World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Airlines serving Riga are Aeroflot, Air Baltic , Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines, Finnair, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Malev Hungarian and SAS.

Approximate flight times
From Riga to Frankfurt/M is two hours 10 minutes, to London is two hours 30 minutes, and to New York is approximately 14 hours (via Helsinki).

International airports
Riga (RIX) (Spilve) is 8km (5 miles) from the city. Bus no. 22 runs every 20 to 30 minutes to the city centre (0545-2240), costing LVL 0.20 (travel time - 30 minutes). An express bus service goes to various hotels in the city upon request. Taxis are also available, costing LVL 0.35 (travel time – 15 minutes). Airport facilities include duty free shop, car hire (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National and Sixt), restaurant, bar/cafe and post office.
There is an international airport at Liepaja (LPX), with flights to Copenhagen and Moscow.

Departure tax
None.

Sea
There are ferry connections from Riga to Stockholm with Monolines (travel time – 18 hours). There are direct ferries from Travemunde in Germany and Stockholm in Sweden. There are also connections from Liepaja to Rostock and to Karlshamm in Sweden. Several shipping lines run cruises on the Baltic Sea calling at Riga.

Rail
Latvia has links with Belarus, the Russian Federation, Estonia to the north, and Lithuania to the south. The main route into Western Europe runs from Riga to Berlin via Warsaw and Vilnius.

Road
The road network is relatively well developed and there are good routes through to Belarus and to the neighbouring two Baltic Republics. Entry by car is possible from the Russian Federation, Estonia, Belarus or Lithuania. Border posts between Poland and Lithuania: Ogrodniki–Lazdijai; between Poland and Belarus: Terespol–Brest. Recent changes in Eastern Europe have opened a new highway through the Baltic countries, known as the Via Baltica. To drive along the Via Baltica is to discover places that were closed to Western tourists for decades. Services along this highly attractive route are improving all the time. Both the road network and signposting are being modernised; the service station network is represented by both local and foreign companies (many of which are open 24 hours). Eurolines, departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves destinations in Latvia. For further information, contact Eurolines (website: www.eurolines.com or www.gobycoach.com).