Jurmala beach sign (Kristen Thoennes)
Where do you go when you are craving a beach vacation? Give the Baltic coast of Latvia a try! Riga, Latvia is a great vacation spot, but did you know that outside of the city lies a beach resort area with hotels, restaurants and spas to satisfy your summertime beach vacation desires? It’s called Jurmala. Let’s explore!
Spa Day
When looking for a hotel in Jurmala, I searched for one with a spa to provide maximum opportunity for rest and relaxation while on our beach getaway. Kurshi Hotel and Spa fit the bill perfectly! It was conveniently located about a block from the beach, included breakfast, had stylish and comfortable rooms and had its own spa. The spa featured a Turkish hammam (let’s call this a very humid sauna), a traditional sauna (dry heat), a relaxation area and several treatment options including massages, facials and more. As a guest at the hotel, we received a discount on our treatments and it included relaxation time in the hammam, sauna and relaxation area.
Beach time
The Jurmala beachfront has many amenities to make your visit pleasant. There are changing stations, bathrooms and restaurants scattered down the beach. We enjoyed a meal at Atmosphere Cafe twice because it was so delicious. I recommend the meat-filled pancakes. My husband enjoyed a Thai soup with shrimp. With delicious food, a lemon spritz and the beach insight it was the perfect spot for a meal!
Did you know? You can find jellyfish in Latvia. The Moon Jellyfish can be 5-20 centimeters, and most are harmless to humans.
After walking along the beach, we would end our stroll walking down Jomas Street. Along here you’ll find a beautiful church, restaurants, shops and ice cream stands. We enjoyed our obligatory vacation ice cream while people watching.
(Kristen Thoennes)
Venture into Riga
We visited Riga once before as a stop on a Baltic cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line. (They offer a military discount if you’re interested.) We did some exploring then; however, we missed out on learning more about the history.
On this beach getaway, we took the train from Jurmala to Riga for the low price of two euros per person (one way) and enjoyed the Alternative Riga Walking Tour. This free tour can be booked in advance or just show up at the meeting point to join a group. At the end, you can pay the tour guide what you think the tour was worth. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about Riga outside of the historic Old Town.
Our tour ended by the Freedom Monument, and we were ready for a snack. We visited the nearby Rocket Bean. We enjoyed focaccia pizza, a homemade Snickers bar and a cinnamon roll with our iced coffees while sitting at the streetside bar. It was the perfect spot for people watching!
After our fika stop, we headed to the Occupation of Lativa Museum. This is located next to the House of the Blackheads in Old Town Riga. The building looks like a stark Soviet-era building, especially next to the beautiful historic buildings nearby. Inside, the museum, which can be visited for the low price of eight euros, was an extremely well-done overview of the occupation of Latvia under Nazis and Soviet Russia.
Afterward, we took a Bolt ride back to Jurmala where we had a low-key dinner of cheese and crackers from the Top! grocery store not too far from the hotel.
Freedom Monument (Kristen Thoennes)
Brave the mosquito army
My husband loves hiking and spending time in nature. When I found a national park on Jurmala during my research phase, I knew I had to add it to our itinerary. The Ķemeri National Park includes a bog walk which is a must!
To get to the bog walk, you can take a train from Jurmala to Kemeri. From the Kemeri train station, it is about two miles to the bog walk. You could take a Bolt ride from Jurmala to Kemeri to be dropped off in the parking lot closer to the start of the bog walk if you want to avoid the stroll from the train station. However, for your return journey, it might be hard to get a Bolt back to Jurmala. Another option is to book a tour that includes transportation to Kemeri. I found a few options on Tripadvisor and Get Your Guide.
Ķemeri National Park (Kristen Thoennes)
If you decide to walk, spray yourself very liberally with bug spray. We grew up in South Carolina. We can handle our mosquitos. Big mistake! The army of mosquitos was intense but helped us increase our heart rate by walking faster. Once we arrived at the bog walk thankfully the mosquitos had dissipated.
Pro tip: If you do not have bug spray, snap off a couple of tree branches and wave them around your body as you walk through mosquito land. We may have looked ridiculous to people who drove by, blissfully unaware of the mosquito attacks, but it made for a much more pleasant walk.
We ended our time in Jurmala with another stroll along the beach and some ice cream, feeling sad that we would soon have to return to our everyday life. I can foresee spending more vacations enjoying this beautiful area. Do yourself a favor and book a beach vacation in Latvia!
