Photo: Edgars Šulcs · CC BY-SA 4.0Kurzeme Coast Road Trip
Drive from Kuldīga to Liepāja, Pāvilosta, Ventspils and Cape Kolka before returning through Jūrmala over six or seven days.
- Allow
- 6–7 days
- Route
- 596 km
- Drive time
- 9 hr 2 min
- Stops
- 7
Western Latvia works as a complete road trip rather than a sequence of beaches. Kuldīga begins with brick, timber and the Venta waterfall; Liepāja brings port-city scale; Pāvilosta and Jūrkalne slow the road before Ventspils and the long Slītere coast reach Cape Kolka, where the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Riga meet.
Wind and water are the real variables. Stay on public roads, use signed beach access and give Slītere’s protected landscapes a full day. The loop is long enough for two bases on the west coast, not a nightly suitcase relay.
The road, in one glance
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Drawing the route…
The route earns
its distance
Each pin is selected as a place to do something—not merely proof that you passed through.
Photo: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain · CC BY 2.0Riga
Leave west after the city stay with the first Kuldīga night already secured.
Riga ( REE-gə), officially Riga State City (Latvian: Rīgas valstspilsēta), is the capital, primate, and largest city of Latvia and the second largest in the Baltics. Home to 588,911 inhabitants (as of 2026), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 847,162 (as of 2025).
Photo: Inārs Švarcs · CC BY-SA 4.0Kuldīga
A remarkably coherent old town meets the broad Venta Rapid beneath brick bridges.
Kuldīga (, German: Goldingen) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242.
Photo: Edgars Šulcs · CC BY-SA 4.0Liepāja
Music, military history, market halls and a long urban beach give the west coast its city chapter.
Liepāja (formerly: Libau) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-free port.
Photo: Laima Gūtmane (simka) · CC BY-SA 3.0Pāvilosta & Jūrkalne
A small harbor and the coast’s dramatic bluffs turn the drive north into its most scenic day.
Pāvilosta (; German: Paulshafen) is a small port town in South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. It is located at the mouth of Saka river. The population in 2020 was 881.
Photo: Edgars Šulcs · CC BY-SA 4.0Ventspils
A working port, castle and family-friendly seafront make a practical northwest base.
Ventspils (Latvian: ) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port.
Photo: Edgars Šulcs · CC BY-SA 4.0Cape Kolka
A windswept sand point marks the meeting of open Baltic and Gulf waters inside Slītere National Park.
Cape Kolka (Livonian: Kūolka nanā, Latvian: Kolkasrags) is a cape on the Baltic Sea, near the entry to Gulf of Riga, on the Livonian coast, in the Courland Peninsula of Latvia. The cape is surrounded by the Irbe Strait (Irbes šaurums) which serves as the natural border with Estonia. Cape Kolka represents the north-western limit of the Gulf of Riga.
Photo: Raul Cortez999 · CC BY-SA 4.0Jūrmala
Wooden resort architecture and Gulf beaches provide a soft final night before Riga.
Jūrmala (Latvian:; "seaside") is a state city in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, about 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching 32 km (20 miles) and is sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a 33 km (21 miles) stretch of white-sand beach and is the fifth-largest city in Latvia.
Drive the conditions,
not the itinerary.
Use formal coast access, keep away from unstable bluffs and check wind, fire and park notices. Fuel before the more remote Slītere section.
Checked against
the people who run it
Distances and driving times are planning estimates. Conditions, closures, ferries, permits and park rules can change, so check the linked official guidance before setting out.