Riga Transportation

i really passonatly do feel i need to blow there trumpet after the spout of bad press.
Facts about ryan air.
1. yes, make sure you read the small print, this being your baggage allowence, if your going for a weekend or something and just taking 3 or 4 change of clothes, take a small rucksack, with the weight being under 10 kg, there is no charge!, we paid 4 pence return for 2, plus £40 taxes, how can you moan at that!.

2. you get into the aircraft, yes it is bland, no tv, suspicious stains on seats, but what do you want, for an extra £200 go and fly BA,
3. staff were more than helpfull, example, on our way home, one of the air stewards even offered to take us from the airport to the bus station in liverpool, would you ever get that from ba or brittania, i doubt it, my personal views of them is this, there a no nonsence carrier, taking you from point a to point b, nothing more, nothing less, hence there price, hence there the most punctual airline in europe (they dont tell you that on the news)

ryan air would be my number one choice to travel with again.

At the end of one visit, a colleague took me to his country's embassy for a beer with the ambassador (colleague was a semi-retired senior civil servant). Nice relaxing way to pass an hour on Friday afternoon, while waiting for flight. Ambassador in jeans etc.

Being a convivial host, ambassador offered us his car & driver to get us to airport. Why refuse.

Unfortunately driver turned out to be a total lunatic. Probably has to drive sensibly with his boss in the back. For us, it was flat out all the way (85 k p/h in town!?). Diplomatic plates, so no problems with traffic police.

Never again. Only comparable experience is airport to city in Istanbul taxi...

Crossing this bridge in winter when the wind is from the north is so cold it makes me shiver just thinking about it. Its not that far, but the wind comes right up the estuary from the Baltic.

Tip is to take a tram across!

When it was time for us to leave Riga we had to make our way back to the International Airport, As the weather was bad -- In fact it was blowing a blizzard, we decided to opt for a bit of luxury and ordered a 6 seater taxi !! it picked us up from our Hostal and took us back, No problem -- The cost -- Around £15 (I have been told that this is expensive but the guy didn't start the meter until we were leaving the hostal and it read 14.3 Lats when we arrived at the airport) We were All quite happy as to split it five ways it was only £3 each !!

The Best way to see Riga is on foot, The City, Especially The Old City is Very Compact with All the sites very close to each other. If the weather is Inclement then there are Loads of Museums to pop in and If you get information overload then why not take a break in one of the local hostelries !!

If like us you chose to fly into Riga then you will land at the New international Airport, Only about 10k from the centre of Riga and well served by an airport bus. We caught a taxi into the city and it worked out at around £15, Taxi fares did seem to vary as some of our group hailed a taxi for their return journey and it only cost the £8 -- So agree your fare before setting off !!
The Airport is Excellent, All facilities, Good shops and not so expensive to buy a meal or a drink !!

When traveling by bus, get your tickets from the bus station.
There is no standing allowed on the buses so there are only as many tickets as there are seats.
You may be lucky and be able to pay on the bus if it is empty but best to allow yourself plenty of time to get a ticket before hand.

At the main bus station each ticket booth has a clock show when it is due to close. As soon as it reaches that time no more tickets are sold and its a mad dash to the next available booth.
Sadly, its not always easy to see these clocks when standing in a queue.

Finally, there are a fair few beggers in the bus station, I found it best to ignore them, eventually they leave you allow and try the next tourist.

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Riga Internation Airport (RIX) has a decent website with information about arrivals/departures as well as details about the airport itself.
It is the largest airport in the Baltic states and was renovated in 2006 (Riga's 800th anniversary)
An aviation museum is located just outside the airport.
Visits can be pre-arranged, however, you do get a good view of some the exhibits from your plane!