Latvia Travel Guide - Getting Around

Latvia’s rail network includes routes from Riga to all other major towns in the country. The railway terminal in Riga is at Stacijas laukums. For more information about the train services, contact Latvian Railway (Latvijas dzelzceļš) (LDz) (tel: 1181, in Latvia only; website: www.ldz.lv).

There are reasonable connections to all parts of the country. Traffic drives on the right.

Bus: There are bus connections to regions throughout the coutry. The Central Bus Station is at Pragas iela 1.

Car hire: Available through hotels and directly from international and local car hire companies. Drivers can also be hired.

Regulations: Seat belts must be worn. Speed limits on highways are 90kph (56mph) and 50kph (32mph) in cities. It is compulsory to drive with headlights on 24 hours a day all year round. The use of mobile telephones while driving is forbidden. The minimum age for drivers to hire a car is 21 years.

Documentation: European nationals should be in possession of an EU licence, otherwise an International Driving Permit is required.

There is a good network of bus, tram and trolleybus routes in Riga (website: www.rigassatiksme.lv). Tickets should be bought on board from the conductor and retained for inspection. Taksobussi (share-taxis) also operate but are slightly more expensive than ordinary buses. Fines for fare dodging are common. Taxis are privately run and have meters; there is a surcharge at night. There are some trams and trolleybuses running through the night.

The following chart gives approximate journey times from Riga (in hours and minutes) to other major cities/towns in Latvia.

	Road	Rail
Jurmala	0.45	0.20
Liepaja	3.15	3.09
Cesis	1.40	1.50
Ventspils	3.00	-