Half-Day Private Trip to Sigulda and Turaida from Riga
Description
Visit of Sigulda Medieval Castle and Turaida Castle in comfort of private modern vehicle with English speaking driver. Great way to spend half day in one of most beautiful places near Riga. Please note that licensed guide service is not included in this tour. 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 the sights that we will be visiting, please inform us in advance if such service is needed. Please check out our Full-Day tour of your want to spend more time on sights.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Sigulda Medieval Castle ruins are located on the edge of the Gauja valley in Latvia. The original castle was built in 1207 as a castellum type fortress, later rebuilt into a convent type building. It was the residence of the Land Marshal of the Livonian Order since 1432. At the very beginning of the Livonian war, Sigulda Medieval Castle was damaged. In 1562 it became a part of the Duchy of Livonia and from 1566 the residence of the governor of Livonia. At the end of the 16th century, the Poles repaired the castle and its surrounding buildings. During the Polish – Swedish war the castle was seriously damaged. After the war, the Swedes reported that the castle was empty and destroyed. In the 1622 it was again restored and a new residential building and sauna were built. In 1737 Sigulda became a private estate. It was first the property of the Governor of Livland. In the 19th century the castle and its layout were remodeled and a gate, inscribed with the year 1867, was added to the front part of the castle.The gate tower surrounding the inner castle building was decorated with the Borch family coat of arms. Finally, between 1878 and 1881, a new castle was built by Prince Kropotkin’s family. After World War I with the establishment of independent Republic of Latvia, the ruins have been under the auspices of the Monument Board. In depth research and renovation of Sigulda castle began in 1962. Measurements were made of the construction plan, facade and wall details. A topographic plan of the castle and its surrounding was created in 1978. Archaeological excavations of the ruins were supervised by Normunds Treijs from 1987 to 1988 and by Jānis Ciglis in 1997. In 2011, the European Union co-sponsored a project designed to assist with the renovations. It was officially titled “Reconstruction of Sigulda Castle Ruins and Infrastructure Adjustment for Tourism Development” and successfully concluded in 2012.
Turaida castle dominates the Museum Reserve and is visually, its most impressive element. When seen from the air, or the opposite bank of the river Gauja in Sigulda, Turaida castle rises above the trees like mighty ship built of red brick. Building of the castle was started in 1214, upon directions given by Albert, Archibishop of Riga to his Livonian Brothers of the Sword (soon to merge with the Teutonic Order) at the place where previously had stood the wooden castle of Liv. The castle was constructed largely in the classic red-brick construction of the Baltic crusading orders. Improving the castle's defensive system continued in later centuries, and in the 14th century, the tower shaped southern section was built; at the beginning of the 15th century, when fire arms were invented, the semi rounded western tower was built. Minor reconstruction work was carried out in 17th century although the castle started to lose its strategic importance. After a fire in 1776 it was abandoned and gradually became ruinous. By the beginning of the 20th century, only separate fragments of the defensive wall and some buildings – the main tower, semi-rounded tower and the western section, were left. From 1976 regular archaeological excavations were carried out, which were followed by restoration and conservation works revealing the castle's earlier state. Exhibitions about the history of the brick castle and Gauja Livs are available in restored buildings. From the viewing place of the main tower, you can see the unique landscape of picturesque Gauja Gauja valley and the territory of Turaida Museum Reserve.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pickup and return from Hotel or address in Riga city.
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
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please bring your walking shoes
- Coffee stops and detours can be arranged with driver
Reviews(23)
An effective and interesting way to see the country outside the capital and learn of the history. A pleasant guide.
Thank you very much for the review!
Martins was very friendly and knowledgeable. Felt at ease and enjoyed hearing the prospective of a local. Highly recommend touring with him. Able to take at our own pace and avoid the large group from the cruise ship
Dear Brian, Thank you very much for the review!
I have never actually written a bad review before because usually the company is understanding or the experience wasn’t as good as expected due to traveler error BUT not exactly the case with this company or tour. I should have known something was off right from the start when I got a message that I’d be met “in the lobby” of my hotel at a designated time. I went to the lobby 10 minutes early. When the I had waited 10 mins after the time I was to meet, I reached out to the company and was told that the driver was standing in reception next to the desk. I was confused because the only people in reception were myself and the hotel staff. Eventually, a man comes in and introduces himself as the driver. Okay, I get it, mixed communication, moving on. But then we get in the car and he turns and asks me “where are you going?” Where am I going?! Am I in the wrong car? Aren’t you the employee of the tour company? I pull up the Viator App and read him the itinerary. He asks where I want to go first. How would I know, sir? I don’t live here. I’m literally paying you for this experience. We set off in complete silence. And I start wondering when the tour is going to start. When am I going to start learning about all that happened in this area regarding the castles, etc. Nothing but silence. When we show up to a parking lot, the driver slows and looks a little confused. He says this is where the address is but it’s a parking lot. He then figures out it’s the parking lot for the castle. I think “okay, we’ll park and then walk to the entrance. Great, here we go!” But he drives me to the entrance, points out the ticket booth and says to call him when I’m done. Confused, I get out of the car and go purchase a ticket. I walk around the grounds and read signs/info which was in English but I paid for a guide. It was also raining and I didn’t have an umbrella. I know I can’t fault the company for the poor weather. However, previous tours I’ve taken in many other locals, the tour company is usually prepared to help out silly guests who forget things. I’ve had your companies give me sunscreen before because I stupidly forgot. But no, not this group, you’re on your own. By the time I finished the first castle, I returned to the parking lot and called the driver. I asked him to take me back to the hotel because I was soaked. What was the point of carrying on. It also wasn’t what I paid for. I mentioned this to the guide and tried to not be mean spirited about it, just honest in saying it wasn’t what the description of the tour was on the app. I was really disappointed. So we drove back to the hotel in complete silence. And I was going to leave it at that. My bad for not having an umbrella or rain coat. I’ll take the hit and disappointment on that one. BUT THEN, the tour company unprovoked emails to tell me that it’s my fault that the tour didn’t go as expected because I didn’t request a guide. They said I would have to had to pay extra for a guide and they would have sent one if I’d just asked. Excuse me? Your description on Viator literally says “Personal tour guide” and “Learn about the castles from your guide”. Nowhere does it say the guide must be additionally requested. Nor is the tour marketed as a driver only service. The driver was kind and drove safely. That’s about all the good I can say for this experience. So solo travelers beware, you’re just paying for a really expensive Uber/Bolt ride. Just do yourself a favor and a rent a car instead! Don’t waste your money here.
Dear Rachel, We are very sorry for the tour not meeting your expectations. Finally we have investigated what has happened and apparently tour details what are provided to the client has been recently updated by TripAdvisor AI without our notion. There where added details that service is provided by the guide. But actually we are providing English speaking drivers and not licensed guides. Licensed guides can be booked at the sights for additional cost. Therefore we understand that tour description did not met actual service. To add to that for this service one of our new unexperienced employees was used which did not contribute to over all experience. Now we have corrected all misleading details about each of our products and made additional training for new driver. So hopefully such misfortunate events do not happen in the future. FIY Client can always ask money back if he is not satisfied with the service.
We asked for a 4 hour private tour because we like to sight see at our pace not as a "herd". Martins took us where the tour was scheduled to go and a lot more. We chose to not spend a lot of time at the 2 castles. We got some good pictures. We asked our guide where the locals eat and spent time experiencing Latvian food at a "local" restaurant - Lido. Then we drove around Riga to see the city buildings and statues. It was a perfect day for us. The food at Lido was delicious and reasonable. The flavors were amazing.
Dear Carol, Thank you very much for the review!
Excellent service and conversation. We appreciated all the ideas and recommendations in the area. Very safe riding.
The guide, Aldis made it very interesting and fun. He was knowledgeable about the castles as well as the history of Latvia.
Excellent half day tour as described. Really informative driver, Aldis, made this so memorable giving us a background to the history of the places we called at and information about Latvia and Riga. Thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the city to see the beautiful countryside that surrounds Riga and understanding more about Latvia and its history. The pickup from the hotel was on time and a comfortable and spotlessly clean minivan provided for the tour. Aldis was most professional and helpful throughout and it was an absolute joy to see a bit more of the country. Would highly recommend.
good to see the environment around Riga. castle visits were very interesting. Pick up and drop off were very good. A good trip
Thanks for the review!
Forests were beautiful. Castles were very interesting. Really enjoyed our conversation with the guide. The
Thank you for the review!
Selected the tour, for the castles. Excellent guide, most knowledgeable helpful and flexible for in-field options.
