A weekend in Sigulda
A town in the Gauja valley with castles and Turaida: 4 hours by bus from Vilnius to Riga, then a 1 h 8 min train for €2.80.
Contents
Sigulda in brief
Sigulda is a small town in the valley of Gauja National Park: in a weekend you can see two castles, a cave with seventeenth-century inscriptions, and Turaida. There is no direct bus from Lithuania, so the journey has two parts: a bus to Riga, then a train.
The castle quarter is open until 18:00 from May to October, and from 1 November until 17:00 (Visit Sigulda, checked 2026-10-06). So in winter there is less daylight and fewer opening hours. You will find a full weekend plan with prices in the weekend in Sigulda guide (in Lithuanian).
How to get there
The timetable is for Friday, 6 November (FlixBus timetable data, checked 2026-10-27). FlixBus changes its prices daily, so check them in the search.
| From | Bus to Riga | Journey time |
|---|---|---|
| Vilnius | 11:40 → 15:45, 13:10 → 17:20, 15:15 → 19:10 | 3 h 55 min–4 h 10 min |
| Kaunas | 06:15 → 12:20, 18:05 → 21:45 | 3 h 40 min–6 h 5 min |
| Klaipėda | FlixBus does not run | – |
From Vilnius. You see the FlixBus services on 6 November in the FlixBus search (in Lithuanian). Read about the services in Vilnius to Riga by bus (in Lithuanian), and about other trips in the list from Vilnius (in Lithuanian) (both in Lithuanian).
From Kaunas. In the daytime only the 06:15 and 18:05 services are shown, the others leave at night. More: Kaunas to Riga by bus (in Lithuanian) and trips from Kaunas (in Lithuanian) (both in Lithuanian).
From Klaipėda. FlixBus does not run here. Find the Ollex services on the Ollex page (in Lithuanian). Other trips are from Klaipėda (in Lithuanian).
The train Riga–Sigulda. A Vivi train takes 1 h 8 min, a ticket costs €2.80 (Vivi, checked 2026-10-06). Find the departure times in the Vivi search: the timetable is published about 2 weeks ahead.
From 5 October, because of track repairs, the times of some services have shifted by 1–13 min (Vivi announcement, in Latvian). Buses also run from Riga to Sigulda. The stops are “Sigulda” on the A2 highway or the bus station. A ticket starts from €2.50 (Turaida Museum Reserve, checked 2026-10-07). The bus and railway stations in Riga are described in a separate guide, and buy tickets with the bus ticket guide (both in Lithuanian).
Getting around the city
The tourist information centre and the bus ticket office are at Ausekļa iela 6 (Visit Sigulda, checked 2026-10-06). Turaida is 5 km from the centre. The route 12 bus to the “Turaida” stop costs €0.70, and a taxi from the station €6–12 (Turaida Museum Reserve, checked 2026-10-06).
Sigulda Castle of the Livonian Order
The ruins of a medieval castle next to the centre of Sigulda.
Districts and where to stay
The Hotel Sigulda stands in the town centre in a nineteenth-century brick building and has 43 rooms (hotel website, checked 2026-10-06). We could not check its prices for two guests in the booking system, so we do not write them.
What to see
The castle quarter. Sigulda New Castle (Pils iela 16) and the ruins of the Livonian Order castle are open daily 9:00–17:00 from 1 November to 30 April. Tickets are sold until 16:30. A ticket to the New Castle costs €3.50, to the ruins €2.50, a combined one €4.50 (New Castle, ruins, checked 2026-10-06). The first stone castle here was built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1207–1209. After the 2011 reconstruction the ruins are open to visitors (ruins, checked 2026-10-07).
The New Castle was built in 1878–1881 as the summer residence of the Princes Kropotkin. Princess Olga Kropotkina saw to it that the Riga–Pskov railway crossed the town and that a resort was developed in Sigulda. Her son built a bobsleigh and luge track in 1893 (New Castle, checked 2026-10-07).
Turaida Castle
The Turaida Museum Reserve: a brick castle with exhibitions and an open-air display.
The Turaida Museum Reserve. From 1 November to the end of February it is open daily 10:00–17:00, and an adult ticket costs €9 (opening hours, tickets, checked 2026-10-06). The reserve is at Turaidas iela 10, 5 km from the centre. On 24 September 2026 it was awarded the grand prize at the European Cultural Tourism Network awards. It was given for resilience in sustainable cultural tourism (Turaida Museum Reserve, checked 2026-10-07).
Gutmanis Cave. This is the largest cave in the Baltic states, whose sandstone walls are covered with names, dates and family coats of arms carved since the seventeenth century (EnterGauja, checked 2026-10-06). Next to it (Turaidas iela 2a) is the Gauja National Park visitor centre: Monday to Friday 9:00–18:00, at weekends 9:00–19:00. Parking for a car costs €2.50.
Gutmanis Cave
A cave in the Gauja valley whose walls are covered with many carved inscriptions.
The bobsleigh and luge track. The artificial-ice track at Šveices iela 13 is, according to the tourism website, one of 18 such tracks in the world and one of the few that anyone can look round; the first section went into operation in 1986. The track is open to visitors daily 8:00–20:00. There is a winter bobsleigh sled from 1890 and a viewing platform on the sixth floor. The ride prices published on the website refer to the 2024–2025 season, so we do not write them, and check winter ride times with the track operator (Visit Sigulda, checked 2026-10-08).
What to do by season
In autumn and winter choose castles, museums and cleared trails. According to the Latvian Nature Conservation Agency, 75 km of the most popular trails have been cleared of windfall after the storm. Many places still have damaged wooden structures (Visit Sigulda, 5 October). The cable car costs €15 per adult one way, and a return journey is sold only on weekdays (cable car, checked 2026-10-06).
Sigulda Cable Car
A cable car across the Gauja valley between Sigulda and Krimulda.
What to eat
The castle quarter café Pils dārzs is open only in the summer season (Visit Sigulda, checked 2026-10-06). We did not check the opening hours of other cafés; you will find a list on the tourism website.
Practical information
- Accommodation charge. We found it neither on the Sigulda tourism website nor on the municipality page, so we do not write an amount: ask your accommodation. How charges work elsewhere, read in the tourist tax article.
- Tourist information centre. Ausekļa iela 6, tel. +371 67971335 (Visit Sigulda, checked 2026-10-06).
Weekend plan
Friday. Take the 13:10 bus from Vilnius bus station, be in Riga at 17:20, walk about 11 min from the bus station to the railway station and take the Vivi train 17:58 → 19:06 in Sigulda; the next one leaves at 18:30 and arrives at 19:25 (Vivi, checked 2026-10-22).
Saturday. In the morning the castle quarter and Gutmanis Cave, in the afternoon Turaida (until 17:00).
Sunday. The 12:29 Vivi train from Sigulda arrives in Riga at 13:36, which leaves about an hour and a half before the 15:15 bus; the next train, 13:59, reaches Riga only at 15:06, too late (Vivi, checked 2026-10-22). Take the 15:15 bus from Riga (19:15 in Vilnius). Other Latvian destinations: Cēsis, Jūrmala and Riga.
FAQ
Does FlixBus run to Sigulda? No. FlixBus shows only Riga, so take a bus to it, then a Vivi train (checked 2026-10-06).
Is Turaida open in November? Yes, from 1 November to the end of February daily 10:00–17:00.
Things to see and do in Sigulda
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By car: distance, time, fuel
By car
- From Vilnius: 336 km, 4 h 1 min one way. Fuel there and back: €85.22 per car, €42.61 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 336 km = 672 km; 672 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 43.68 l; 43.68 l × 1.951 €/l = €85.22.
- From Kaunas: 307 km, 4 h 8 min one way. Fuel there and back: €77.87 per car, €38.94 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 307 km = 614 km; 614 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 39.91 l; 39.91 l × 1.951 €/l = €77.87.
- From Klaipėda: 357 km, 4 h 23 min one way. Fuel there and back: €90.55 per car, €45.28 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 357 km = 714 km; 714 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 46.41 l; 46.41 l × 1.951 €/l = €90.55.
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).