Riga gives you solid options at every price point. Here is an honest look at how each one performs for the airport-to-city trip.
Metered Taxi
Licensed taxis queue directly outside the arrivals exit. They are regulated, metered, and available around the clock.
Pros: No pre-booking needed, available immediately, metered pricing, comfortable vehicles, no phone or data required.
Cons: Dearer than Bolt, occasional queue after busy flights, no child seats, some older vehicles in the fleet. The tariff must be displayed on the door — read it before you get in, and make sure the meter runs.
Look for the company name and license displayed on the car. Baltic Taxi and Red Cab are well-known and reliable. Avoid any unmarked vehicle offering rides.
Bolt (Ride-Hailing)
Bolt is the dominant ride-hailing platform in Latvia — more widely used than Uber. It works smoothly at Riga Airport.
Pros: Normally the cheapest door-to-door option, with the fare quoted in the app before you confirm, plus driver tracking, cashless payment and a rating system.
Cons: Requires data connection, 3-10 minute wait for pickup, surge pricing during peak demand (usually modest), no child seats, pickup location outside can be confusing in bad weather.
Pre-Booked Private Transfer
Arranged in advance. Driver meets you inside the terminal.
Pros: Fixed price, meet-and-greet in arrivals, flight delay tracking, child seats available, larger vehicles for groups, professional driver, no data or cash needed.
Cons: Dearer than Bolt and in similar territory to a taxi; requires advance planning.
Airport Express Bus 22
The public transport option. Runs from the terminal to near Central Station.
Pros: A couple of euros — a fraction of any car — clean and modern, frequent service, and cheaper still if you buy the ticket in advance from the terminal kiosk or the machine at the stop rather than from the driver.
Cons: No door-to-door service, limited luggage space, stops running in the late evening, 30-minute journey. Note that buying from the driver is card only, no cash — route 22 is the only Rīgas satiksme route where driver purchase is possible at all.
On the exact fare: Rīgas satiksme and the Riga city council have published different figures for the single ticket and we could not confirm which is current, so we are not quoting one. Check with Rīgas satiksme before you travel.
Side-by-Side Comparison
The price row here is a ranking rather than a set of figures, deliberately: the taxi is metered (tariff on the door), Bolt quotes in the app, a transfer is fixed at booking, and the published bus fares disagree with one another. None of those is something we can honestly pin to a number weeks in advance.
| Factor | Taxi | Bolt | Pre-Booked | Bus 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative cost | Third | Second | Fourth (dearest) | Cheapest by far |
| How you learn the price | Meter, tariff on the door | In the app | At booking | Posted by Rīgas satiksme |
| Door to door | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Wait time | 0-5 min | 3-10 min | 0 min | Up to 30 min |
| Meet inside | No | No | Yes | No |
| Child seats | No | No | Yes | No |
| Late night | Yes | Usually | Yes | No |
| Data needed | No | Yes | No | No |
| Luggage capacity | Good | Varies | Good | Limited |
Riga-Specific Notes
Riga is a small, manageable city. The airport road is straightforward and rarely congested. This means the practical differences between transport options are smaller than in larger cities — you will arrive at roughly the same time regardless of your choice.
Winter is worth considering. From November to March, temperatures can drop well below freezing, and waiting outside for a Bolt in January is unpleasant. In winter months, a taxi from the rank (no waiting outside) or a pre-booked transfer (driver meets you inside) have more appeal.
Latvia is a cashless-friendly country. Cards work everywhere — taxis, buses, shops. You rarely need physical euros unless visiting rural areas.
Our Take
For solo travelers and couples with light luggage arriving during the day, Bolt offers the best value among the cars. For families, groups, late arrivals, or winter travel, a pre-booked transfer provides comfort and certainty at a price fixed before you fly. And the bus is genuinely excellent if you are traveling light — for a couple of euros it is one of Europe's better airport connections, and cheaper still if you buy the ticket before you board.