Motorhome trips through Latvia

Latvia sits between strict Lithuania and permissive Estonia. There is no legal right to camp anywhere, but access to state forest land is generous: the state forestry company LVM maintains dozens of free or cheap camping and picnic sites (atpūtas vietas) with fire pit and dry toilet, and many can be reached by motorhome via forest tracks that get muddy after rain. A night on a car park away from the seaside resorts is tolerated as long as nothing goes outside; in Jūrmala, Liepāja and along the Courland beaches there are signs from May to September and checks are made. Camping and driving on beaches and in dunes is always prohibited — the coastal zone is protected — and in the Gauja, Ķemeri, Slītere and Rāzna national parks you may only stay overnight at the park's designated spots. Jūrmala also charges an entrance fee for cars from April to September, paid at the cameras on the access roads.

Campsites are few and small, often attached to a guesthouse or farm; Riga has a city campsite on Ķīpsala island. Motorhome stops in the modern sense hardly exist, but farms and guesthouses almost always let motorhomes stay for a small fee. Fires only at built fire pits; in dry spells the state declares a nationwide ban.

Practical: no tolls for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, an electronic vignette above that. Speed limits for motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes: 90 outside built-up areas, 50 inside, 100 to 110 on a few roads; dipped headlights compulsory all year; alcohol limit 0.5 per mille (0.2 for novice drivers). The Via Baltica runs via Bauska and Riga to Ainaži; the border with Lithuania at Grenctāle and with Estonia at Ainaži is open, those with Russia and Belarus are closed to tourists. LPG is available everywhere, dish connector.