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Riga
,→South towards Bauska, Kaunas (LT), Vilnius (LT), Poland (PL) {{E|67}}
== Hitching in and around ==
=== From [[Kaunas]] (LT), [[Vilnius]] (LT) Lithuania direction to Estonia {{E|67}} ===
If you are coming from the south and want to continue north towards [[Estonia]], you can proceed on the Riga ring road and avoid entering the city center. However, be careful, as not all parts of this ring are hitchable.
The first roundabout as you come towards Riga on the E67 has the road into the city going straight and the road signposted tod Tallinn turning right. If your driver is going into Riga, ask him to leave you here, but do not hitch from this roundabout as there is no room to stop a truck. Just walk down the road one kilometer to the next roundabout, which has plenty of room. From there try getting a lift completely around the city and towards the north of Latvia on the E67, because you may lose a couple of hours if you are dropped off in certain places. For example, at the junction after Salaspils where a driver turning onto the E22 will leave you, there is no room to stop a car, and after the junction cars are driving too fast to even notice you, so you will have to walk 6 or 7 kilometers to the next hitchable point.
== Hitchhiking out ==
=== South towards [[Bauska]], [[Kaunas]] (LT), [[Vilnius]] (LT), [[Poland]] (PL) {{E|67}} ===
=== South towards [[Jelgava]], [[Siauliai|Šiauliai]] (LT) {{E|77}} ===
From just opposite Central station take trolleybus #27 ([http://saraksti.rigassatiksme.lv/index.html#trol/27/a-b/1028/map/en see route)] towards Ābolu ielaZiepniekkalna D/P, get out at the last Ābolu iela stop and there you are. Almost out of the city on the road to Jelgava.
=== North towards [[Pärnu]] or [[Tallinn]] ([[Estonia]]) {{E|67}}, North East towards [[Cēsis]], [[Valmiera]] {{E|77}} ===
Take a tram #6 or #3 from the city centre (for example, from a stop called ''Merķeļa iela'') to the final stop called ''Jugla'' - there you will find a road to the north, you will see a petrol station, traffic lights, a bus stop (and "McD's" in case you want" to go to the toilet). To get to the hitchhiking spot you will have to walk around 1km North East. You will see a spot with a lot of space for a car to stop. And most probably some other hitchhikers, so you won't miss it!
Better option is to take bus #1 ([http://saraksti.rigassatiksme.lv/index.html#bus/1/a-b/7749b/map/en see route]) towards "Berģuciems" and get out at stop "Brīvdabas muzejs" which is first stop after you see lake on the right side. Walk few steps back and you'll be exactly at the same spot as mentioned above.
Beware that most of the traffic is going North East so it might happen that you wait some hours (might happen... road there has 3 lanes) to get a 3km ride to the right road if you are going Northnorth. So it's up to you to decide. Maybe a better option is to walk those few km already after you arrive at the spot. You can also take bus #1 one stop further than mentioned above (Till stop "Berģi") and you won't have to walk that much. After you're on the road to Estonia walk up to a bus stop (there is one about half a kilometer after the bridge- ''Baltezera sanatorija''). There is also a small restaurant next to the bus stop.
You can also take regional bus to ĀdažiBaltezers. Those are busses buses 6821, 6822, 6824. You From the centre, you can catch them at from the following bus stops: ''Pie Starptautiskās autoostas (International bus station), Merķeļa iela, Brīvības bulvāris (Merķeļa iela), and Matīsa iela'' stop whitch is near Riga circus. There are no signs mentioning those buses, so just a keep an eye out for them and flag them down. Price of this bus is about 1.5 10 euros to ĀdažiBaltezers - get off at the bus stop ''Baltezera sanatorija'', which is just after the E67/E77 (A1/A2) intersection. If you are going North this is the best option since this allows you to avoid all the struggle mentioned above and get directly on the right way. And this is also cheaper then using Riga public transport network. You can check this bus operator 's website [http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=lv&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=lv&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwwwwww.ekspressadazi.lv%2F&act=url here].
=== Southeast towards [[Daugavpils]], [[Rēzekne]], [[Russia]], [[Belarus]] {{E|22}} ===
You can take the tram #3, #7 or #9 to the end stop ''Dole''. Cross the street and find a bus stop near a parking place. Hitchhike from the parking place or, if it's full, stand before the bus stop. The problem with this spot might be that it is still in the city so a lot of traffic is local. Better option is to take bus #18 ([http://saraksti.rigassatiksme.lv/index.html#bus/18/a-b/7749b/map/en see route]) towards "Dārziņi" and get out at stop ''Pagrieziens uz Darziniem''. You'll be at ''Maskavas Iela'' near traffic lights where cars drive slowly and you can easily get a rideat that bus stop. You should aim to get to Koknese because that's the place where two highways meet ant become one, in Koknese there is a wide roundabout with great visibility. If you're going to Russia and have been dropped near the border, you can cross it on foot without any problems. After the border the road is not busy and most of traffic is local, but if you spend some time you can catch cars going far away. Consider using a big sign.
=== Southwest towards [[Liepāja]] ===
=== Northwest towards [[Ventspils]], [[Talsi]], [[Tukums]] ===
You can try to get to the same bus stop (Pagrieziens uz Pinķiem) as mentioned above. Only from there walk back North, get on the big road and try to hitch. Make sure you have a good sign there, because most of the traffic is going only to [[Jūrmala]].
In the same point as mentioned above, you can get little cheaper by using train. Go to train station, buy ticket (~1 euro) till Priedaine (and take train going towards Sloka, Tukums or Dubulti). Get out in Priedaine station which looks kinda deserted and walk ~150m as railroad stays on your left and then turn left - cross the railroad and walk through forest (there is good asphalted bicycle path and road going)for about 1km. On crosroads turn right and there you'll see road going under bridge, go through and there is ideal spot for you. (this This way you can get from Riga centre to hitchhiking point in 20-30 minutes)
== Hitching by ferry ==
Getting onto the ferries for free is not possible. Both cars and trucks pay per person.
== Public Transport ==
In Riga you can get around by bus, tram and trolleybus. There are a lot of controls, so better buy a ticket! If you dare to blackride, your best bet is to empty your wallet. If there are no police around, inspectors are likely to just let you go if you can't pay. Besides, in summer time there are controls at random points between the stops which you can hardly avoid. During winter however, ticket inspectors are waiting only at stops and usually are easy to spot, so if you are careful you can avoid them by just leaving when they enter.
Tickets cost 1,2 15 EUR if you don't buy it from driver. If you buy it from the driver it's 2 EUR. You can buy tickets at Narvesen, ticket vending machines, supermarkets "Rimi", "Maxima" and other places.
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== Wild camping ==
Best spot for cheap but intresting and good quality food is Riga Central Market
Zakusala island wild camping by walking from centre the island on Daugava river where TV tower is located in the middle of ''Salu tilts'' bridge. It's within walkable distance from the city center and really quiet place with nothing else really there. Both tips of island are covered with bushes and trees so it is easy to find a place to hide away. You can swim on the start of Salu tilts bridge (city centre side of it)
Mezaparks wild camping by tram - next to Riga Main Railway Station get in tram nr 11 direction to Mezaparks, get out at last stop Mezaparks. Find main entrance of Riga zoo and at the left side from entrance there is forest park with big lake where you can swim. Go inside in bushes in distance from roads becouse this is popular place with lot of people. There is police cheking main park roads for safety so camp in distance from roads.
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
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