Practical Tips: Money, Transport and Communication

Time, Money

Time

Latvia is in the - GMT+2 time zone. If you arrive from London, put the clock forward for two hours, from Moscow – back one hour.

It is quite hard to find a 24/7 store in Riga. The supermarkets usually open at 8 AM and close at 11-12 PM. On Saturdays and Sundays grocery stores are usually open but the others are either closed or close earlier. Banks and museums close at 4-5 PM. Most large cafes are open until 11 PM - 1 AM.

Money and payment cards in Latvia

The national currency in Latvia is Latvian Lat (Ls). One Lat is equal to 100 santims. One Lat equals to app. 1,5 Euro or 2,3 Dollars. Currency exchange offices have billboards “Valutas maina”.

All persons arriving in Latvia from non-EU Member States have to declare their monetary means while entering Latvia. This requirement applies solely to amounts exceeding 10 000 euros. The same requirement applies to persons leaving Latvia and the boundaries of the Union.

The most commonly used credit cards for paying in Latvian hotels, restaurants, cafes and shopping centres are EUROCARD, MASTERCARD, VISA, JCB, DINER'S CLUB, AMERICAN EXPRESS, EUROCHEQUE. You can always easily withdraw your money in banks or from cash machines.

Communication

Telephone

You can make a call to any place in the world from phone booths located all around Latvia.To use public phones you need a telephone card which is available at kiosks or shops. You can also make use of a service offering a call to be paid by the addressee.

There is one common telephone code for all Latvia’s towns (+371), no additional codes for GSM phones. All local phone numbers have 8 digits.

To call a foreign number you should dial 00 and then (don’t wait for the beep) the code of the country you are calling and the telephone number.

To call to Latvia from abroad you have to dial 00371 + number. To call a foreign number from Latvia dial 00 + the code of the country + telephone number.

Mobile communication

To call a GSM phone in Latvia you do not need to dial any additional codes. All Latvian GSM phones have 8 digits.

Tourists are recommended to buy pre-paid mobile phone cards providing a temporary local number and local tariffs. Cards are available at newsstands and stores without necessity to show any documents.

Wireless Internet is developing headily in Riga, so one can find WiFi access points in numerous cafes, institutions and public phone booths.

Post

Post service quality is good. As a rule, ordinary letters are delivered on the next day within Riga and in one or two days across Latvia. International letters are usually delivered in under a week.

Riga has no subway but there are trams, trolleybuses, buses and route taxis. Public transport fee is 50-70 santims, taxi-buses – 45-70 santims. There is very little transport after 11 PM. Some routes have duty buses and trams (once in an hour).

Taxi

There is no problem to find a taxi in Riga. We don’t usually stop private cars in Latvia. The fee is computed by the meter. Official day-time tariff is 1,50 Ls for boarding and 0,50 Ls/km.

Please, note different taxi companies can have different tariffs. Moreover, it happens that some taxi drivers resort to various tricks like switching on the night-time tariff instead of the day-time one. It is advisable to order a taxi by phone. If you get in a taxi at a taxi parking lot or just in the street the chance to pay more is higher.

According to the public order regulations in Riga it is prohibited to hold an open beer or other alcohol drink pack in any open container, except in places, where it is permitted.

It is not allowed to lie or walk on the grass of the greenery in the centre of Riga.

Alcohol beverages including beer or even non-alcohol beer are not sold in shops from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.

At night time in unlit places pedestrians are recommended to wear light reflectors, otherwise even a fine can be applied.

Beware of pickpockets when going by trolley-buses no. 3, 15, 17 and 23, these are especially liked by them. You should also be cautious at Riga Central Market.