HOW CAN YOU TRAVEL TO LATVIA
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Travelling to Latvia
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Quite a number of different airline companies serve Riga airport, including budget airlines, so it should not be too difficult to find a reasonable ticket. The website of Riga Airport (opened to the list of companies flying to Riga with web addresses) can be found here
Another way of arriving in Latvia is by ferry. Riga has a ferry a connection to Stockholm in Sweden, Ventspils is connected with Ninneshamn in Sweden and Travemunde in Germany, and the city of Liepāja also offers a ferry route to Travemunde in Germany.
International train routes are currently limited to connections with Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia and to Minsk in Belorussia.
Riga is very well served by extensive bus connections. Bus routes connect Latvia with Austria, Belgium, Belorussia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland, the UK and Ukraine. Check with your local travel agency or transport provider to learn more about connections and prices.
TRAVEL CONDITIONS
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EU MEMBER
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Latvia is a member of the European Union, therefore travelling to Latvia and crossing its borders is as simple as travel to any other European Union country. Latvia is part of the Schengen Area and that’s why people travelling to Latvia from the Schengen Area does not have to go through border controls. Bear in mind, however, that when crossing into Russia and Belarus, border controls are in place.
Visa-free travel
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Citizens from specific countries and these include all European Union member states, as well as, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Brazil do not require a visa to visit Latvia.
Please find here the complete list of the countries whose citizens may enter Latvia without a visa. List
Visa-free travellers may stay in Latvia for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days.
Schengen Area
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No border controls for travelling in the Schengen Area
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Latvia is part of the Schengen Area. There are no border controls on the internal borders between Schengen countries, therefore citizens of the European Union and third-country nationals are free to travel within the Schengen Area. If you arrive in Latvia by car or bus from Lithuania or Estonia, or if you travel by ferry or plane from the Schengen countries, you will not have to go through border controls. However, if emergency situations should arise, Schengen member states do have the capacity to temporarily reintroduce border controls for a certain period of time. So please check on such information and verify the conditions and circumstances before beginning your trip.
While under normal conditions, there are indeed no border controls, this does not mean you can leave your travel document behind. While travelling in the Schengen Area, you must have your passport along, and it is this document that can be used as proof of your identity. Bear in mind that drivers’ licenses and bankcards are not deemed to be valid travel documents and such documents are also not considered valid for purposes of personal identification.
