Riga ► London  (via Warsaw)

• Travel from Riga to Vilnius by bus or train.  See www.luxexpress.eu for details of the several daily buses.  Or travel by local train with a change and overnight stop in Daugavpils, see here for details.

• Travel from Vilnius to London by train, as shown on the London to Vilnius page.

How to buy tickets...

You can book this journey from London as far as Warsaw through Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 0900-1700 Monday-Friday, no booking fee) or www.traintours4u.co.uk on 020 7619 1083 (£20 booking fee, but can have more time to help).  Then book the Warsaw-Vilnius train at the station in Warsaw when you get there.  Then book the Vilnius to Riga bus when you get to Vilnius.

On the return journey, book the Riga-Vilnius bus at Riga bus station, and the Vilnius-Warsaw train at either Vilnius station.  Deutsche Bahn can, of course, reserve the rest of your return journey from Warsaw back to London.

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Train travel within Latvia...

Trains link Riga with many Latvian towns, including Daugavpils (4 trains daily, 3-4 hours), Krustpils, Lugaži, Tukums & Jelgava.  The official Latvian Railways website is www.ldz.lv.  Click 'English' at the top, then 'Passenger traffic'.  There's now also a Latvian passenger trains website, www.pv.lv (click 'en' top right for the English version).  However, the best source of times and fares for both trains and buses within Latvia is www.118.lv, which also has an English version.

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Moving on from Latvia...

Riga ► Vilnius by train...

Sadly, there are now no direct Riga-Vilnius trains at all.  At least the Communists knew how to run a railway!  The Riga to Vilnius journey is now much faster and more frequent by long-distance bus, see the section below.  However, if you prefer to travel by train, no problem:  You can use a daily local train from Vilnius to Daugavpils in the evening, stop overnight in a hotel at Daugavpils, then travel by local train Daugavpils-Vilnius next morning.  Being an evening train-hotel-morning train arrangement, it's quite time-effective even if slower than the bus.

• Evening day 1, travel from Riga to Daugavpils by train, leaving Riga main station at 17:32 and arriving Daugavpils 21:07, or there's an earlier fast train at 16:12 arriving 19:08.  The fare is around €7 (£6).  You can check times & fares at www.ldz.lv (Click 'English' top left then 'passenger traffic').  No prior reservation required, just buy a ticket on the day at the station.

• Spend the night in Daugavpils, hotels from around £25 per room.

• Morning day 2, travel from Daugavpils to Vilnius by once-daily international train leaving Daugavpils at 05:50 and arriving Vilnius at 08:06.  The fare is about €27.  Simply buy a ticket at the station on the day as this train cannot be pre-booked.  You can check times for this train at www.traukiniobilietas.lt (click 'EN' for English).

• Update 2015:  It seems that Lithuania has closed its borders to trains, the train no longer crosses the border to Daugavpils.  So much for joining the EU!

• See the Lithuania page for details of the northbound service. 

Traveller Russell Goddard went this way between Vilnius & Riga, and used the Eurolines bus between Riga & Tallinn:  "While not unpleasant, the coach was a distinctly soulless experience, lacking the character of the trains. The coaches are a way of getting people from A to B with a minimum of bother, which I'm sure is a plus in many people's books, but as someone who travels as much for the sake of the journey itself, I was glad I'd gone by train from Vilnius to Riga via Daugavpils rather than taking the coach all the way from Vilnius to Tallinn! In Tallinn itself, the bus station is inconveniently located some distance from the city centre, while the rail station is right on the edge of the old town - if only it had a decent international service!"

Riga ► Vilnius by bus...

If you'd rather travel by bus, as in this case it is certainly more frequent and faster, there is a regular bus service from Riga to Vilnius, with several departures daily, fare €17-€23, journey time 4½ hours, see www.luxexpress.eu.

Riga ► Tallinn by train...

The Latvian and Estonian railways finally co-ordinated their timetables and it's possible once more to travel between Riga and Tallinn on a comfortable and cheap daily train service, with one simple change of train at Valga on the border.  Both the Latvian and Estonian trains are local services rather than anything fancy, and it takes a few hours longer and is less frequent than the bus (the train service runs once a day), but it's cheap, easy to use, no prior reservation is necessary and you may find it an interesting and more enjoyable alternative to a long bus ride.  The Estonian train between Valga & Tallinn is a smart modern air-conditioned train with power sockets, on-board information screens and free WiFi.  The Latvian train now has free WiFi too.

Fares:  Riga to Valga costs just €5.60 for the 168 km.  Valga to Tallinn costs €16.15.

How to buy tickets: There's no need to reserve, indeed you can't.  Just turn up at Riga station, buy a ticket to Valga and get on the train.  You'll need to buy the Valga-Tartu & Tartu-Tallinn tickets on board the Estonian trains.

How to check these times and fares:  You can check times for the Latvian train times and fares at www.pv.lv, click 'en' top right for English.  You can check the Estonian train times and fares at www.elron.ee.  At time of writing it's only in Estonian, but click sõiduplaan (= timetable) at the top then look at the Tartu-Valga timetable.  It helps to know that in Estonian, Riia = Riga.  It looks as if the Valga-Tartu & Tartu-Tallinn trains are separate trains, one correspondent reports that an easy cross-platform change at Tartu was necessary, though another correspondent says it was the same train all the way Valga-Tallinn with a 19 minute layover at Tartu.  Just go there and see!

1) Riga to Valga by Latvian train...  This is a classic Soviet-era local train, 2nd class only, with a modernised interior.  There's no catering on either train, so bring your own beer and picnic!  Photos courtesy of Jan Špaček & Rui Magro Correia

At Valga it's a simple cross-platform interchange.  That's the Latvian train on the left, the Estonian train on the right...  Courtesy of DiscoverbyRail.com.

2) Valga to Tallinn by Estonian train...  These smart new air-conditioned local trains have on-board information screens, free Wifi & power sockets for laptops & mobiles.  Above left, first class seats are also available.  At Valga, it's a simple cross-platform interchange, in the exterior photo that's the front of the Latvian train on the right.  Photos courtesy of Daniel King.

Riga ► Tallinn by bus...

There is a regular bus service between Riga & Tallinn, taking about 4½ hours from €16-€27, with regular departures through the day.  See www.luxexpress.eu.  A couple of other bus companies (Ecolines & Hansabus) operate on this route too.

Riga ► Moscow by train...

There is a comfortable and safe daily sleeper train from Riga to Moscow, the Latvijas Express, with 1st class 2-berth sleepers & 2nd class 4-berth sleepers.  In summer there may be an additional daily sleeper train, the Jumala, leaving a little later.  To check train times, see www.poezda.net.

Fares:  Riga to Moscow costs around €60 in a 4-bed sleeper if bought at the station.  This train does NOT go through Belarus.

To check train times & book online in either direction, use the Real Russia booking system here.  Real Russia charge a 15-23% mark-up over ticket office prices, included in the prices they show.  For journeys starting in Riga you'll need to have tickets sent to you at a small extra charge as the e-ticket option doesn't work for departure from Vilnius, only for departures from Moscow.

The Riga to Moscow Latvia Express boarding at Riga.  Courtesy of DiscoverbyRail.com.

Above left:  A comfortable 2-berth sleeper on the Latvijas Ekspress Riga to Moscow train, with 2 lower bunks.  Note the tablecloth, serviettes, and various goodies available for purchase.  4-berth sleepers are similar to 2-berth ones, but with two upper bunks as well. The Riga to St Petersburg train is similar.  Above right: Through the countryside from Riga to Moscow   Photos courtesy of John Walton.

So civilised!  The Riga to Moscow train has an attractive restaurant car serving cheap but pretty good meals.  Photos courtesy of Discoverbyrail.com.

Riga ► St Petersburg by train...

There is a comfortable and safe daily overnight sleeper train from Riga to St Petersburg, the Baltiya, with 2-berth and 4-berth sleepers.

Fare:  Riga to St Petersburg costs around €50 in a 4-bed sleeper if bought at the station.  This train does NOT go through Belarus.

To check train times and book online in either direction, use the Real Russia booking system here.  Real Russia charge a 15-23% mark-up over ticket office prices, included in the prices they show.  For journeys starting in Riga you'll need to have tickets sent to you at a small extra charge as the e-ticket option doesn't work for departure from Vilnius, only for departures from St Petersburg.

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European Rail Timetable & maps

The European Rail Timetable (formerly the Thomas Cook European Timetable) has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  It is essential for regular European train travellers and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided to pull the plug on their entire publishing department, but the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team have set up a private venture and published the first edition of a reborn European Rail Timetable in March 2014.  You can buy it online with worldwide shipping at either www.stanfords.co.uk or www.europeanrailtimetable.eu.  More information on what the European Rail Timetable contains.

A Traveller's Railway Map of Europe covers the whole of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  On the back are detailed maps of Switzerland, Benelux & Germany, plus city plans showing stations in major cities.  Scenic & high-speed routes highlighted.  Buy it online for £14.50 + postage worldwide (UK addresses £2.80) at www.stanfords.co.uk/Continents/Europe-A-Travellers-Railway-Map_9789077899090.htm or (in the Netherlands) for €13 + €5.50 postage from www.treinreiswinkel.nl.

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Make sure you take a good guidebook.  For the independent traveller, this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  I personally prefer the layout of the Lonely Planets, others prefer the Rough Guides.  Both books provide a similarly excellent level of interesting background and practical information.  You won't regret buying one of these!  My own book, an essential handbook for train or ferry travel to Europe based on this website called "The Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and is available from Amazon.co.uk with shipping worldwide.

Click the images to buy online at Amazon.co.uk...

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Hotels in Riga & Latvia

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Travel insurance & health card

Take out decent travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel without proper travel insurance from a reliable insurer with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover loss of cash & belongings (up to a limit), and trip cancellation.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year - I have an annual policy myself.  However, don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, Seat61 gets a little commission if you buy through these links, and feedback from using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.

In the UK, use www.confused.com to compare prices & policy features across major insurance companies.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65, see www.JustTravelCover.com - 10% discount with code seat61.

        If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Get an EU health card, it's free...

If you're a UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the NHS.  This replaced the old E111 forms as from January 2006.  The EHIC card is available from ww.nhs.uk.  It doesn't remove the need for travel insurance, though.

Carry a spare credit card, designed for travel with no currency exchange loading & low/no ATM fees

Taking out an extra credit card costs nothing, but if you keep it in a different part of your luggage you won't be left stranded if your wallet gets stolen.  In addition, some credit cards are better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.