Local transportation

This post deals with public transportation across country. 

Roads

All major roads are one lane each direction, authobahn/highway style roads are an exception. Traffic density is generally low except in rush hours around Riga. Weekends/public holidays increase the traffic flow to/from Riga (friday/sunday evening respectively). General speed limit is 90 km/h (55 mph) outside towns, 50 km/h (30 mph) in towns. Max blood alcohol level is 0.05% (more severe restrictions for young drivers).

Small population density means that outside Riga you mostly travel across fields and through forests. Roads don't have fences along the sides, so take some caution against wildlife, especially at twilight/night. The same caution during twilight/darkness should be taken at cyclists and pedestrians without proper lightning/reflector equipment. You shouldn't expect high standards of road maintenance too - most of the roads are somewhat bumpy, with occasional pitholes. This does NOT mean that you need a SUV to drive in Latvia, just keep your eyes on the road and take some precaution.

Many smaller roads have gravel surface (buy a Jāņasēta map, it shows road surface - available at gas stations, kiosks and Jāņasēta map shop in Riga). This again does NOT mean that you need a SUV for driving on them (some small roads get very muddy in spring, then AWD comes in handy). Driving culture is gradually improving, but still it is not up to standards of Germany,  Sweden or USA. Roads are not particularly well marked, so have a map-literate codriver or GPS navigation device is recommended, especially in Riga.

Hitch hiking is allowed everywhere. Usually you don't do that in cities, although gas stations can be a sweet spot for finding your driver. Of course, there is a set of crazy people around there you do not want to meet. 

Trains 

Train schedule can be found in homepage of Latvian railway. Main passenger hub is Riga, with frequent services to Tukums, Jelgava, Daugavpils, Rezekne, Valga. Around weekends there are trains to Gulbene, Ventspils and Liepaja as well. Trains are quite cheap but don't offer any luxury as well (e.g. bathrooms only on long distance trains, not on the electric trains going to Aizkraukle, Jelgava and Tukums). Tickets can be obtained in railway stations and on the train as well (on stops without functioning station, board the train and wait for the salesperson to appear; on other stops you have to pay extra for buying the ticket on train). Cash only; personnel speaks Latvian and Russian, have no idea what percentage speaks English (your experience welcome!). Trains are crowded during rush hours and weekend (Friday/Sunday) traffic, as well as public holidays.

Buses 

Bus is the most widespread means of public transportation in Latvia. Buses connectiong Riga to major towns run quite often, rural areas are less well serviced. Bus station homepage offers schedule as well as online ticket sales. Tickets can be obtained in bus stations as well as on board. Again, cash only, English language skills of sales personnel under question. Quality of coaches vary. Similarly as with trains, buses can be crowded and don't expect a toilet or other on-board services. On longer routes they will stop for such reasons. Buses don't move fast.

General info

1188.lv offers public transportation schedules. Google maps give a somewhat decent map of Latvia.

TODO

Public transportation in Riga/other towns will be touched in another post. We should link to that post once it becomes available.