Your Guided Tour in Riga: professional, walking, bus tour, friendly and free

You are coming to Riga. You want to take an excursion to get to know the city? You will have problems to choose the best one or the most suitable for you because there are so many! Normally price for an excursion in Riga starts from 10Ls (15Euros) per person – one hour walking tour, but you can also find free tours! Here are 4 options for you.

Bus Tour:

The fastest and easiest way is to take Riga Bus tour – sightseeing tour by bus through all city. No walking, no bad weather can bother you, audioguide in 10 languages... http://www.riga-sightseeing.lv/ . Sightseeing tour buses departs daily every hour from the Latvian National Opera, Town Hall Square (Rātslaukums) and Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija. Bus tour duration is 90 minutes. Ticket price 10Ls (15 Eur). You can also get Hop-on Hop-off ticket which is valid for two days and costs 14Ls (20 Eur)

Professional Guide:

Next one comes agency SmileLine – walking tours – aslo very easy, you find them in The Old Town near the Occupation Museum under yellow umbrella. Just got stright to them and get your excursion – well planned walking tour. You can also check Riga Guides register: http://www.rigaguides.lv/en/excursions. and book your excursion before coming. And you can find hundreds of other agencies offering excursions. Starting from 10Ls per person.

Free Tour:

Escape the Old Town and discover stories of Riga from the past and present in a 3 hour walking tour. Starting point – in front of the entrance of the St. Peter’s church every day at 12.00. As a youth project the Free Tour operates for tips only so if you like the tour you can give your part to support the cause. http://freetour.traveller.ee/?page_id=5&lang=ri

Free "Your Friend in Riga Tour" is also possible if you contact me via e-mail: friendinriga@gmail.com and want to meet a local friend in Riga. You are welcome to tell me your interests or whatever comes into your mind you would like to see/to do/to feel in Riga. I’m not a professional guide – just living here, working and partying, going to events and walking around. I have some knowledge in history, literature, music, I know the cultural life and values of Riga, I can take you to the places where professional guides don’t go and I will honestly share my experience about living here. I will be glad to meet you here! :)

Who is your friend and why?

Hello, dear traveller!

I guess you have an interest about travelling or my home country -  Latvia! Maybe even both of them. You are totally right – I love the Capital of Latvia - Riga and I’ll be happy if one day you will visit it. I could talk and talk about toursim, culture, entertainment, nice places and my Riga. Most of the time you can meet me there. But I also love the countryside and small towns of Latvia.

Tourism and travelling is something great and all these agencies are doing really good job! They will give you your tickets, they will offer to you interesting excursions with professional guides, and you will get the best hotel with great view through your window. Every agency will try to convince you that they have what you need, they will give you perfectly planned route which hundreds of tourists have checked before you. But if you want to feel the country, to taste it and understand you need simple local people: they will show you not only the most beautiful places, but they will help you to find what you want. You will get individual attitude and honest story about the place.

This blog is about travelling, tourism, Latvia, Riga. Here you will find travel tips, interesting places to visit in my country, events in Riga, possibilities, opportunities and just the things me and my friends have discovered about the world of travelling etc.   You are welcome to contact me if you are planning to visit Riga or any other place in Latvia, I would also be glad to know your opinion if you have been here before and if you allow me to do it, I can publish it here. If you have questions, I can try to find the answers. If wont be able to find the answer you need, my friends will come to help.

It doesn’ t matter you are coming alone, with a bunch of friends or with your family, I’ll be glad to meet you here. Mostly you can find me in Riga and if you want me to be your personal Riga city guide when you are here, I will accept from you some bakshees, tee money or call it however you want and it’s only your choice – how much. This is not a business. You are welcome to torture me with questions on which I probobly even don’t have answers right now, you are also welcome to inform me about your interests and I’ll help you to find what you are searching for. And again, if I will not be able to do it on my own, my friends will come to help. If we will need another guide for your tour in Riga – we are the team who can help you. If you are a friend of German language it also wont be a problem. Just let me know what are you searching for!

I can’t promise that I’ll be available anytime you want, I am not a professional guide, I don’t have a huge knowledge of history. But if you want to come to my country, feel free to contact me. Maybe I’ll be able to help you. I love the place where I am. I will be glad to know – you are coming to Latvia. Or just enjoy this blog! 

Best wishes,
Your Friend in Riga
friendinriga@gmail.com

(Just in case if you want to know who am I (you can also skip this part): I am young and Latvian. I have been studying culture management and it’s just an accident that I got involved into the toursim business. I have been projects manager, director of some festivals, manger of the hotel, manager of the tourism internet portal, I have been „Personal Travel Agent”. I have seen how different travel agencies are working. Well, I have also played different roles of animals for children birthdays and I don’t mind to cut invitations, decorations and other papers for hours and hours. I have been street musician and who knows what I’ll do tomorrow... And doing long term voluntary work abroad helped me to see my country and opportunites Latvia gives with other eyes. I love Latvia. I love Riga.)