Riga Tourist Traps

Groks bar near the square: I wish I had known about this place before I went to Riga. On our last night my friend and I said we'd pop in here for a drink as it didn't look like a lap-dancing bar or strip joint. We ordered a pint of beer each and then approached by 2 studenty-type of girls who seemed pleasant enough, my friend and I felt a bit sorry for them as they told us all about the economic situation in Latvia etc. They then invited us to join them in the Disco bar in the back part of the bar. We offered to buy them a drink and even asked the waitress how much it was and she said 'thirteen eight' which I took to mean 13 lats 18 santimas which would be about 20 euro but when my friend tried to pay for it she pointed to the menu and lo and behold it was 138 lats (something got lost in translation i think) I went ballistic and wanted to fight my way out but my friend got nervous and pleaded with me to calm down as we'd end up in jail (apparently the cops are in on the hustle) in the end we paid so let this be a warning to anyone going to Riga (which I wouldn't recommend anyway) to stay away from this hole called Groks and don't feel sorry for any of the Latvian women who all seem to be part-time hookers out to fleece the tourists!!!!!

Unique Suggestions: Definitely don't buy anyone a drink no matter how genuine they seem to be!!!

Fun Alternatives: Go to an Irish pub

Unless you are travelling as a 'couple' and are male, upon entering the city centre you will be continually pestered to visit one of the many 'free' strip clubs on offer in Riga, more often than not by trouser- stretchingly gorgeous females in their early 20's. While there is nothing wrong with strip clubs per se, when you inevitably give in, presumably after a few barley pots, be aware that they are almost always underground and hotter than the surface of the sun (especially july - september), staffed by extremely intimidating Russian gangsters and, if you are especially unlucky and end up in the one we ended up in, completely empty except for you, the gangsters and the creatures that pass for strippers. While the promise of free entry and 2 free drinks is technically fulfilled, if you dont keep your wits about you you could end up spending more in an hour than you would in a weekend in Monte Carlo.

Unique Suggestions: Dont expect Spearmint Rhino. It would be fair to assume that as Riga has, arguably, the most stunning women of any European city, that the ladies employed in a Riga strip club would come from the same stock. They don't. The ones we encountered wouldn't have been out of place in an early 1970's Glaswegian knocking shop. Following a few moments enjoying your warm Ukranian lager wondering why you're the only people in the club at 11 o'clock at night, and why the man who looks like Tony Soprano on the door is staring at you, you will be joined by a number of these young ladies (the same number that there is of you) who will pop themselves on your lap, talk to you in broken english and present you with the 'crazy menu'. By this point you will not have parted with any money, but this will soon change if you don't make it quite clear that you have no intention of paying £70 for a 'crazy' dance or a 'crazy' S&M special, described to me as ''dancing, with some fighting". The last throw of the dice is for the nice Russian Gangster to approach the table and ask you if you would like to buy the 'ladies' a drink. A 'no', whilst rather awkward at the time will result in no more than your free drink being snatched from you and being 'escorted' off the premises, a 'yes' will result in you buying at least 1 bottle of £70 'crazy' champagne and I wouldnt like to imagine what else.

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The church was rebuilt recently enough (in the 1970s by Soviet engineers) that it looks disappointingly like a new church on the inside with a couple of old stone carvings stuck to the walls. Going up the steeple costs 2 lats (around 4 dollars). It cost an extra .50 lats to see the preserved monuments of the original church. There’s really nothing spectacular to see from the tower, nothing that’s worth 2 lats. Riga’s more fascinating from the ground. I went up on a cold day and everyone stood huddled around the elevator doors waiting for it to come back up so they could get back down.

Unique Suggestions: Check out the wooden crest with the human skull.

Fun Alternatives: Walk out to the castle, and along the bridges that cross the river. The view is far more interesting, especially if you cross to the opposite side and see the Old Town at sunset.

Wealth Warning: Avoid changing currency at Chequepoint's branch in Riga - or anywhere else for that matter.

Some of my British and American friends have told me horror stories of the rip-off rates charged by Chequepoint when changing money into Euros. It seems to be a problem with this particular dealer - other VT members in Hungary and Hong Kong have reported the same kind of fraud.

My advice is not to use Chequepoint under any circumstances. Click on the logo so you can steer well clear of these sharks.

Fun Alternatives: In any event, you will get much more competitive rates drawing local currency on your Visa or Visa Electron card (preferably use a cash dispenser in a bank during opening hours and check the card slot shows no evidence of being fiddled with (a favourite trick is to slip a thin additional reader in). Shield the keypad with your hand as you tap the numbers in (in another scam, a concealed webcam films your PIN number).

Hi,
Let's start with the beginning. When you arrive at the Riga's airport(RIX), most likely, you will be surrounded by peoples offering you a taxi ride. My friendly advice is to avoid them ... this is now, a very common phishing method for foreign tourists and most likely you will be overcharged.If your baggage is not to big and you have enough time try to use the buss. It is number 22 and it will take you to Central Station (Stockmann - supermarket); it costs 0.30 Ls but for a big suitcase you will have to pay a small tax (I don't know the amount because I don't like to carry big suitcases :)). Anyway once you are in the buss be aware of pick-pocketer s and please, try to avoid route of trolleybus 15! in the morning is extremely crowded and it is the best way to loose your money and your passport :( .

Unique Suggestions: I almost forgot! On various websites they will tell you that the 22 buss is on airport station every 30 minutes this is the listed schedule but...It is not true! If your flight arrives in Riga around 17:00 local time be patient because the buss will arrive in station once at one hour or much late because between this hours 08:00-10:00 and 15:00 - 17:00 Riga is full of traffic jams! .Keep in mind that they're local currency is equal with one pound so much more then one euro or dollar so if you will buy something that you think is cheap make the calculations again it is possible to cost you a lot more.Coffee shops: I recommend you "Double Coffe" it is a mark very prevalent in all town but the price is a little high 2.50 Ls for a cappuccino...but they have a great music inside.Overall they will say about Riga that is the most beautiful town from Baltic Sea ...it may be true... I really do not share same opinion. In maximum a week you will have all the fun you can get in Riga and you will see almost everything.

Fun Alternatives: Practically their piece of resistance is the old town ... it is OK for a walk on a sunny day or two but after that, you will see about everything and another walk...hmm...will definitely be very boring.(Imagine that I have to stay in Riga about a year and a half ....:))) I recomend you a trip to Jurmala this town is very close to Riga 25Km and it is on sea side ...here ,if you arrive in summer, life is quite beautiful ! While you are in Riga try to find the shooting gallery ... that if you want a bit of adrenaline in your blood.It is a old Russian bunker where you can shot fire arms with live ammo and amazed or not.. is legal !
In conclusion I would like to say that Latvian people are not the most friendly and hospitable people ... they deny with all their power the Russian language but everybody speaks it ... they try to forget their comunist past but also they try to sell it to us like a turist attraction ; they even have a museum in the central market. Museum of occupation. And they say that Latvia is the Switzerland of Baltic's ... I'm still trying to find why...

Planning a trip to Riga? Cheap place, friendly people, no trouble. right? WRONG! Oh my god. Ive now travelled all over the world, and this place is the biggest rip off in the world. A 5 minute taxi ride = 8 Lats (8 pounds, 12 Euros), this was not just one taxi, this was every taxi. This is with or without the meter. Also, beer = 1.5-3 Lats, London prices my friends. Nightclub entrance, 5 Lats, what do the locals pay? 0.5 Lats. This is also the unfriendliest place i have EVER been to. I heard about the bad reputation this place had before i went, i just thought i could avoid several wallet lootings, but there was no reasoning with these unfriendly eastern european idiots. Why go to Eastern Europe, when your going to be paying Barcelona/Milan/London prices? And to top it off, random attacks for no reason on my english counterparts left us all feeling very very angry. Any help from the police? Bouncers? Absolutly no chance! This place will be a flash in the pan as for as tourism is concerned, and once this places bad reputation catches up, the rip off bars, taxis, restaurants, hotels and everyone else can go back to working in a factory for zero money. I strongly advise you to go elsewhere.

The subway in the old town area along 13 janvara iela. There is a female beggar with a sign reading that she needs eye surgery and requires money for treatment. She is sporting a contact lense with a black spot painted on it.

Almost fell over laughing at the amateurish attempt to fleece me. But anyways don't give her any money

The entrance fee to the tower of St. Peters Church is 1,60 Lats. So I paid the entrance fee, but when the cashier saw my camera she wanted to charge me an additional 0,5 Lats for taking photos. So I told her that I wasn't planning to take any photos. Of course nobody checked at he observation platform if I took any photos or not. It was just a tourist rip off ... :-(