Full-Day Private Trip to Nuclear Missile Base and Secret Soviet Bunker
Description
This Full-Day Trip is designed for tourists whom are especially interested in Soviet and WW2 military heritage. Our English speaking driver will lead you around the rocket base and to the ticket offices of the museums. In Soviet secret bunker your will have tour with English speaking guide. Will start from Rocket Base it is 2,5h drive from Riga therefore pickup from Riga must be not later then 09:00. Our English speaking driver will give basic info, answer your questions, lead to the ticket offices and will advise best local restaurants for lunch. If licensed guide is requested it can be arranged at an additional cost at the sights that we will be visiting, please inform us in advance if such service is needed so we can book it for you. Please keep in mind or check sites you desire to visit as during the Winter month some sites do not operate every day of the week. Our drivers will advice alternative sites to fill up your day if any of the sites are closed.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Zeltiņi Nuclear Missile Rocket Base - One of the most impressive Soviet military heritage sights in Latvia. During Soviet occupation on this military base where stored 4 medium range P-12 and P-12У rockets equipped with nuclear war heads. At the moment base is abandoned. We will start with visit of the local museum dedicated to this base and local village and continue to base afterwards. We will be able to see military structures, rocket storage hangars, launch silos and massive Lenins head in center of it all.
In the territory of the rehabilitation centre Līgatne, 9 m underground, there is a well-equipped bunker facility with a total area of 2,000 sq.m, whose secrecy grading was removed only in 2003. Bunker was built for the needs of Soviet political and state authority elite of the 1980s for state administration in case of nuclear war. All internal parts of Bunker and equipment is preserved in original state. Visit to the bunker will be led by local guide in English.
Mores Battle Museum was created in a place where during World War II, from September 26 to October 6, 1944, fierce battles took place between Latvian legionnaires and soldiers of the Soviet army. In cooperation with the Soldiers 'Association and the Latvian Officers' Association, the first exposition of the objects found on the battlefield and documented materials about this war episode was designed. On the first floor of the museum you can see an exposition of war themes, on the second floor there is an exposition of old household items and crafts, but in the open-air exposition you can see the tank T-34.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Our driver will meet you in lobby of your hotel or specified address. Pickup not later then 07:30 from Riga.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(8)
If you want to educate yourselves on Russian Latvian Cold War history this tour is every bit worth it. And if you have MARTIN as your driver and guide your day is made. He is absolutely very knowledgeable and definitely takes great pride in imparting the same.The trip was made really memorable as MARTIN walked the extra mile in showing us a welll curated military museum the Mores museum and the icing on the cake was the MI26 helicopter.10/10 to martin and a big thank you too.
Thank you very much for the review!
This is one of the coolest day trips I've been on. First of all the driver/guide was amazing - he was clearly knowledgeable on the sites, but also a really good conversationalist. He was also adaptive to any deviations in the set plan. To me, the most incredible part was being out in the forest alone at the missile base with the crumbling buildings. It really gave a sense of secrecy and isolation and real world issues faced by soldiers and civilians. The tour at the bunker was really good - the guide was knowledgable and was very clearly on when we. could touch, take pictures, and of course the subject matter. Would recommend.
Thank you very much for the review!
What a fantastic, unique trip with an absolute gem of a guide. From the beginning to the end, our guide Martins was fantastic - looking after us really well and giving us lots of insight and facts about all things Latvia - from history to culture, language and much more. We got to visit the old missile base, a military history museum, the secret bunker and Martins also took us to see another vehicle that my son had a particular interest in which was really the icing on the cake. We thought this was the best tour we’ve ever done, and with the best guide. If you’re interested in the places on this tour I highly recommend booking to see them with Martins. It was a fabulous day with lots of unique experiences that we will never forget. Thanks for a wonderful day!
Thank you very much for the review!
This is an excellent day out which is fascinating - particularly so if you are interested in military or cold war history - and allows you to access two previously secret Soviet Latvian facilities. We were picked up from our hotel which was very convenient given it was an 8am (due to the distances travelled over the course of the day). Our driver and guide, Martins, was brilliant. He was very informative, very friendly, very accommodating and, of course, a very good driver. Martins also acted as our guide around the former missile base and was very patient with our constant questions and photo stops! He is a great ambassador for his employers. He also took us to an excellent country restaurant for lunch - great food and great value. Our guide around the underground bunker, Regina, was also excellent. She was full of information and had a great sense of humour. Our party on this trip consisted of 4 adults so I thought the cost per person represented good value.
Dear Grant, Thank you for this comprehensive review. Very much appreciated!
Sorry, idk if the problem is this Viator site or Baltic Tours…I book a tour, receive confirmation with a tour reservation number, then hours later I receive an email telling me Baltic Tours has cancelled my reservation. The email then asks me to try another tour or date, so I do….and the process repeats. Done with Viator/Baltic Tours…I’ll stick with Latvian Gem for tours, at there I can communicate with someone who will respond.
Dear Sir, Your message was sent on Saturday evening and when we replied on Monday you already gave this negative review when you even had not experienced this day trip. Putting up negative reviews without experiencing the trip is not right. You should wait until Monday when office can reply your requests.
I'll start off by saying I went solo but for the price I should have dragged along some other friends. Even so, it was still very worth it compared to something cheaper like a chartered tour bus. Pretty certain I got an experience a bus tour won't give you. We'll start right at the beginning. Martins shows up at the hotel lobby with my name on a sign, like a driver at the airport. Already a great first impression. Mind you, the trip to the missle base is a 2-hour drive so having a personable driver for a lengthy road trip helps pass the time quickly. Then we get to the missle base. There is no set path, but Martins knows all the places to stop and look around. Even better is that he knows Russian and was able to translate the signs for certain places like the guard house or rest area. The whole place has a gravity to it, even as time has taken its toll on the buildings, like you can still feel the energy of being constantly ready for war. Next is the secret bunker. We drive back towards Riga for around an hour. Martins gets me to their guided tour right on time. Actually a little early so I get taught a local Latvian billard type game using wooden discs. The tour was interesting, and it definitely captures the look and feel of 80s Soviet culture. The grey meat dumplings at the end really emphasized the dour mood of being constantly watched by the KGB. Lastly was the war museum. An interesting collection of German and Soviet equipment. Apparently not everyone gets to climb on the vehicles, so being allowed to climb up on the tank for an epic photo shoot definitely ended the day on an excellent note. I can't recommend this excursion enough. Especially for those with any interest in the world wars or the Cold War.
Excellent trip! Martins was great and went above and beyond to make the day enjoyable. Highly recommend for those into Soviet or Cold War history.
