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Travel and Tourism in Latvia
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Latvia.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- Latvian lat (LVL)
- Climate
- Only three European countries-Estonia, Finland, and Iceland-are farther north in their entirety than Latvia, which has latitude of between 55° and 58° and a longitude of between 20° and 28°. During most of December and January, the sun does not rise until after 9 a.m. and sets as early as 3 p.m. On the other hand, to compensate, the longest day of summer lasts almost 18 hours. In spite of its northern location, daytime winter temperatures average only slightly below freezing because of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf Stream. Daytime summer temperatures average about 70°F. The maritime climate also accounts for the country's frequent cloud cover and considerable precipitation (average per year is about 25 inches).
- Language(s) Spoken
- Latvian (official) 56.3%, Russian 33.8%, other 0.6% (includes Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), unspecified 9.4%; note - data represent language usually spoken at home.
- Ethnic Groups
- Latvian 57.7%, Russian 29.6%, Belarusian 4.1%, Ukrainian 2.7%, Polish 2.5%, Lithuanian 1.4%, other 2% (2002)
- National Holiday
- Independence Day (Republic of Latvia Proclamation Day), 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 was the date Latvia established its statehood and its concomitant independence from Soviet Russia; 4 May 1990 was the date it declared the restoration of Latvian statehood and its concomitant independence from the Soviet Union
- Geographic Coordinates
- 57 00 N, 25 00 E
- Location
- Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
- Airports
- 51
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
The quality of medical care in Latvia continues to improve, but still often falls short of Western standards. Latvia has many highly trained medical professionals, but hospitals and clinics still suffer from a lack of equipment and resources. The 2008-2009 economic crisis has resulted in further strains in health service budgets. Many doctors speak at least some English. There are few private clinics in major cities that offer services equal to Western European or U.S. standards.