Sigulda and Turaida from Riga: Which Day Trip, and Is a Tour Worth It?
5 min read
Take the six-hour Sigulda and Turaida tour if you want castles, Gutman’s Cave and the valley views in one day with the admissions paid; add Cēsis only if you are happy with a ten-hour day. The five tours here differ in length, group size, where they start and what the price covers.
What the tours cover
The Sigulda and Turaida day tour takes six hours and costs €99. It starts at Riga Cathedral (Herdera laukums 6) and stops at the Emperor’s View, Sigulda’s New Castle and the ruins of the Livonian Order castle, Gutman’s Cave and Turaida Museum Reserve, and it visits the bobsleigh track. Entry to Turaida, to the Sigulda castle ruins and to the bobsleigh track is included. Lunch is a break at a local café that you pay for yourself. The guide speaks English, groups are up to 17, and the tour is rated 4.8 out of 5 from 195 reviews.
The Sigulda, Turaida and Gauja National Park tour is a private van tour of five to six hours at €110, with hotel pick-up and guiding in English, Latvian or Russian. You can shape the route and stop when you like. Its list names a Turaida entrance ticket next to items such as a cable-car ticket, food and a wine tasting, and the page does not separate what is included from what is not, so ask the guide. You contact the guide before the tour to fix the start time and pick-up place.
The Turaida and Sigulda tour with a guide lasts six hours and costs €112.50. It starts at St. Peter’s Church (Reformācijas laukums 1), is limited to 8 participants and covers Turaida, Gutman’s Cave, the two Sigulda castles and the bobsleigh track. Turaida entry is included. The cable car over the valley is optional and its ticket is not included, and neither is lunch.
For a longer day, the Sigulda, Cēsis and Turaida Castle tour with food tasting takes ten hours and costs €101.15. It adds Cēsis, with 105 minutes at Cēsis Castle, and a bread maker visit with tasting. Entry to Cēsis Castle, the Sigulda castle ruins and Turaida is included; lunch at a cafeteria in Cēsis is paid on the spot. The guide may bring a small sample of a Latvian sweet or drink when possible, which the page says is not part of the price. Pick-up is at one of two fixed points in central Riga, Triangula Bastion or the Grand Hotel Kempinski, not at hotels. The page gives the group size as 12 in one place and 7 in another.
The Sigulda bobsleigh ride and castle adventure costs €116.10 and takes between one and four hours depending on the option: one, two or three passenger bobsleigh rides, with private transfer and hotel pick-up in Riga. The two- and three-ride options add sightseeing in Sigulda; a castle visit appears in the itinerary as optional at extra cost. According to the page, it runs only on Saturdays and Sundays from the beginning of November to the end of March, and the type of bob depends on the track on the day. It has 10 reviews.
| Tour | Length | Start | Group | Admissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sigulda and Turaida day tour | 6 hours | Riga Cathedral | up to 17 | Turaida, Sigulda ruins, bobsleigh track |
| Private van tour | 5–6 hours | hotel pick-up | private | ask the guide |
| Tour with a guide | 6 hours | St. Peter’s Church | up to 8 | Turaida; cable car extra |
| With Cēsis and tasting | 10 hours | two fixed points | 12 or 7 | Cēsis, Sigulda ruins, Turaida |
| Bobsleigh ride | 1–4 hours | hotel pick-up | private | track and 1 to 3 rides; Sat/Sun, Nov–Mar |
Turaida on your own
Turaida Museum Reserve is open every day. From November to April the hours are 10:00 to 17:00, from May to September 9:00 to 20:00 and in October 9:00 to 19:00, with the exhibitions open from 10:00 to 18:00 in the longer season (opening hours). An adult ticket costs 9.00 EUR (ticket information). Ticket sales for the exhibitions close 30 minutes before the exhibitions do. Without a tour you also need a way to Sigulda and between the sights; for a hired car, you can compare rental cars for Riga.
Who should choose what
A six-hour tour suits most people on a short city break. Pick the tour with a guide if you prefer a group of at most 8, and the day tour from Riga Cathedral if you want the bobsleigh track admission included. The private van tour suits a group that wants to set its own pace. The ten-hour day is long and only makes sense if you like castles; its page warns of uneven medieval surfaces and stairs at Cēsis and tower steps at Turaida, and marks it as not suitable for people with mobility impairments or wheelchair users. The private van tour is also marked as not suitable for people with mobility impairments. For the bobsleigh, the page says the rides are not recommended for people with back or spine problems or for pregnant women; ask the operator about age and weight limits before booking with children. Other day trips are in our guide to the Hill of Crosses and Rundāle Palace.
Our recommendation
For most visitors we would book the six-hour Sigulda and Turaida day tour: it starts in the Old Town, covers both castles, the cave and the bobsleigh track, and includes the admissions. See all day trips from Riga.
