A weekend in Jūrmala

Pedestrians on pine-lined Jomas Street in Jūrmala, a souvenir stall by a house on the right — Photo: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA

A Latvian seaside resort: 4 hours by bus from Vilnius to Riga, then a 34-minute train for €2.30; quiet walks and spas.

Contents

Jūrmala in brief

Jūrmala is a 24 km seaside resort by Riga, whose 11 beaches are covered with quartz sand (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-06). We do not suggest swimming out of season, but it is worth coming for walks in the pine forest, the spas and the bog boardwalks. The sea is shallow over a long stretch, and the beaches are divided into quiet and active recreation zones (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-07). There is no direct bus from Lithuania: you take a bus to Riga, then a train.

You will find a full weekend plan with a budget in the weekend in Jūrmala guide (in Lithuanian).

How to get there

Times are from the FlixBus timetable for Friday, 6 November (FlixBus timetable, checked 2026-10-29). Check the ticket price in the FlixBus search.

From	Bus to Riga	Journey time
Vilnius	11:40 → 15:45, 13:25 → 17:20	3 h 55 min–4 h 5 min
Kaunas	06:15 → 12:20, 18:05 → 21:45	3 h 40 min–6 h 5 min

From Vilnius. FlixBus showed 18 services a day. On Sunday, 15 November, the 14:15 service from Riga arrives in Vilnius at 18:25 (FlixBus search, checked 2026-10-06). More: Vilnius to Riga by bus (in Lithuanian) and trips from Vilnius (in Lithuanian) (both in Lithuanian).

From Kaunas. In the daytime the 06:15 and 18:05 services run, the others leave at night. More: Kaunas to Riga by bus (in Lithuanian).

From Klaipėda. FlixBus does not run here. Look for Riga services in the Ollex search (in Lithuanian). Other trips are from Klaipėda (in Lithuanian).

Jomas Street in Jūrmala in autumn: a row of lamps, a pedestrian street and colourful fallen leaves — Photo: Dmitrijs Purgalvis, CC BY

The train from Riga. Vivi trains to Dubulti leave about every 30 min from 05:15 to 23:45, the journey takes 27–34 min, and a ticket costs €2.30 (Vivi, checked 2026-10-06). Back from Dubulti the trains run until 22:54.

The Jūrmala tourism website says that from Riga Central station they leave from track 3 or 4 (platform 4), and that the journey to Majori takes 30 min and costs €2.30 (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-06). By car, €5 a day is charged for each entry into Jūrmala, so the train is simpler. The Riga stations are described in a separate guide.

Other options. Minibuses run from the Riga international bus terminal (Prāgas iela 1), and to Majori it takes about 30 min. The train to Jūrmala takes 20–50 min and costs €2.30–2.80. Buy the ticket at the ticket office, because it costs more from the conductor, and with a bicycle you need a separate luggage ticket. Public parking in Jūrmala is free all year (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-07).

Getting around the city

The railway runs the whole length of the resort from Priedaine to Ķemeri, and there are 14 stops in the town (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-06). On a ticket for the same Tukums line it is easy to reach both the beaches and Ķemeri.

Districts and where to stay

Majori – the centre of the resort, with Jomas Street and the tourist information centre (Lienes iela 5).
Dubulti – a stop on the Tukums line, reached from Riga in 34 min.
Ķemeri – the resort park and the bog boardwalk.

In the booking system of Hotel Jūrmala SPA, a standard double room with breakfast on 13–15 November cost €103.00 a night. This is a non-refundable rate, checked 2026-10-06 (booking system). More accommodation checks are in the weekend guide (in Lithuanian).

What to see

Jomas Street. The pedestrian street in Majori is the heart of the resort, with cafés, shops and cinemas. The name comes from “joma”, a valley between dunes (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-06).

A winding wooden boardwalk across a bog with pines and dark small lakes, seen from the tower — Photo: GRID-Arendal, CC BY

Great Ķemeri Bog Boardwalk

A wooden boardwalk across the Ķemeri bog with two loops: a shorter one to the first small lakes and a longer one with a viewing tower.

On the map Website

Dzintari Forest Park. The park has a viewing tower, paths and cafés, and is open all year. In winter a “Park of Light” with LED decorations is set up in it (same page).

Ķemeri Resort Park. It has been laid out since 1839 by the Riga gardener Karl Heinrich Wagner, and the 42 m high water tower was built in 1929 (same page). Ķemeri National Park covers 38 165 ha. It was established in 1997 and is the third largest in Latvia after Gauja and Rāzna national parks. In the park, named bridges cross the Vērsupīte: the Sighs Bridge, the Whims Bridge and the Music Bridge. In the fourth decade of the last century the length of the paths reached 15 km.

Ragakāpa Nature Park. The 150 ha nature park protects dunes covered with pines. The 17 m high Ragakāpa has been state-protected since 1962. A path of about 2 km runs through the pine forest, mostly boardwalks (same page).

Museum prices and Aspazija’s House. According to the Jūrmala Museum price list (published 3 March), viewing the exhibitions is free. Only the themed Thursday “fish day” event (€5; €2 with a Jūrmala resident card), the audio guide (€4) and a guide in Latvian (€20 for a 45–60 min tour) are charged; prices are given without VAT (price list, in Latvian, checked 2026-10-08). Aspazija’s House, a branch of the Jūrmala Museum, is open from 15 September to 14 May Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–18:00, and closed on Sunday and Monday (museum, in Latvian, checked 2026-10-08).

What to do by season

In autumn and winter choose walks, boardwalks and spas. From spring to autumn two adventure parks operate in Dzintari Park.

A dark wooden fishing boat with floats and a lantern under a canopy in the museum exhibition — Photo: Ken Eckert, CC BY-SA

Jūrmala Open-Air Museum

A fishing village with boats and collections of anchors and ropes in the Buļļuciems district, by Ragakāpa Nature Park.

On the map Website

The Great Ķemeri Bog Boardwalk is open around the clock and free. It is made of two loops: the shorter (1.5 km) leads to the first lakes, the longer (3.5 km) to the viewing tower. During bird migration flocks of geese and cranes fly over the bog. The boardwalk is slippery in the rain and the snow is not cleared in winter, so choose suitable footwear. The boardwalk is not suitable for wheelchairs. In the car park the first hour costs €3, and bicycle hire at Ķemeri station for those visiting the boardwalk is €5 (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-06 and 2026-10-07).

What to eat

Restaurant “36.Line” (Baznīcas iela 2B) is open on Saturday 13:00–23:00 and on Sunday 13:00–22:00 (OpenStreetMap, checked 2026-10-18).

Pancake café “Pankūkas” (Strēlnieku prospekts 16) is open daily 8:30–19:00 (OpenStreetMap, checked 2026-10-18).

Practical information

Beach rules. On the central beaches it is forbidden to pitch tents and spend the night, fly drones and drink alcohol outside beach cafés. Smoking is allowed only in marked places (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-07).
Help. The general emergency number is 112, and the ambulance 113 (Visit Jūrmala, checked 2026-10-06).

Weekend plan

Friday. Take the 13:25 bus from Vilnius, be in Riga at 17:20, then the train to Dubulti.

Saturday. In the morning Jomas Street and Dzintari Park, in the afternoon the train to Ķemeri for the boardwalk.

Sunday. The Open-Air Museum (from 10:00), the train to Riga and the bus to Vilnius. Other Latvian destinations: Sigulda and Riga.

FAQ

Does FlixBus run to Jūrmala? No. We found no direct service from Vilnius, so take a bus to Riga, then a Vivi train (checked 2026-10-06).

How much is the train from Riga? To Dubulti and Majori €2.30, a journey of 30–34 min.

Things to see and do in Jūrmala

By car: distance, time, fuel

By car

From Vilnius: 301 km, 3 h 32 min one way. Fuel there and back: €76.34 per car, €38.17 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 301 km = 602 km; 602 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 39.13 l; 39.13 l × 1.951 €/l = €76.34.
From Kaunas: 271 km, 3 h 39 min one way. Fuel there and back: €68.73 per car, €34.37 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 271 km = 542 km; 542 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 35.23 l; 35.23 l × 1.951 €/l = €68.73.
From Klaipėda: 319 km, 3 h 48 min one way. Fuel there and back: €80.91 per car, €40.46 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 319 km = 638 km; 638 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 41.47 l; 41.47 l × 1.951 €/l = €80.91.

From Šiauliai, Panevėžys is not calculated yet: we do not have map data for this route.

This is an approximate calculation, not a price. Travel time without traffic or border queues. Fuel price: Lithuanian average, Euro-super 95 with taxes, 2026-10-19, the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin (CC BY 4.0); consumption 6.5 l/100 km. Routes: MOTIS, car profile, no traffic conditions, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extracts, calculated 2026-10-29. There are no road tolls for passenger cars in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; for Poland, see here (in Lithuanian).

Jūrmala on the map (OpenStreetMap)