidosta in Latvian) is 10 km from the city centre and there are two options for transferring from the airport:
- Taxi (Bolt) – a fast e taxi option. I recommend using Bolt to pay a fair and sometimes lower price than normal taxis. A trip takes approx. 20 minutes and costs on average 10-15 euros.
- Bus – we opted for this option. It’s cheap and extremely easy to get to the centre, but you need to give yourself more time for this journey (especially when you are about to leave Riga). Line 22 leaves from the airport (in front of the airport) and takes 30 minutes to get to the centre, at the Autoosta station (near Riga Central Market). A ticket costs just €2.
Budget for a weekend in Riga
Of all three Baltic capitals, we found Riga to be the most expensive. Out of season (you know that prices vary a lot), two nights in a 4-star hotel in the centre cost an average of €100/double room. If the hotel offers breakfast included in the room price it’s even better, because this way you’ll save on average 20 euros/day just for breakfast. If you still want to have breakfast in town, I recommend the Street Fries Kitchen restaurant, where for 10 euros you get a coffee and a full English breakfast.
For public transport you won’t pay a fortune. All the sights are in the old part of the city, so you won’t need any public transport. However, for the airport transfer, if applicable, you need to set aside 4 euro/person/round trip.
In terms of food and restaurants, I found Riga to be extraordinarily expensive. But it’s not so bad if you do a bit of research beforehand. As I said, I recommend Street Fries Kitchen, for breakfast, but also for lunch. Prices for a dish are between 8 and 15 euros. In the evening, however, you can choose something more special, and our recommendation is Gan Bei Restaurant. It’s an Asian restaurant, where we ate twice (*in two days). For dinner for 2 at Gan Bei, you’ll pay on average 30-35 euros.
One thing that will help you save a few bucks is the Lunch Deal. Many restaurants have a Lunch Deal (Monday to Friday), and at Gan Bei, for example, you can have a sushi (as an appetizer), a soup and a main course for 10-12 euros.
Everything you need to know if you are planning a city break in Riga
This was the first part of the travel guide for Riga. I hope you find this article useful and that it inspires you to explore this part of the continent as well. Certainly, both Riga and its sisters – Vilnius and Tallinn – are worth discovering.
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