Latvia – Riga to Vilnius Lithuania by bus

My tour around the Baltic States

My trip to Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania was part of my 10 day trip to visit the three capitals of the Baltic States.

I flew into Tallinn, Estonia, for a 3 day stay in the capital of Estonia. Click here for my post on Tallinn.

From here I then took the Lux Express bus to Riga, Latvia. Click here for my post on my Tallinn to Riga LuxExpress bus experience

Riga, the capital of Latvia was another marvellous stay of three days. Click here for my post on Riga.

From Riga I then travelled onwards, again by Lux Express bus to Vilnius in Lithuania. Read about that in this post.

I stayed in Vilnius, the small but enchanting capital of Lithuania for 3 memorable days. Click here for my post on Vilnius.

At the end of this wonderful ten day trip I flew from Vilnius back to the UK.

Click here for the LuxExpress bus website for bookings

Riga to Vilnius by bus, plane or train? 

Flying. I worked out that Riga to Vilnius was about an hours flight, then add in 2 hours at each end for getting to and from the various airports and security/passport time. Total was about 5 hours cost between £35-85 depending on day and time and how far in advance you book.

Far too long, time-wise, for flights so I excluded that means of transport. I would also just get to see the inside of two anonymous airports and see nothing of the countryside between these two cities.  So I looked at road/rail.

Train. It would take around 4 hours, if it was possible. This was complicated as some sites said you can take a train direct, some said, no you have to buy sperate tickets to Daugavpils at the Latvian border with Lithuania, then buy another ticket from there to Lithuania. Some sites even said there were no trains between the two capitals. Either way I couldn’t fins a wbsite that could sell me a ticket. It all got too messy to workout so I skipped the possibility of a train journey. Pity because I do love train trips.

Bus. This would be also around 4 hours, direct and cost around £10-28 depending on which bus company, time and day of travel and how far in advance you book. Ecolines and Flixbus (standard but comfortable bus companies) were coming in at around £17. Lux Express was charging £10 for a Standard Class ticket and £25 for a “Lounge” (business) Class seat. Although if I wanted to take certain early or late departures in Standard Class that price could go down to £5 !

Lux Express bus service 

A benefit here of Lux Express was that the bus pictures of the Lux Express bus lines looked sumptuous and ultra-modern. At-seat wifi and screens, toilets, state of the art seating, free seat selection, power points at the seat and ultra modern new big buses.

They even had a luxury compartment at the back (Lounge Class) with single seats looking airline/space-age like, for a little extra in price….. I was sold. Bus it would be and with Lux Express!

I bought my ticket online so easily. The site is super easy to use and tickets were emailed to me to print off within a minute. You can download it as an e-ticket and upload to your phone too.

This company has several other routes, all equally great and the Baltics are well connected by their services.

Click here for the LuxExpress bus website for bookings.

I had a choice of around 4 daily departure times with prices from £5 to 12 Euros in standard seating i.e. two seats abreast in great looking coaches. The prices really depended on what time you wanted to leave.

Fabulous Lounge Class seats

If I wanted Lounge Class, the seat prices were £15 to £22 including free hot drinks. You could choose a seat that has two abreast if travelling with a companion or one abreast if like me travelling solo (I’ve never seen this before on coaches, so was intrigued).

The seats are wider than Standard Class, have huge leg room with a footrest and reclining backrest  I actually bought a Standard Class seat on my Tallinn to Riga journey but now I definitely wanted to experience this business class and for an extra £10 I could easily afford to indulge for once. I can never afford business class flights so here was my compromise!.

Riga Bus Station

I already knew where Riga Bus Station was as I had got off here when I travelled in from Tallinn in Estonia.

The station is conveniently only a few mins down the road from Riga Main Train Station and also next to two big shopping Malls. If your onwards journey is by train then this is where you’ll be heading.

Having the two Malls nearby (including the up-market Stockmann Dept store) is a bonus as whilst the Riga bus station is ok and modern, it’s actually a bit small and now with the increase in traffic from here a bit badly laid out.  You can thus nip into the Malls for a snack or wander if you have time whilst waiting to pass the time.

If you really want to be adventurous then the Central Market is across the small waterway. In it’s plane hangar 1900’s style building are even more cafes and even store to pick up that last minute gift or souvenir

Having noted where it was on the way in and walking to my apartment in Riga, the walk back was an easy 25 mins and quite enjoyable. No lugging cases in and out of a taxi or tram or negotiating tickets .

The buses drive up to outside areas but with the number of cars and taxis dropping people off inside the same area and then a plethora of buses parking up for ages it was a little confusing to work out where to go. Buses that are not in use park up nearby so it difficult to know which are in service and which are not

I wandered the covered walkways and looked for the drive in area that had Vilnius marked and hoped that the sign was current. I waited outside as the weather was good although inside was fine with a small café, waiting area and several snack stalls and newspaper vendors.

The bus 

The Lux Express turned up on time – you can’t miss the bus in its distinctive brown/gold/red livery. It was by far the biggest most modern and most luxury looking coach n the station, Again my expectations were raised for a great journey. If it was as good as the one coming here then I was in for a treat.

The coach had a Riga – Vilnius sign in the front window and there were about 30 people waiting for the coach which held around 40 seats. It was clearly going to be a busier ride than my previous one.

Luggage was carefully stowed in the undercarriage storage area and we all boarded by showing our ticket or the e-ticket image on our phones which were scanned. Inside it was super modern.

Clean, tidy, almost futuristic and the seats were stylish and really comfy. I noticed the Standard Class  were good as before but I headed to the back for my business Class seat.

I sat down and again noted the large media screen in the back of the seat in front, just like on a plane and the several options to use. I plugged my phone into the at-seat recharge socket and plugged my tablet into another socket, placing it on the drop down table. Seats were big leather/fabric upholstered, comfy and looked new.

This time I had a single seat placed in the middle of where two seats would normally be. I noted that the brochure advertises twin seats on one side of the coach and singles on the other for Lounge Class. as in the pic from their website here. This coach had singles on each side and a big walkway through the middle so was even more spacious and airy.

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Sept 2017.