Useful information about
Latvia
Documents
To enter into the Republic of
Latvia the following documents are required:
*passport or identification card
(identification cards as travel documents accepted only for citizens of EU,
European Economic Zone and Switzerland)
*visa or residential permit (except
citizens from the countries with whom Latvia has a non-visa agreement)
Currency
In Latvia the Latvian Lats is
used as money. 1 EUR = 0.70 LVL or 1 USD = 0.45 LVL.
Credit Cards
Latvia is one of those
countries in which cash is in wide circulation, that is approximately 30% of
the active money.
The most commonly used credit
cards for paying in Latvian hotels, restaurants, cafes and supermarkets are
EUROCARD, MASTERCARD, VISA, JCB, DINER'S CLUB, AMERICAN EXPRESS, EUROCHEQUE,
stored-value cards issued by Latvian banks, as well as you can use services of
the national banks for withdrawing money from your account, or you can withdraw
money from cash machines (ATMs).
Travellers Cheques
You can also use American
Express¨ or Thomas Cook¨ Travellers Cheques. It is widely known that Travellers
Cheques are a safe and easy way to protect not only your travel money but also
your passport and credit/debit cards.
You can exchange your
Travellers Cheques for cash or use them as a means of payment in any
convertible currency all over the world. American Express¨ and Thomas Cook¨ are
the most widespread Travellers Cheques.
Electricity
The power supply voltage in
Latvia is 220V, 50Hz, European-style 2-pin plugs.
Language
Latvian is the official state
language. However Russian, English and German are widely spoken. Latvian
belongs to the Baltic language group, part of the Indo-European language
family.
Time zone
Latvia is part of time zone 2 or Eastern European time