Go, but pay attention.
Latvia’s sketch score rose to 84 today, but all major government advisories remain at the lowest level 1. Watch for the global measles notice while you travel.
Governments, one trip
What they're telling their own citizens about Latvia
The real score
The breakdown
See it from your perspective
Go, but pay attention.
The general Sketch Score, unweighted for any specific traveler.
Don't fall for it
Scams to know
Bar and restaurant overcharging
Establishments may silently add extra fees to your bill. Check prices before ordering and verify your bill carefully.
The favorite club trap
Scammers initiate random conversations and invite tourists to a specific bar or club. This often leads to robbery by mafia-linked individuals with no effective police assistance.
Don't do this
Laws that jail tourists
Public alcohol consumption
Consuming alcohol in public outside of designated areas is bad mannered. You face fines for drinking from non-concealed bottles.
Public indecency and intoxication
Drunken behavior such as urinating in public results in a fine or a night in jail.
Staying healthy
What to watch out for, health-wise
Active notices
- • Global Measles
Vaccines
Recommended:
From people who've been there
Local know-how
Staying safe
- •It is generally safe to travel around Latvia on your own, although some petty crime exists.
- •If travelling by bike, watch out for bicycle theft.
- •If travelling by car, try not to leave valuable things in plain sight in your car.
- •If travelling by foot, take care when crossing the roads as many Latvian drivers can be fairly reckless.
- •It is considered bad mannered to consume alcoholic beverages in public, when not in bars, restaurants etc.
- •Local informational web-sites for tourists claim that, in terms of safety, there is almost no difference between big cities and country areas.
Staying healthy
- •You can turn to any doctor or hospital at any time during your stay. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to pay a fee for receiving urgent care.
- •In a sparsely-inhabited, remote area, it may be difficult to obtain medical care due to the low number of air ambulance helicopters in the country.
- •Doctors usually are able to speak fluent Latvian and Russian. Some may not have good English skills. This mostly depends on the region and the age of the doctor.
- •You are suggested to bring your own medicine, if you require it, as there are few drugs that are available without a prescription.
- •Many doctors take undisclosed fees in the form of gifts from the patients ranging from a box of chocolates to raw cash.
- •You should seek immediate medical attention if bitten by a snake, a domestic or a wild animal.
Adapted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA — edited by travelers, not us.
Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / F · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 112 / ambulance: 112 / fire: 112
Zoom in
One Latvia city on SKETCH.WORLD
Real, resident-submitted Numbeo crime data at the city level — the same national picture above, with crime swapped for what people who actually live there report.
Show the receipts (10 sources)
- us-state — observed 2026-07-12
- uk-fcdo — observed 2026-07-12
- ca-gac — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-political — observed 2026-07-12
- worldbank-policeTrust — observed 2026-07-12
- cdc-health — observed 2026-07-12
- wikivoyage — observed 2026-07-12
- unodc — observed 2026-07-12
- acled-hdx — observed 2026-07-12
- lgbtq-legal-wikipedia — observed 2026-07-12