Summer Jurmala. Forest, sea and cultural recreation, or how to relax in Jurmala When you can swim in Jurmala
The simplest solution for finding a beach in Riga is go to Jurmala and, if you do this, you will be right, because in translation from Latvian the word Jurmala means “sea shore”.
All beaches of Jurmala are equally good for relaxation. There are no paid beaches here; renting an umbrella and sunbed costs 5-8 euros. The beaches are usually equipped everything you need: shower, toilet, changing cabins, there is always a cafe nearby.
Beach season here is not too long: from the end of June to the end of August. Sea water temperatures may rise during the season up to 22 degrees. At other times, the sea becomes cool, but the endless sandy beaches remain just as inviting.
The best beaches in Jurmala
Bulduri Beach
This beach is one of the best in Jurmala, for which it was awarded the highest award "Blue Flag", just like the other beaches of Jurmala that we are telling you about. Not far from the beach there is an Arboretum where you can walk in the shade of trees.
Dzintari Beach
Usually the beaches in Jurmala are named the same as the areas in which they are located. Dzintari is no exception. This is the most luxurious area with luxurious houses and the most expensive real estate, and the beach in this area is also known far beyond the borders of Latvia. Although in fact, in terms of the quality of services provided, it is no different from other beaches.
Majori Beach
This beach is located in the very center of Jurmala, not far from the main walking street Jomas. The beach is perfectly clean, equipped with everything you need, there are many cafes and entertainment for children and adults. On the beach you can play volleyball or do other sports.
Dubulti Beach
Another city beach where you can have a great rest. There is always free space here, there are cafes and shops nearby, there are changing cabins and beach equipment rentals.
Jaunkemeri Beach
If you want to have a relaxing holiday, then you need to go to this beach. There are usually very few people here, the water in the sea is very clean, and the seagulls are very impudent. The beach is located far from the center, so people usually go to the popular Dzintari or Majori, where life is bustling and music is loud, and to Jaunkemeri they go for relaxation.
In addition to these beaches in Jurmala you can go to Kauguri and Vaivari, which are equipped for people with disabilities, as well as on Pumpuri beach, which will appeal to those who like to ride surf and others active recreation. On Lielupe fishermen and those who want to go boating come, but in general in Jurmala everyone will find something for themselves that they will remember with a smile.
The best beaches in Riga
Daugavgrive beach
This beach is located near Primorsky Natural Park. Here you can calmly sunbathe by the water, or engage in active recreation. The beach is equipped with changing cabins, showers and toilets, and there is a small parking lot on site.
Vecaki Beach
Address: Selgas iela 20, Riga
The beach is located on the outskirts of the city, which does not prevent it from being the favorite beach of the townspeople. There are changing cabins, showers and toilets, and you can rent a sun lounger and an umbrella. Lying on the beach you can hear the pine trees rustling in the forest.
Vakarbulli Beach
This beach is officially considered nudist. Nevertheless, everyone can find a place to relax in the area of this beach. The beach has a large parking lot, changing areas, shops and cafes. Vakarbulli is equipped with everything necessary for a beach holiday.
Beaches of Saulkrasti
If you don’t want to go to ordinary beaches, but want something unusual, go towards the city of Saulkrasti. The city is located 47 km from Riga and the entire road to it is a work of art. At the entrance to the city, you will find white sand dunes, endless beaches, equipped and wild places for recreation, sandy slopes on which pine trees grow, the wind blowing through the dense crowns of trees... People here know and love to have a good rest, and also take care of their guests, so people come here for a couple of days. Average price for a double room 35-40 euros. Find hotels and guest houses in Saulkrasti at the lowest guaranteed prices on the website
On the weekend of August 17-19, we decided to go for a swim in the Baltic Sea and see Old Riga. The border was a cause for concern because it was our first time crossing it in our Ford S MAX. The fears turned out to be unfounded; the border was crossed in Burachki at approximately 7 am - this is along the Riga-Moscow highway 150 km from Velikiye Luki. There were practically no cars, this procedure took about a couple of hours due to our dullness (on the way back the border took 1 hour - experience played a role) - either we stood in the wrong place, or we marked our passports in the wrong place, in Latvia we got caught in a shift change . Cars are not strictly inspected - just lift, lower the hood, open and close the doors, but there is no particular friendliness, Article 49 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (presumption of innocence) does not apply at the border, from the strict tone of the men and women in uniform it is clear that they suspect you before they saw it. Come on, that’s their job. It even seemed that Latvians were friendlier, and not at all slower, as in jokes.
After crossing the border in Terehovo, Latvia comes, but the impression is created as if you are traveling through Russia. The ruined patch road to Rezekne and Varakljan in the EEC country, poor villages and hamlets near the border - all this is dear and familiar to our Russian eyes. The speed limits are 90 and 50, but everyone calmly drives 100 on the highway, the ride is very comfortable, no one overtakes, you You also don’t have to overtake anyone, everyone goes in the flow. The road after Jekabpils was very good, we calmly reached Jurmala, we knew that there was a fee to enter the city, we were guarding this entrance, but we still made a mistake. This happens due to the fact that many drivers cannot immediately understand how and where to pay for entering Jurmala. We look at the photo and learn how to enter Jurmala. The forest begins on the right
Another half kilometer to go 
there are 2 turns here, take a left 
and finally we got to the goal, long-legged Latvian beauties stood here and helped pay for the fare
We were among these many, the sign at the entrance to the city is absolutely unreadable, the top lines are in Latvian, the bottom lines are in English, the sign is large white, with small letters. A girl in uniform ran out, they stopped us, invited us into a police car, along the way the person in uniform announced the verdict - 40 lats (2400) and 2 punctures according to the European protocol (entry into Jurmala costs only 1 lat. 1 lat = 63 rubles, the coupon is valid for 24 hours and having bought it, you need to drive into the city within an hour,) an officer was sitting in the car who gave a lecture. what a malicious offender I am, I, in turn, said that we were tourists, we were taking money to Latvia to spend, I realized the gravity of the crime and was counting on leniency. Then there was a painful pause, the officer puffed and sniffled, finally pulled out a piece of paper from the folder and wrote “10 Ls for a folder”, the spelling is preserved. (630 rubles at the exchange rate). This is how we entered Jurmala at 10 times more expensive than expected. But they still thought with relief that they got off cheaply. In Jurmala, we booked an apartment through the website www.airbnb.ru, here you can rent an apartment, a cottage, an apartment, a castle in any part of the world - whatever you can afford, we rented a 1-room studio apartment, 115 euros for two nights three days for three, for the owners this apartment is not the main business, you need to google pribaltdom
We took all the phones, we were promised some discounts for the future, the prices at the time of our stay in Jurmala were announced by the owners as follows: small apartments 60 euros (2 adults + 2 children), large apartments (6 adults) 160 euros, they call apartments without breakfast,
we lived like this 
everything turned out as the owners promised on the website, we were met by Vika, a hospitable hostess, a little worried because of our hour’s delay, she handed us the keys and told us where to find things in Jurmala. And we went to the sea 
access to the sea
Despite the fairly warm weather (25C), the beach was not crowded 
white, clean sand that blinds the eyes. In general, the beach is very clean, everywhere there are containers for collecting garbage that do not smell, toilets, changing rooms, and other signs of a higher civilization than in Russia.
Sand of Jurmala youtu.be/TBj62q0OiNo
Swimming in Jurmala (and we lived in the Dubulti area) is a rather unique event youtu.be/XM3CSZNkQ74
Two tiny figures in the background, Masha and Ira (let’s meet - daughter and wife), went into the water about 100 meters, to get in waist-deep, you have to walk another 100 meters, this is a feature of the Baltic Sea in the Jurmala area. The sea is quite cool, the temperature the water is 17-18 C, when you go waist-deep, you already forget that you wanted to swim.
I filmed the video on my phone - it’s one of a kind video - either it’s what it turned out to be, or it wouldn’t have existed at all.
Next, I wanted to see people (and show myself), the main place for walking in Jurmala is, of course, the pedestrian Jomas street with many restaurants, cafes and small eateries for every taste, a kind of calling card of Jurmala. 
girls from the Uzbekistan restaurant posed 
shopping malls with all sorts of things 
tired cats after a hard day of work 
cute mouse family being invited to a restaurant 
people are just walking 
there are tired 
at times it looks like Arbat 
such a sky can only be 200 meters from the sea 
wanted to drink coffee, but the toad won - coffee cost 270 rubles per cup 
this is how the Dzintari concert hall seemed to us, there was someone singing in a retro style similar to Bravo, people just stood and sat on the benches, enjoying the free sound
I’ll tell you separately about the lat exchange rate, there are no problems exchanging any currency for lats, small points for exchange are present in Jurmala even in small shops, but at least 1 lat to enter Jurmala must be bought in Russia. The hucksters and goons from the Velikiye Luki Sberbank, with the official exchange rate of 61.535, sold me 10 lats for 740 rubles; there were no other places to buy lats in the city. On Jomas Street the exchange rate was around 65 rubles per lat, but the most profitable was a credit card, when paying with Privatbank cards rate 63.18.
After Dzintari we turned to the sea and made our way back along the beach, which at 10 o’clock in the evening was even more crowded than during the day 
evening beach of Jurmala 
Legs tired from the day enjoyed the cool water of the sea 
and even managed to admire the sunset
Tired but happy, we barely crawled to our apartment. I periodically refreshed my waning strength with beer, I highly recommend the lively dark Bauskas, Aldaris is also quite good, the price is around 2 lats per mug. Absolutely everywhere (even market traders) accept a credit card for payment.
The plan for the next day was to visit Old Riga. In Riga, parking is quite expensive, it is zoned, in the very center where we need it (zone R), the first hour of parking costs 5 lats (315 rubles), the 2nd and further hours cost 8 lats (520 rubles). I recommend the very useful website www.prorigu.ru/, it has absolutely everything; with the help of the website, free underground parking was chosen in the Olympia shopping center near the cable-stayed bridge 
by navigator - T/C Olympia, Āzenes iela 5
We parked calmly, it’s a 15-minute walk to the Old Town, on the way across the bridge we don’t forget to admire the Western Dvina (aka Daugava) and the views of the city from the cable-stayed bridge youtu.be/rG_1V3SnEuw 
Cyclists in Riga prefer the road to be twice as wide
The architecture of Old Riga is a separate story, it cannot be described in a note, it requires a monumental work of 200 pages. Each building is a separate story, everything still breathes with medieval times. 
on the right is me, the only photo is of me, it looks like it turned out well 
Bremen Town Musicians, it is clear that the figures of the donkey and the dog are polished, as the most accessible in height 
a small Italian restaurant, which seems to contain Albano Power, when I looked in, it was playing LIBERTA www.youtube.com/watch?v=94IGca5Q0GY 
sorry, please, it’s not a very fragrant topic, but Masha feels like everything is at home, it’s at the entrance to Vets Riga, there are sinks on the left, you can wash your hands
It was cool on the Town Hall Square and on the square in front of the Dome Cathedral 
medieval buffoons performed a performance
youtu.be/_InYcFqI3mQ Latvians, parents and children found it funny.
Shopping arcades have opened on the square in front of the Dome Cathedral 
we bought white bread with cranberries and black plain bread, ate it for 10 days, finished it in September, the bread did not lose any of its taste, did not become moldy, 
gingerbread 
It must be nice to eat fried fish from a plate like this 
these are also plates from 0.7 wine bottles 
Cats always make me happy in any form
The girls continued to pose happily 
Meanwhile, an air show was unfolding over the Dome Cathedral youtu.be/9Qy9iRqCN7Y 
in the evening on the beach it turned out that we were in Riga for City Day and in the evening there would be a grand fireworks display in the city near the cable-stayed bridge.
Then we returned to Jurmala, here our paths diverged, Masha was sick in the sun, sea, beach, she went there, Ira and I planned a visit to Kemeri in advance. Kemeri is located 25 km from Jurmala, the place positions itself as a national park, it is not easy to find, coordinates 56.975502, 23.429375 and is... just a swamp. It is of course landscaped 
walkways 
signs 
very beautiful at times 
but the essence of the matter does not change - it’s still just a swamp. 100 years ago I tried to pick cranberries and I saw a lot of such swamps, only without bridges. I even saw a swamp, when you step on the grass and hummocks, a big wave goes through the grass and hummocks, as if on water. Moreover, the walkways are laid very cleverly - it’s like the observation tower is close, 200-300 meters, and then the walkways abruptly change direction, and you stomp, moving away from the tower. It took an hour to walk to the tower, my wife quickly realized this temptation and left me after 20 minutes, and I finally made it to the tower. 
approximately 3 floors high, people climbed onto it and drank Riga Champagne with pleasure
and took a few pictures of Kemeri National Park from above 
Far on the horizon you can see a forest, there is a car parked there, decide for yourself whether you should visit Kemeri National Park
After Kemeri we returned to Jurmala and went to the beach to visit Masha. A young couple was sunbathing nearby, and the girl was topless youtu.be/cGfJIw0k8UI , no one paid much attention, only a pensioner with ski poles (it’s fashionable there to walk along the beach with ski poles and imitate skiing) came up and reprimanded the girl for a long time, probably about the decline of morals and the decay of morality. The young lady stuck to her guns and delighted the eyes of those around her for a long time. After calmly sunbathing until sunset, we went home, since the next day was the departure day, but plans were also made for it, and we needed to have a good rest.
The plans for the next day were to visit a couple of shopping centers, have lunch, preferably to try Latvian cuisine, and then go home. Among the shopping centers, I chose SPICE www.spice.lv/ru because there is RIMI www.rimibaltic.com/ (I wanted to buy Latvian food products and souvenirs like Riga balsam for friends) and LIDO www.lido.lv/rus/ , it was planned to have lunch on the road. I won’t write anything about the SPICE shopping center, the center is like a center, only very large, it instantly stole 5 hours of time, despite the fact that we didn’t go to SPICE HOME - everything for the home and interior is there. It's time to eat on the go and we immediately visited LIDO on the 2nd floor. LIDO is a chain of affordable budget restaurants built on the principle of self-service. You walk around with a tray and pick up everything you like, then go to the cash register. Calm interior, stylized like under the old Latvian village 
The dishes are prepared right in front of you, everything is hot, delicious, everything is piping hot 
We took, in order to try as much as possible, 2 or 3 types of cutlets, pork ribs, shish kebab, salmon or trout steak, 3 types of salads, first course. Very tasty homemade food, large portions, for everything we paid 1200 rubles, large portions. After all I barely got up from the table with what I ate, my stomach was dragging along the ground before the car, and this lunch at LIDO was enough for us for the entire 8-hour journey. I will definitely come back when I’m in Riga, very decent food for a good price.
For finances - overnight stay in a one-room studio apartment, booked through www.airbnb.ru - 115 euros x 44.15 = 5077 rubles
travel along the route Velikie Luki - Jurmala - Velikie Luki + trips in Latvia - only 1170 km. Our 220-horsepower car showed an average consumption of 8.6 l/100 km, i.e. we burned 100.6 liters of A95 gasoline x 31.5 = 3170. But not all the gasoline was purchased in Russia, 10 liters had to be purchased in Latvia at a deserted Neste Oil gas station, the difference between gasoline prices is 33 rubles (in Latvia A95 costs approximately 1 lats or 64 rubles), so we feel free to add another 330 rubles to the travel costs, total travel 3460 RUR
This also includes the not entirely “successful” entry into Jurmala (see above) 740rub
meals with LIDO using store receipts amounted to 2400
. My girls are smart in this sense, they really liked the cheap Latvian milk, they leaned on it, but I liked the local beer and I... guess for yourself. Total mandatory expenses (overnight, food and accommodation) amounted to approx. 12000 rub. Well, we won’t say how much we spent on our loved ones, since this is an individual matter and depends on the thickness of the wallet that you take on the trip.
Latvia, Riga, Jurmala - it seemed to me a place where I wanted to return. Three days flew by like three minutes, we came home tired but happy. The sea, the quiet streets of Old Riga, the friendly, friendly people - we will remember this on the long autumn evenings.
Stretches for 26 kilometers along the Gulf of Riga. On this endless beach there is a place for both lovers of active recreation and lovers of silence. In Majori, the central district of Jurmala, the sun-drenched beaches in summer are crowded with holidaymakers enjoying the cool sea waves. Restaurants and cafes are not filled with people, and the epicenter of the cultural life of the resort is. If you are looking for a quieter place to listen to the sound of the sea waves and watch the sunset, the beaches of Jaunkemeri are the best place for you.
Variety of activities for children
Enjoy the joys of summer with your children - on the shallow coast of the Gulf of Riga, children can frolic in the water and build sand castles. On the beaches of Jurmala there are many children's playgrounds with swings, slides, ladders and walls. There are several playgrounds, a skatepark and a place to play street basketball. Fun awaits children and...
Blue Flag Beaches
The Blue Flag flies over several beaches in Jurmala - Majori, Dzintari, Bulduri, Dubulti and Jaunkemeri, which confirms their cleanliness, safety and amenities. In some places, the beach is specially adapted for people with special needs.
Resort for better health
Jurmala has been known as a resort for several centuries. Today, wellness tours, spa treatments, medical and rehabilitation services are also offered here.
How to get to Jurmala
Vakarbulli
Vakarbulli is a Blue Flag beach with playgrounds and attractions for children, basketball, volleyball and football courts and outdoor cafes. A wooden path has been laid to the sea so that people in wheelchairs can access the beach.
You can get to Vakarbulli by bus number 3.
Beaches in winter
The seashore is beautiful not only in summer, but also in winter. In very cold winters, when the Gulf of Riga freezes, piles of ice floes - hummocks - form on the coast. If you take precautions, you can walk on frozen ice. In snowy winters, skiing along the coast will be a particular pleasure.
Of course, I live in Moscow, but when traveling around the Baltic countries in the summer, I certainly couldn’t help but visit Jurmala and swim in the Baltic Sea. I spent three days there and spent all three days exploring the beaches of Jurmala, I was wondering if there was a big difference between them, and whether there was such a long increase in depth everywhere. Having rented a room in the private sector from ordinary people for 8 units of Latvian currency (unfortunately I forgot what it is called exactly, but at an exchange rate of twice the dollar), I had a short distance to the shore. But the distance did not play a particularly big role, because anyway, I went to a new beach every time. And now, having found out what they are like here, I want to tell you about the beaches of Jurmala.
And so is Majori beach, one of the most famous in Jurmala. It is all strewn with white quartz sand, it looks beautiful and useful, as they say, and it’s comfortable to walk on it. A blue flag flies over this beach. This flag is confirmation that the beach meets all the highest international standards. By the way, the same flag flies over Jaunkemeri beach. What I really liked here is that the beach is equipped with special equipment for the disabled and people with special needs. There are always a lot of people here and it’s always fun, these two beaches are the most popular in Latvia, there are always a lot of young people here who play volleyball, swim, ride jet skis, but at the same time there are also plenty of families with children who just came to sunbathe and swim. There are also a lot of people sitting in coastal cafes and restaurants. The entrance to the water here is very shallow, and to get somewhere up to my neck, I had to walk for about five minutes. Also, despite the fact that it was summer, the water was cool, although relatively normal for swimming, but you shouldn’t wait for warm sea on the local beaches, you’ll only be disappointed in vain.
In general, Jurmala itself has a coastline length of twenty-six kilometers. All beaches of Jurmala are covered with white quartz sand, so the previous beaches that I mentioned are not unique in this regard. Another nice feature is that all beaches are free and equipped with all the necessary attributes of a beach holiday.
In general, the coast of the Gulf of Riga is considered an excellent place to come and relax on these beaches with children. After all, here they can calmly run and swim in the water, and you won’t have to worry all the time that they will go to depth, because here you need to try very hard to do this. Various beach sports games are also often held here, especially in Dubulti and Dzintari, so you can even catch the games of professional teams.
Pumpuri Beach is suitable for water sports enthusiasts. Here they practice windsurfing and kitesurfing; everything is conducive for this, the waves, the wind. I was only windsurfing and, having already had a little experience before, I had a lot of fun riding here.
Jaunkemeri already has calmer beaches, there are no special waves or noise, and you can calmly sit on the shore enjoying the sunset, which is emerald here, read a book or just listen to the sea, if you are a person who likes that. The beaches are full of restaurants, and their cuisines are very diverse: Ukrainian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Latvian, Italian and many others.
But in general, I can say that all the beaches in Jurmala are good, there is clean water everywhere, sand too, and by the way it is cleaned here every day, so you won’t find bottles or any garbage on the beaches of Jurmala. This city is suitable for all age groups. You can come as a group of young people, or as a couple, or as a family with small children, or even just drag yourself to Jurmala on your own, as I did and did not regret it in the end.
