Latvia Tourist Information

Latvia Tourist Information

Latvia is a great option for those who love beautiful European architecture, interesting historical sights and beach holidays. And if you have already chosen tours to Latvia for yourself, it remains only to get acquainted with the information about the country, which will undoubtedly come in handy on a trip.

Latvia: location. According to thesciencetutor, the rather small country of Latvia is located in the North of Europe, and its neighbors are Lithuania (border in the south), Estonia (border in the north of the country), Russia and Belarus (in the east and southeast, respectively).

Latvia: capital. The capital of Latvia is the stunning Riga – a city with beautiful architecture and ancient sights. Here you can visit castles and museums, churches and cathedrals for more than one day, or just wander around the cozy streets of Riga and the Old Town. And you can feel and feel the Latvian culture at local fairs, which are quite often held in the city.

Latvia: language. The official state language in Latvia is Latvian. At the same time, many residents of the country know and speak Russian.

Latvia: visa. Ukrainians will need a Schengen visa to enter Latvia. A tourist visa to Latvia is issued (the price of the consular fee is 35 euros) literally up to two weeks. All that is needed is to fill out an electronic application form, submit the necessary documents for a visa to Latvia and pay a consular fee.

Latvia: features of customs control. When entering the country, do not take with you more than 200 cigarettes / 50 cigars / 250 grams of tobacco (optional) and more than 1 liter of alcohol (wine up to 4 liters). Latvian customs regulations also prohibit the import of weapons, narcotic and explosive substances (objects), meat and dairy products, chocolates, and certain medicines. Difficulties may also arise with the import of ancient art objects (more than 50 years old), as well as amber.

Latvia: climate and seasonality. Tourists will be pleased with the climate of Latvia, because in winter there are practically no very severe frosts (usually temperatures are from 0 to -3 degrees), and in summer there is no tiring heat (on average + 21- + 23 degrees). Therefore, you can safely go to Latvia at any time of the year. But if you want to additionally visit the beaches of Jurmala, then it is best to go in July – the sea is as warm as possible (water temperature is about +22).

Latvia: time. There is no time difference between Riga and Kiev time.

Latvia: currency. The official currency in Latvia is the euro.

Latvia: tips. On average, in restaurants, “for tea” they give about 5-10% of the bill (but quite often they can already be included in the bill).

Latvia: telephone. It is worth buying a Sim-card on the spot. Regarding prices, one of the cheapest calls will be the local operator Zeltazivtina. For 2 euros you will have unlimited network (to phones of other operators 0.17 euros / minute) and the ability to activate the service for foreign calls (for calls to Ukraine) – it will cost about 4 euros for 30 minutes. As for emergency numbers, it is the same for everyone – 112.

Latvia: electrical network. In Latvia, the voltage in the network and the type of sockets are the same as in Ukraine.

Latvia: clothing etiquette. There are no special rules and requirements for clothing in Latvia.

Latvia: official holidays. The main holidays, of course, are the Independence Day, which is lavishly celebrated on May 4 and the Day of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, which Latvians celebrate on November 18.

New Year in Latvia is celebrated, as in Ukraine, on the night of the first day of January, but Christmas, according to the European model, is December 25th.

For tourists, the Ligo holiday (Yanov’s Day) will also be interesting. On this holiday, folk traditional festivities are held in all cities and you can get to know the Latvian original culture and customs as much as possible. On this day, you can also taste unique festive dishes – Janov cheese and very tasty barley beer.

Latvia Tourist Information