Vivi trains

Vivi is Latvia's national passenger rail operator, and the only company running domestic train services in the country. It traded for over two decades as Pasažieru vilciens before rebranding to Vivi in November 2023, adopting a new yellow and grey livery. The network radiates from Riga Central Station, the hub for every domestic route and the starting point for most journeys travellers will plan.

Most Vivi trains are straightforward second-class regional services, and reservations aren't available on them at all. That's a different setup to many other European countries, so don't go looking for a reservation option on a typical domestic Latvian train, it simply isn't offered. Two routes are the exception: Riga to Daugavpils to Indra, and Riga to Rezekne, each running one daily service with a comfort-class carriage. On these, a reservation costs around €1.40 and is recommended rather than compulsory. Book it if you want the upgraded carriage guaranteed; skip it and you can still board, you just won't have a reserved comfort-class seat.

International connections work differently again, and this is where it's worth checking the rule for your specific route before you travel. Riga to Tallinn, Estonia, runs once daily, direct, with no reservation possible or needed. Riga to Valga, also in Estonia, connects onward via Estonian operator Elron toward Tartu and Tallinn, again with no reservation required except on the 1st class Valga to Tallinn leg. The one route where this changes completely is Riga to Vilnius, Lithuania, via Jelgava and Siauliai. That daily service, run jointly with Lithuanian operator LTG Link, requires a mandatory reservation costing around €5, booked through LTG Link rather than through Vivi. Assume every Baltic cross-border service follows the same easy, reservation-free pattern as the Tallinn train, and you risk arriving in Riga without the reservation you actually needed for Vilnius.

Interrail and Eurail pass holders travel on Vivi's network on the same terms as any other passenger. Because reservations are optional or simply unavailable on nearly every domestic Vivi train, pass holders don't need to plan far ahead for typical Latvian legs. The Vilnius connection is the one exception worth flagging twice: book that reservation as soon as your dates are fixed, since it's the single compulsory reservation anywhere on Vivi's network.