Latvia on the Road Fly-Drive Holiday

Fly to Riga and collect your hire car at the airport before driving to your hotel, staying just outside the Old Town so parking stays simple while the historic centre remains an easy walk away.

Spend the rest of the day getting your bearings in Latvia's capital, at whatever pace suits you. Lose yourself in the cobbled lanes and squares of the UNESCO-listed Old Town, wander the ornate façades of the Art Nouveau district, or browse the stalls of Riga Central Market, housed in a row of vast former Zeppelin hangars. In the evening, take your pick of the city's restaurants, cafés and bars.

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Today drive from Riga to Cesis (120km), travelling through Gauja National Park. Stop first in Sigulda, where you can explore the medieval castle ruins and visit nearby Turaida Castle, overlooking the forested Gauja Valley.

Continue to Ligatne, a former paper-mill town. Explore its historic workers' village and sandstone caves before continuing through the national park to Cesis. Spend some time discovering the town's cobbled streets and medieval castle complex before driving to Villa Santa, set in a peaceful woodland location just outside Cesis. (B)

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A longer drive today (approx. 240km) takes you west across Latvia's rural heartland to Kuldiga, and the country's best-preserved historic region. Park up and explore on foot: the UNESCO-listed old town still follows the street plan of the former Duchy of Courland, its colourful timber houses and cobbled lanes threaded by the narrow Aleksupite River.

Cross the old brick bridge over the Venta and stand at Venta Rapid - at 249 metres, the widest waterfall in Europe, even if barely more than a ripple in height. Spend what's left of the afternoon drifting between Kuldiga's lanes, cafés and riverbanks before checking in. (B)

A short drive (90km) brings you to Liepaja on the Baltic coast. After checking into your central hotel, spend the afternoon exploring on foot: Rose Square, Peter's Market, and streets where Art Nouveau grandeur sits comfortably beside old wooden houses. Look up at the striking Great Amber concert hall, then climb the tower at Holy Trinity Cathedral for views across the rooftops to the sea.

If you have time, step inside Madame Hoyer's Guest House for a glimpse of daily life in Liepaja across the 17th–19th centuries, before an evening stroll through Seaside Park or along the sand. (B)

This morning belongs to Karosta (20km), one of Latvia's stranger corners of history - a former naval base built for the Russian Empire that later spent decades as a closed Soviet military zone, off-limits and unmarked on maps. Visit St Nicholas Naval Cathedral before touring Karosta Prison, a former military detention centre still standing much as it was.

From there, walk out to the Northern Forts, where crumbling coastal defences face straight onto the Baltic, and follow the Northern Breakwater as far as you like. Head back into central Liepaja with the rest of the afternoon free. (B)

This is the coastal drive the trip has been building to. Follow Latvia's wild western shoreline north to Cape Kolka, where the open Baltic meets the Gulf of Riga head-on — one of the country's most striking, and least-visited, coastal landscapes. Walk the shore, and if time allows, call in at the Livonian Community House in Kolka for a window into the culture of Latvia's small Livonian community.

Turn south and trace the Gulf of Riga through the fishing villages of Roja, Mersrags and Engure — the kind of quiet coast road only a self-drive route reaches. Stop at the rocky shore at Kaltene, or pull over for a taste of locally smoked fish, before the longer run (330km total) to Jurmala for a two-night stay. (B)

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A short drive (50km) to Kemeri National Park, known for its bogs, mineral springs and dense forest. Follow the Great Kemeri Bog Boardwalk out across a landscape of moss, stunted pines and dark, still pools — take the longer 3.5km route out to the observation tower for panoramic views over the bog.

Back in Jurmala, the afternoon is yours: stretch your legs along the long sandy beach, wander streets lined with colourful wooden villas, or simply make use of your hotel's spa. (B)

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Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a final morning in Jurmala depending on the time of the flight. Perhaps take a walk along the beach, browse the shops and cafés around Jomas Street or simply make the most of the spa facilities at your hotel. Later, drive from Jurmala to Riga Airport (20km), return your hire car and check in for your flight back to the UK. (B)