Jurmala is a slightly eerie ghost town, a strip of damaged, boarded up or simply abandoned holiday homes jammed onto a narrow isthmus between the polluted Baltic and the frozen Leilupe river. Latvia is the most charming of the Baltic States simply because it is the least western - this lends scattered Latvian towns a sense of mystery and unpredictability not found in Lithuania or Estonia.
The ticket office at the Riga train station will happily sell you a ticket for Majori, but, in true Latvian fashion, the train may not actually stop there - you will have to buy an extension to Dubulti off the conductor and walk back.
Travelling west from Majori, the easiest option is to carry on by train to Sloka, then transfer to the bus. The Sloka bus station is across the tracks from the train station and is well served by bus connections to Talsi, Kuldiga, Ventspils etc. Baltic drivers are among the most easy-going, flexible and helpful people in the world, except for inner-city Vilnius bus drivers, who carry guns and have been known to shoot freeloaders.
Kuldiga is a sleepy little place with an almost Mexican feel to it - squint your eyes and the rough plaster work looks almost like adobe. The snow on the ground, however, is strictly Eastern Europe.
Leipaja has the same sort of feel as Jurmala, but more industrial. Abandoned buildings everywhere but a nice beach, stylish cellar cafes and the yellow brick St Joseph's cathedral well worth a look.
Matt Anderson, Canada (Mar 99)
Most Scandinavians and all Baltic people, smoke. The anti-smoking movement does not appear to have made the same inroads as it has in other parts of the world and some forms of public transport, particularly trains in Denmark and the Baltic ferries, are little more than containers used to transport second-hand smoke from point A to point B, with a side trip through your lungs en route. Smokers, like pit-bull owners and JehovahÆs Witnesses, simply cannot understand what youÆre complaining about, and your only option may be to smash a window with that little red-painted hammer hanging on the wall.
Holders of student cards get substantial discounts on pretty much everything going - those of us unfortunate enough to work for a living get gouged mercilessly every way we turn. The scale of this injustice is now so colossal and widespread that travellers are advised to get a student card if they can.
Matt Anderson, Canada (Mar 99)
There is a great service from Berlin to Shiastokai/Sestokai, but it's chaotic after that with the demise of the Baltic Express service. We got to Riga via Kaunas, and that took the time it should have taken to get to Tallinn. As far as we could find out, the line to Tallinn is permanently closed, the damage to the rails too expensive to fix. There are plenty of buses however from Riga to Tallinn.
The Baltic Rail Pass has again been withdrawn owing to problems. If it does get sold again, it would be invaluable to have a Russian translation as well as the National ones as most of the people working on the trains don't seem able to read Latvian/Lithuanian etc. Kaliningrad has ceased to be included. This meant we had to buy a ticket in Vilnius from the border of Kaliningrad to Kaliningrad, but a sleeper from Vilnius to Kaliningrad. No chance! Sleepers, in fact, were complicated to arrange throughout the trip. So complicated that often they forgot to charge us. Despite all the hassles, it was, however, certainly cheap, even for just Latvia and Lithuania - and no queuing for tickets.
Mrs. Kate Hammond, UK (Sept 98)
The accommodation situation in Riga, is worsening for the non-expense account traveller. The smaller hotels are typically full or quote unrealistically high prices for free rooms. The larger hotels are now rivalling London in price. For a couple or more travelling together a realistic alternative is to stay in Jurmala the resort close by Riga where the oversupply of accommodation means that rates are still reasonable. Also the suburban rail service is regular, reliable and safe and operates until late at night. With two or more people the savings on rooms leave adequate funds to use taxis into and out of Riga if the train or bus does not appeal.
Martin Bostock (Oct 97)
Switch debit cards displaying the Cirrus symbol can be used to obtain cash in Riga, but we did not find any cash point machines anywhere else in the country.
Eric Goodyer & Sue Duerdoth, UK (Aug 97)
