BlaakLane.com provides chauffeur service in Riga for transfers from Riga International Airport (RIX), cruise passengers at the Riga Passenger Port, business days in the Old Town and the Skanste district, and intercity runs to Jurmala, Tallinn and Vilnius. The booking engine prices the address, date, time and vehicle as one fixed fare before you confirm. Driving is done by a vetted Riga affiliate; the confirmation names the Latvian operator and your chauffeur.
Booking a chauffeur in Riga: the four steps
- Enter the pickup on this page or at /book/: a flight number for RIX, a ship name and date for the port, or a hotel or street address.
- Add the drop-off, the time and the number of passengers and bags.
- Pick a vehicle class from the fleet. Most solo travellers take a Standard Sedan; families with ski or cruise luggage usually need an executive SUV or a Standard Black SUV.
- Confirm the fixed fare. It covers the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel and the included waiting time, with no meter and no surge.
Our 24/7 desk in Toronto dispatches the booking to a vetted Riga affiliate contracted to the BlaakLane.com written standard. Conference groups, delegations and multi-vehicle programmes are planned by a coordinator and confirmed in writing.
Riga International Airport (RIX) pickups
RIX sits in Mārupe municipality, roughly 10 km southwest of the Old Town, and is the home base of airBaltic. The passenger terminal is one building with several piers, so there is only one arrivals level to find. Standard pickup is curbside at the airport's designated pre-arranged pickup area outside arrivals; the chauffeur messages the exact spot and the car plate once your flight lands. If you want the chauffeur waiting in the RIX arrivals hall holding a name board, add meet and greet; add-ons are only available in selected locations.
Every airport pickup is tracked against the live flight. Included waiting is 60 minutes from actual landing for international arrivals, 30 minutes for domestic flights and 15 minutes for other pickups, then 15-minute blocks. Most flights into Riga arrive from other Schengen countries and have no passport check at all, so passengers often reach the curb faster than they expect. Details on how every airport pickup works are on the airport transfers page.
How long is the drive from RIX to the city?
| Route | Typical distance | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| RIX to the Old Town (Vecrīga) | 10-12 km | 15-25 min |
| RIX to the Art Nouveau district | 12-13 km | 20-30 min |
| RIX to Skanste and the Arena Riga area | 13-15 km | 20-30 min |
| RIX to Jūrmala (Majori) | 20-25 km | 25-35 min |
| Old Town to Sigulda | 50-55 km | 50-65 min |
| Riga to Tallinn | about 310 km | 4-4.5 h |
| Riga to Vilnius | about 300 km | 3.5-4 h |
The morning inbound on the Kārļa Ulmaņa gatve and the bridges over the Daugava are the usual choke points. The fare you booked does not change when traffic slows.
Cruise days at the Riga Passenger Port
Cruise ships and the Stockholm ferry use the Riga Passenger Port on Eksporta iela, on the right bank of the Daugava just north of the Old Town, about 1.5 to 2 km from the Town Hall Square. Cruise passengers usually have eight to ten hours ashore. Two patterns work well: a door-to-door transfer for embarkation or disembarkation with luggage to RIX, or an hourly chauffeur who takes you to the Old Town, the Central Market and out to Jūrmala or Rundāle Palace and back before all-aboard. Give the ship name and date when you book, and the chauffeur is timed to the published arrival. See how we handle cruise lines and ports.
Rail: Riga Central Station and Rail Baltica
Riga Central Station (Rīgas Centrālā stacija) sits at the southern edge of the Old Town beside the Origo shopping centre and serves suburban lines to Jūrmala and Sigulda plus international trains toward Vilnius. The Rail Baltica project, which will run standard-gauge track from Tallinn through Riga to the Polish border, is still under construction, and the station area has building work around it. We collect at the nearest legal stopping point on the station's street side and message you the spot.
The districts you will actually visit
- Vecrīga (Old Town): the UNESCO-listed core with the Dom Cathedral, St Peter's Church and the House of the Blackheads. Many streets are pedestrian or access-controlled, so drop-offs happen at the edge of the zone or at hotels with vehicle access.
- Centrs and the Art Nouveau quarter: Alberta iela and Elizabetes iela hold one of Europe's densest collections of Jugendstil buildings, plus embassies and offices.
- Skanste: the newer business district north of the centre with office towers and Arena Riga.
- Ķīpsala: the island across the river with the Ķīpsala International Exhibition Centre and Riga Technical University buildings.
- Pārdaugava: the left bank, with the National Library of Latvia and the TV tower.
Hotels our chauffeurs call at regularly include Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga, Hotel Bergs, Grand Palace Hotel, Radisson Blu Latvija and the Pullman Riga Old Town, named here as places, not as clients.
Events by month
- January to March: ice hockey season at Arena Riga, and occasional international tournaments.
- June: Jāņi, the midsummer holiday on 23 and 24 June, when much of the city heads to the countryside and roads out of Riga are heavy the evening before.
- August: Riga City Festival, usually around the city's anniversary weekend.
- December: the Christmas markets in Dom Square and on Esplanāde.
- Every five years: the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, which last ran in 2023.
Check dates on Latvia Travel before you plan around them.
Jūrmala, Sigulda and day trips
Jūrmala is the obvious add-on: 30 km of beach and wooden villas 25 to 35 minutes from the centre. From April to September the town charges an entry fee for motor vehicles at the checkpoints on the main road in, which is a municipal charge on the vehicle. Sigulda and the Gauja National Park, Rundāle Palace near Bauska (about 80 km, 75 to 90 minutes) and Cēsis make good day trips with a chauffeur who waits.
Tallinn and Vilnius by road
The Via Baltica corridor makes a single-day transfer between the three Baltic capitals practical. Riga to Tallinn is about 310 km, usually four to four and a half hours with a short stop at Pärnu, and Riga to Vilnius is about 300 km, typically three and a half to four hours through Panevėžys. Book them as intercity transfers; for the other cities see Tallinn and Vilnius.
Driving realities in Latvia
Latvia drives on the right, dipped headlights are required at all times, and winter tyres are compulsory through the cold months, which matters from late November to March when snow and ice are routine. Riga's Old Town has restricted vehicle access, and the city centre has on-street paid parking controlled closely by municipal inspectors, so chauffeurs do not idle at the curb for long; they circle or hold nearby and come back on your message.
Entry rules for arrivals in 2026
Latvia is in the Schengen Area and uses the euro. The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is fully operational, so non-EU travellers entering Schengen at Riga have fingerprints and a photo taken on first entry, which can add time at passport control on flights from London, Istanbul or Dubai. ETIAS has not launched yet; check EES and ETIAS before you fly. Airport information is on the Riga Airport site.
Business travel, roadshows and corporate accounts
Riga is a regional hub for fintech, logistics and shared-service centres. A roadshow day between Skanste, the Old Town and a meeting at the airport business park is best booked as an hourly hire. Companies with regular travellers use corporate accounts for monthly invoicing, cost centres and duty-of-care trip data.
Cancellation and child seats
A child seat costs nothing if you ask for it at booking. Cancelling more than 72 hours before pickup costs nothing, at 72 hours or less 10%, at 48 hours or less 50%, and at 24 hours or less or for a no-show 100%. For what drives the fare, see rates.
