Advantages: Cheap, friendly place to visit, interesting architecture. Disadvantages: Might not last too long in its current state. Freezing cold in winter.
...flight/hotel combination for within that. Riga was decided on by vote, purely for the reason that it was only really opening up as a destination and had that 'kudos' factor that all new things seem to have.
Most of our group flew out of Dublin with Ryanair, though there are other routes available from England and one of our party flew with Ryanair out of Stansted. Flights will obviously vary in price, depending on who you're flying with, when you're ... ...and the fifteen-minute ride into Riga cost us 8 Lats. I'd recommend arriving with some local currency, but if that's not possible, there is a cash machine at the entrance/exit of the airport and all cash machines in the city support all the major cards (Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus, Maestro etc.) The first thing that surprised me was the amount of money that seemed to be put into Riga. Even on the short taxi ride from the airport to our hotel, I saw ...
TheDuke 10.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Advantages: Lots to do and see, snow in the winter, fairly cheap to eat/drink, cheap flights available from RyanAir. Disadvantages: Very very very very cold in the winter, Things are Difficult to Find.
***INTRODUCTION***
Riga is the capital of Latvia which is a small country bordered by Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus. It is not the first place you think of when deciding on a holiday destination, however you will enjoy your visit. I will not discuss everything that you can and cannot do in Riga...I will simply discuss what I did, where I stayed, the climate when I was there and so on. If you require further details then simply search the Internet: ... ...I went to Riga in February 2006 for a four day break. If you decide to visit Riga in the winter then you really do have to be prepared for the cold. Before the plane landed in Riga, the pilot informed us that it was minus 17 outside. For the whole of my stay in Riga I was freezing cold even though I went prepared. I would leave the hostel with two tops and a jumper on, a scarf, a hat, tights, trousers, a thick pair of ski socks on over the tights, ...
HannahBoo 17.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Advantages: Somewhere different, can be cheap Disadvantages: The mafia, cold,
...Browns new tax. So Riga it was, we pre-organised accomodation at Argonaut Hostel in town and took the bus from the airport to the city centre (only 0.30Lt).
The currency conversion to £'s is relatively simple as it is almost a 1:1 conversion. Although due to the strength of the pound in the rest of the world you find many Lts floating out of your pocket without even noticing.
One of the first things you do notice however is how cold it really is ... ...with.
The side of Riga that has been advertised more especially on BBC radio 1 is the strip clubs etc, not the nightclubs. The strip clubs here and the casinos are owned by the russian mafia who wont go out of their way to make you welcome. One scam involved sending a dancer to your table to make conversation, she will then ask if you will buy her a drink and she then announces that the drinks cost 1000Lt etc. As you try and make your escape some ...
Naturalsponge 10.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Advantages: Architecture, history, market Disadvantages: Technical University, too many bridges
...the trip from Tallinn to Riga was Svetlana, a well-nourished Russian girl with an innate inability to smile. After subjecting us to a number of icy gazes of differing intensities; from refrigerator (which in hindsight seemed almost friendly) right up to Siberian-death-winter, she was courteous enough to read out the half dozen pages of rules and regulations for the five hour coach trip over the tannoy in English, expressly for our benefit. Bless ... ...A THING
We arrived in Riga around five-ish in bright sunshine. It was indeed a different prospect from homelier Tallinn and more that a little intimidating. I guess some times new places are. Don't know what it was, it just seemed more "urban". It was right about now that things began to go wrong. "Be strong", I should have said to myself. "Stick to your principles", "be confident, for you are seldom wrong". I should have allowed my confidence to ...
Paiceyjohn 19.03.2001 (08.05.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Advantages: Cheap and beautiful Disadvantages: None
...You could just wander around Riga endlessly for months and keep finding new things. We found the Occupation Museum, detailing Latvia’s struggle up to and after WWII until the 90s when they finally broke away from the Soviet regime. The exhibitions are fascinating, informative, long and detailed and ultimately completely biased. Latvia was annexed by both sides during the war, and suffered under both too, but the exhibition would have you believe ... ...be a Nazi sympathizer. Excellent. Other things you can do- go to the ballet- it’s so cheap!
· Jurmala:- Very near Riga, Jurmala is the Latvians’ favoured tourist haunt. We found it impossible to camp, very difficult to find a hotel. The tourist office seemed helpful and booked us a room, but it turned out to be an ex state spa hotel and was truly disgusting. The other clientel were almost dead, and the room stank so much I gagged when I walked in. ...
Tricksty 03.06.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Advantages: The old town central to accomodation and airport. Disadvantages: Bars a little too expensive and can be a little too laid back.
Return flights from Gatwick to Riga = £135, but can be cheaper when bought at last minute.
We decided to stay in Riga's old town for a few days before moving on to Russia.
The Currency; very easy to deal with, Lats, which one Lat is about equal to the sum of one Pound, makes it easy to keep track of your money and there are also plenty of places to exchange currency.
Prices; our accomodation was £7 per night, we stayed in the Dome Hostel, a reasonable, ... ...nights milling around.
Shopping; Riga appears quite good for shopping with an average shopping centre, however i would not reccoment it for a shopping journey as you could do that in any city. As Riga is situated on the Baltic sea, you will find a huge array of very cheap amber in all shapes and sizes, amber is their national stone and there are many gift stalls.
Beauty, history and things to do; Riga's old town is beautiful and very very clean. ...
dinkydyke 07.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Latvia is my home and I love my country. At first I can say that for other Europe Latvia is very cheap place to go and travel. For us maybe prices are too high but for tourists they are quite cheap. In Latvia there are a lot of places to go. Maybe not big supermarkets or buildings, but great places to rest on free nature! What can be better than primary nature and fresh air!? Nothing! So there's a lot of guest houses in Latvia near the rivers or ... ...are interested in history will be fascinated by the medieval castles. If you want make some fun and get new knowledge you should go to OldRiga. That's the place where you can see beautiful churches and other historical buildings or drink good latvian beer in pleasant cafes or buy some gifts to your family or friends. If you prefer active relaxation I suggest you to go to river Gauja and rent boat and make some extreme boat trip!
I could say a lot ...
guitarmaris 30.06.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
Advantages: Pretty much everything Disadvantages: Hangovers
...I've been hanging out in Riga for some time but left all this stuff to the tourists until now. Well worth checking out at least once I reckon.
Other tips on Riga: get out of the centre away from the stags. come during the week instead of the weekend. Prices are pretty random. Some stuff really cheap and clothes silly prices.
Some people saying avoid winter - don't agree, reckon that's the best time myself ...
TheboyOwen 11.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Riga (Latvia)
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