The Riga region on the Baltic Sea sits at the heart of Latvia, and is its political, population, and cultural center.
In addition to the city of Riga, the most popular tourist destination in the country, there is the seaside resort of Jūrmala with its seaside wooden houses and numerous spas. Further west, there is Tukums, which houses a city built in 2004 only for the making of a film.
The area is also rich in natural sites; Kemeri National Park with its forest and peat landscapes; to the north, the Baltic beaches offer a unique landscape between forest and pine and sea; and the town of Sigulda and its three castles, and also the gateway to the Gauja National Park, the oldest national park in the country.
1188.lv provides up-to-date bus and train schedules, route planner and prices.
All transport (bus, train, car) is spider web wise possible from Riga, mostly direct and quite frequent. The railway tracks and roads spread equally distributed in all possible land-based directions. This allows for convenient day trips to the below mentioned sites (even several ones) starting and finishing at Riga.
Travel around Riga can be less frequent, and sometimes it is even preferable to first going back to Riga and continuing from there.
The Great Ķemeri Moorland (inside Ķemeri National Park) (Lielais Ķemeru tīrelis), Slampes pagasts (there are frequent train connections towards Tukums with a stop in Ķemeri village, right in the middle of the Moorland; also, the major "highway" going east towards Tukums and Ventspils goes right through the Moorland), 56.90459°, 23.45363°, +371 67730078, pieriga@daba.gov.lv. Ķemeri is the third largest national park in Latvia, and popular for its extensive moorland, moorland lakes, a wooden footbridge, viewing tower, bird-watching, moss, cranberries, fierce plants. The park extends to the north and the south of the village with the same name. Only south you will find a trail made of planks across the swamp including an observation tower 📍 (but without roof, so not good for overnighting without tent) – see included track in the following. It seems that (from the satellite view) starting from the observation tower there is a trail leading even further south into the swamp, probably requiring rubber boots – check out the trail also included with this listing. Nevertheless, also northwest of Ķemeri village trails lead through the swamp, check them out on OpenStreetMap, which many mobile Apps like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz, etc. use, or any other preferred map.
The Great Ķemeri Moorland Trail (<span style="color:#008000; font-weight: bold;">green</span>). Distance: 11.24 km. 3–4 hr. Grade: easy. The trail starts and finishes at the Ķemeri village railway station. Download coordinates: GPX, KML.
Ķemeri Moorland (further into the swamp) Trail (<span style="color:#FF0000; font-weight: bold;">red</span>). Distance: 1 km. 1/2 hr. Grade: medium. Waterproof boots recommended. Start at the observation tower, from there the trail seems clearly visible. Note that this is a swamp with its common dangers, take precaution and do not walk on your own. Download coordinates: GPX, KML.
Lake Engure Nature Park (Engures ezera dabas parks), Engures pagasts, 57.260477°, 23.134706°, +371 29474420, eedp@inbox.lv. Orchid trail (start) 📍, bird-watching towers, coastal meadows, wild cows and horses, information stand. A comprehensive map can be found on the parks website.
Medieval Farm "Niedru lija", Jaunpils pagasts, 56.732998°, 23.016014°, +371 26336513, niedru.lija@inbox.lv. Medieval games, coin minting, school of knights, archery, spears, axe throwing, medieval meals, castle.
In the following a list of various accommodation options in the region worth mentioning and outside of the above covered cities, towns, and parks: