Greetings from Estonia! Couple going on a Latvia-Lithuania car trip. Since we've driven through the main road (E67) and visited Riga many times, we would like to visit other parts of your country as well. Some questions about the trip:

  1. Would you recommend to drive through Venta (pic 1) or along the coast of Kurzemes peninsula (pic 2)?

  2. Are there any good camping sites in Kurzemes? Is there a site to see official camping sites? (in Estonia we have rmk.ee)

  3. Are there any must-visit sites that we've missed?

  4. What route would you recommend when coming back from Vilnius?

by Weekly-Signature-910

12 comments

  3. There was an exact post like this with a suggested routes trough Kurzeme.

  4. The second one is way better.
    There are countless commercial campsites along the coast but there is one public campground that is potentially the most beautiful public campsite in Latvia. It is located where the river Irbe meets the Baltic sea.

  5. Both routes have their ups and downs. One has eruopes widest waterfall, the other has a unique “tip” of country – Kolkas rags. A beautiful place where Baltic sea meets gulf of Rīga.

    Imo bouth routes are really nice and with much to see. But if I had to pick, I would go with the sea route. As there is even a place where u can go and see wild cows/horses near Engure lake and you can also visit a major city in the region: Ventspils. There is a really beautiful lake where you can swim and even visit the steep banks/clifs near the sea. (Staldzenes stāvkrasts). If you go this route you can make a small detor trough Kuldīga as well if you really want to see the widest waterfall in Europe. Would not add too much distance to the trip

  6. Let me just say props to you for selecting good routes instead of just visiting the capital. Not sure what you guys are into, but let me give my 2 cents. Both routes are good choices.

    First one would be a bit more urban with amazing cultural locations. Kuldīga is beautiful at any time of year, but especially in summer. The widest waterfall in Europe does allow swimmers in it. 😉

    The second one is more scenic and raw. Less people, more nature. You can see some wild horses in Engure, cape Kolka is quite unique in its geography as well. And I recommend stopping at Irbenes radiolokators, if you’re taking this route. It’s an old military city with the biggest satellite dish you’ll (probably) see.

  8. If you choose to drive through the middle of Kurzeme peninsula, I would advise to go on P130 through Kandava and Sabile followed by P120 through Renda till Kuldīga, instead of taking the P121 from Tukums till Kuldīga. The P121 is a more direct but less scenic route, while the P130 goes along the Abava River Valley (Abavas Senleja in Latvian), one of the “classic” routes of Latvia I would say. It is somewhat similar to the Gauja Valley in Vidzeme, only in a smaller scale and featuring more open views.

    As for the coastal route, the stretch from Kolka to Ventspils is comparable to Kõpu poolsaar of Hiiumaa in terms of the remoteness and the nature. You can include Slitere Lighthouse which is located on a hill off the coast, climb up the tower and overlook the Slitere National Park as well as the sea and possibly Saaremaa if visibility is good. There is a nature trail nearby as well.

    There are some local travel blogs like this: [Kurzeme Archives | Ceļā](https://my-travel-atlas.com/birka/kurzeme/) which might help with inspiration.

    For the Latvian State Forests camping sites, you can visit [Maps – LVM GEO](https://www.lvmgeo.lv/en/maps) and select LVM Atpūta Dabā in the Map layer section, or this one [Dodies.lv vēstures kartes](https://vesture.dodies.lv/#m=9/57.15472/22.83014&l=J/lvpikniks/lvtornis/lvtaka) . These pages mostly feature “picnic spaces” and not exactly camping spaces, as in, you can park the vehicle nearby but not always right next to the picnic space.

  9. The road along the coast is more remote and more chill, I like it a lot, but you will miss Kuldiga

  10. Adding to my previous comment, on the route coming back from Vilnius while avoiding E67, you can go through one of these routes: in Lithuania, both of these routes cross the Eastern Lithuania Highlands with many lakes, along the roads there is the Aukštaitija National Park and some 5 other regional parks as well. In Latvia, you can choose the Western route which goes through Jēkabpils, then the picturesque roads of Vidzeme Highlands up to Smiltene and Valka.

    The Eastern route goes through Daugavpils, along the Daugavas loki nature park (there is a nice tower right next to Daugava called Vasargelišku skatu tornis), Krāslava, a beautiful traditional Latgallian town right on the shores of Daugava, then through Dagda, after Dagda there would be the Latgale Highlands, you can visit Lielais Liepukalns observation tower, sadly closed right now; also Rāzna Lake, the second biggest in Latvia, the Town of Rēzekne, continue northwards towards Alūksne (a very nice town with an island in the lake, sightseeing tower etc., up to Alūksne Highlands which is already part of Haanja highland, there are two observation towers (Dēliņkalna tower and Kornetu tower), I’ve been to both and very much liked the scenery there.

    https://preview.redd.it/psvvjhj6ktbf1.png?width=810&format=png&auto=webp&s=33552d84cdce9ff3fc3da0c57491ae2f13bb0364

  11. In Route 2, Out Route 1. That way you’ll see everything you wanted here.

  12. When coming back from Vilnius I recommend Biržai – Skaistkalne route.

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