Con Riga tengo una especie de conexión magnética que bueno, me hace (sin querer) ir a verla. La primera vez que estuve fue en el año 2014 y la segunda vez fue en el 2014 y pasé por allí (intercambio de autobuses) por tercera vez en el 2015 y volvimos a hacer una parada técnica en el 2015. 😀
Vamos, que viaje ex profeso a Riga un par de veces. La capital de Letonia merece muchísimo la pena. Puedes verla prácticamente en un día entero y es una de las capitales Europeas (de las que he estado) con más encanto.
With Riga I sort of have a magnetic connexion that, well, makes me (without that being my main purpose) go visit it. First time I was there was in 2014, second time was in 2014 and also crossed it (bus exchange) for the third time on 2015 and we also did a technical stop in 2015. 😀
In other words, going intentionally to Riga a couple of times. The capital of Latvia is totally worth it. You can almost visit it in a day of travel and it is one of the loveliest European capitals (from the ones I’ve been to).
Si al final decides ir a Riga, échale un vistazo a la guía que escribí sobre cómo viajar low cost a la capital de Letonia. 🙂
Oh! Y una cosa más! ¿Has estado alguna vez en los países Bálticos? ¿Algún destino que me puedas recomendar dentro de Europa para una futura escapada de 5 días?
Gracias! 🙂
If in the end you’ll decide to go to Riga, have a look at the guide I wrote about how to low cost visit Latvia’s main city. 🙂
Oh! And one more thing! Have you ever been to any of the baltic countries? Any place you’d recommend me for a quick 5 day trip to Europe?
Review: Back in November 2014 my friends and I had the opportunity to spend a long weekend in Rīga. We’ve heard of Ze Donats before from other friends but we wanted to experience it by ourselves. The first sensation when you get inside is of a sweet smell(not to sweet, the nice sweet) and such a great atmosphere accompanied with newly roasted coffee. There are plenty of board games that you can ask too, and the music is not too loud, which makes of it a perfect place to relax, have fun with friends, read and/or study plus enjoy amazing Donuts. They are quite tasty and they have an amazing variety. They are in the Top 3 donuts I’ve tried in my life (and trust me here, I’m a donut-holic). I would totally recommend you to go there if you are into sweet things and would like to have a break or are looking for a refuge to spend few hours away from the cold winter in Latvia.
I love traveling. Also I love saving. And if I can travel and save at the same time, well, perfect combo! Whenever I travel there’s always the pressure of being a student and not having lots of money to spare. There have been many times when I couldn’t do something because I didn’t have enough money or I had to decide: either entering in the museum or eating the next day.
Since I have been a couple of times in Riga (Latvia) (one in February 2014 and the other one in November 2014) and by the experience I had trying the different things you find in the city, I think I have come with the ultimate and sort of cheapest way of visiting Latvia’s capital.
*Disclaimer: the prices may vary according to the season and availability of services. If you are traveling from other city that is not Kaunas it might be a bit more expensive or cheaper. Also I’m not getting sponsored by sharing anything of this, it’s just all from my own opinion and belief.The trip I’m presenting here is a weekend trip: leaving Kaunas on Friday and coming back on Sunday, 2 nights and 3 days.
1. Bus from Kaunas to Riga and back: 37.60€
Now, what is very important is to own an ISIC card(it gives you many discounts in many cities in Europe and in some places you can enter for free). If you don’t have this card you’ll have to pay 5€ more on your journey, so you decide! The bus company that I travel with is Ecolines, the buses are quite okay and comfy. The ride is approximately 4 hours and it drops you at Riga’s central bus station.
2. Hostel for a couple of nights: 24€
Now there might be a bit of controversy. The first time I went to Riga I stayed at The Naughty Squirrel Backpackers Hostel. Backpackers + Naughty + Squirrel in the same name of a place? Yes please! Also I was reading lots of reviews about this place, and it appears that it has won for several years prizes such as best hostel in Latvia and top 10 hostels in the world. And just for 12€ the night if you decide to stay in a 8-10 people mixed and shared room.
Also, a big plus of this hostel is that it is located in the centre of the city and just next to it has a Coffee Inn (a quite popular coffee place here in the Baltics).
There might be possibilities such as CouchSurfing, AirBnB, other hostels or even the street. It’s all up to you. I have been twice in that hostel and if I ever have to come back to Riga I will probably stay there again.
3. Breakfast for two days: 6€
As I mentioned before, there’s a nice coffee place where you can get a cookie or cake plus a coffee for about 3€. Here again if you like to eat more or you are a not breakfast person (you know you should eat breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day. Just a simple and friendly advice) the price may vary.
4. Lunch and dinner for two days: 30€
Exactly the same as with the breakfast, it all depends on your budget and on how much you want to eat. I’m 99.8% sure that for 7.5€ you can eat and have dinner almost every day. There are many places to eat in the city and of course there are different prices and qualities of the food. It’s all about the budget you got!
Heather Hall (from Ferreting Out the Fun) has recently moved to Riga and she’s writing tons and tons of information about the city and Latvia. If you are planning to visit Riga her blog is a must!
5. Tour around the city: 0€
The first time I tried a free tour was back in 2013 when visiting Stockholm. I really liked the idea: a local person shows you around and tells you about the history and anecdotes of the city for free. If you liked the tour you are free to offer a tip for the nice work. There are a couple of tours happening daily in Riga, and you can find more information here.
6. St. Peters church: 7€
Now this is not something you need to survive like food or a place to stay. It’s an extra (that’s why if you add this to the total amount it will exceed 100€) but it’s totally recommended to go up there. The prices vary (important, get an ISIC card for discounts) so you can find the exact price on their website.
7. Travel guide for Riga: 0€
I have recently found a travel guide(well, if you just type free travel guide for Riga on google you find it very easily) where you find lots and lots of useful information (like where to eat, what to visit, what to do, what NOT to do) and you can just download it on your smartphone or if you feel like print it. Or both. You are free to do as you please.
(…)
So, the final sum would be (of the extremely necessary needs, if you like to buy 25 postcards everywhere you go I’m sorry, I didn’t add it here): Bus from Kaunas to Riga and back: 37.60€ +Hostel for a couple of nights: 24€ +Breakfast for two days: 6€ +Lunch and dinner for two days: 30€ = 97.60€!
Now if you add spare 50€ for emergencies (like tequila shot emergency, postcard emergency, taxi to your new friend’s house emergency or nail polish emergency) you have a fantastic trip for 150€.
Do you need to translate anything fromLatvian or to Latvian? Check out this amazing Latvian translation services offered by PoliLingua 🙂
That was my first time in a vegetarian restaurant. Or at least the fist time I remember. Not that I’m always drunk when I go to restaurants or something like this, it’s just that I wasn’t aware of being in a vegstaurant (hehe, so funny how I make new words) before.
Anyways, this one was a great one. Very posh. Very tasty. I remember being there with my backpacker uniform (a.k.a. jeans, sweaty t-shirt after being the whole day walking, boots and a sweater) while everyone else was quite dressed up. It felt a bit awkward. But hey, not having the appropriate etiquette has never stopped me before. The place is located in the not very centre of Rīga, so you will have to walk for a while, but it’s totally worth it.
Depending on your budget, this might not be the place you want to go. It’s more expensive than the average, but the plates were very delicious. And I’m a carnivorous. Like, I truly love meat. But I didn’t miss it at all.
Overall I enjoyed it. Don’t really think I’d go back there (too expensive for student-like-budget) but if you are into this type of food and this type of place, you should give it a try!
Not so long time ago, when I was visiting Rīga (Latvia) with my friends, we were told to go to this very cozy pancake place, that has been working for a long long time. So we did. The place itself is a very chill and quite one. Located in the heart of Rīga, provides you the perfect refuge for the cold and rainy days. The pancakes were very tasty and cheap. You can get one starting from 0.60 €. The only thing I didn’t like very much is that they were already done when we got there. We were expecting something freshly cooked, not some prêt-à-manger crepe.
Probably we could have asked them to do one for us, but since we didn’t speak Latvian the communication between us was quite complicated.
Will definitely go back there this time accompanied by a local.
After sharing with you the first images from my trip, I’d like to share with you more pictures, but this time black & white. I usually don’t do that, don’t know why. I just don’t. But well, life is short and let’s get crazy. There you go some more pictures of Riga. Enjoy them!
If you liked them consider sharing the post with your friends, that would really help me to keep up on taking pictures.
Of course I was going to travel!! What did you expect??
The plan was to visit any of the neighboring countries (a.k.a. Latvia, Poland, Russia or Bielorussia). Russia and Bielorussia were automatically discarded because there wasn’t enough time to get our VISA. Poland we (my sister and I) didn’t go because our time was limited and we wanted to do a longer trip around the country. So Latvia, here we go.
Before I continue (or start) with the story, I’d like to mention that I still don’t know why after 3.5 years living in LithuaniaI didn’t visit any of the countries around yet. And I have traveled. Oh yeah boy I did. I expect to fix this inconvenience by the end of my studies here (2.5 years left, yey!).
-Fella please, come to the point.
Alright!
On Friday the 30th of January we took a delayed bus that would drive us to Riga (capital of Latvia). The company we traveled with, Ecolines, offers a wide variety of possible combinations and low-budget-friendly!(Plus there’s free wifi inside the bus).
The hostel we stayed in was The Naughty Squirrel Backpackers. I think it’s by far one of the best (if not the best) hostels I’ve ever been. And I’ve slept in 20 of them (approx.). The facilities (bed sheets and towels included and for free, not as in the one in Sweden) the personnel, the building itself… everything excellent! Well, if the have been winning for the past 4 years the prize for the best hostel in Latvia… I would really recommend to stay there if your are planning to visit Riga.
That night we didn’t do much. Just gaby around the city but not for a long time. It was freezing. I mean it. It felt like it was -28ºC (or so my weather app said).
New day new adventures! Over the night it snowed as hell and the next day (previous one we didn’t have snow at all) we woke up with 30 cm of snow on the ground. The good thing of this was that it would give a more winterish look to the city and the pictures would look nicer.
Our itinerary: basically we just followed all the instructions that I found in this free download Riga guide(I really recommend you to check it out).
One of the places I liked the most was the St. Peter’s church tower. It was so windy up there but definitely worth the 5€ that the ticket cost.
The weather was quite nasty, very cold and snowy. We spaniards aren’t really used to this. So we would look for a refuge where we could thaw our hands from while to while. But, as they say, «what doesn’t beat you makes you stronger».
After the whole day walking around the Old town and Centre districts of the Latvian capital, we decided to head back to the hostel where we would get a power nap(I’m so in love with them). Last night in Riga, we had to do something especial. We looked for the «typical Latvian place» where we could have a beer or two and something to it.
Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs was the perfect place to finish a trip that had been on my bucket list for a long time. Overall I really enjoyed being in Riga. It’s a truly European city (or so it is its centre and oldtown). The good thing about not being a huge city is that we could somehow visit all the interest places there.
Hey guys! I wanted to share with you some pictures I took two weekends ago in Riga (Latvia). I hope you like them!
I’m working on my blog lately so it can be both in Spanish and English. I hope this will be done soon and all the english readers that I have will be able to access to more of my posts!
After spending a couple of days in Kaunas to relax a bit and get more clothes and clean the dirty ones, we went to Ignalina, where we would spend 4 days. The day after we got to Ignalina, we decided, improvising a bit, to visit Daugavpils (Latvia) because it was so close to the Lithuanian border. Well, what to say about this city… yeah, it’s the second biggest city in Latvia but that doesn’t make it a beautiful one. Yeah, they have a river and everything is so green, but there’s not too much to see.
So basically we got there, walked around the city, emptied our bladders, took the car and drove somewhere else in the city, eat a lot in a Bistro (and also had a Latvian beer)and went back to Lithuania. When we were coming back I had this strange feeling that I was going back home. I say strange because I’m not lithuanian. Something which is not hard to find out if you see a picture of me.
Anyways, we had sort of fun there. I couldn’t take so many pictures because I forgot to charge the batteries of my camera (stupid, stupid, stupid) but at least I could take a few of them.
