Latvia is a quiet Baltic gem of Art Nouveau architecture, pine forests and wide sandy beaches. From the elegant streets of Riga to peaceful countryside and seaside towns, it offers understated charm and a strong connection to nature.
Transport in Latvia is straightforward and affordable, with buses and trains linking major cities like Riga, Liepāja and Daugavpils. Buses are often the most frequent and convenient option for longer distances, while Riga has a simple network of trams, buses and trolleybuses that’s easy to navigate. If you’re heading into rural areas or along the Baltic coast, renting a car gives you the most flexibility.
Latvia has a cool temperate climate, with cold, snowy winters and mild to warm summers. Coastal areas along the Baltic Sea can feel breezy year-round, while spring and autumn are short and fresh, and summer brings long daylight hours that make it the best time to explore cities like Riga and the surrounding countryside.
I always book my accommodation through trusted providers like booking.com and Hostelworld, but always read the reviews carefully.
Latvia is part of the Schengen area, so some visitors will not need a visa, but you may need to keep an eye on your Schengen area day count, depending where you’re from.
I always recommend checking the official government advice from your own country of citizenship. For example, I’m from the UK so I use the UK Government’s Foreign travel advice website, and navigate to the “Entry requirements” section of the country I wish to visit. That will show me the most up-to-date advice and the correct links to use to apply for a visa officially, without being scammed. E.g. “Latvia: Entry requirements”.
Be aware that if you just google “Latvia visa”, you’ll find lots of 3rd party websites offering to do the application for you, which at best will charge you quite a lot of money and at worst may scam you completely.
If you would rather someone else take care of the application for you to save you time and hassle, I can recommend iVisa. iVisa offer an end-to-end visa application service where they take care of the entire application for you. You just need to sign up via their website and fill out the information they need from you for the application. Note that they charge a fee for this service, so it will be more expensive than applying directly yourself.
Here are some of the resources I’ve found particularly useful for travelling in Latvia. Download the apps before you go to ensure a smooth and stress-free experience! Check out my Useful Travel Resources page for my complete go-to list of websites and apps.
Currency:
Euro (EUR)
Capital City:
Riga
Languages:
Latvian; Russian
