LATVIA - Baltic Sea ferry or road?

ChrisRogers
ChrisRogers Forum Participant Posts: 435

Looking at taking  the car (leaving the van at home this time) to Latvia, May 2015 for 2.5 weeks, a trial run, so when I retire we can then take the caravan for 8 weeks or longer. Considering
taking the DFDS ferry from Kiel Germany to Klaipeda Lithuania, then it is only 155 miles to our destination in Latvia, plus about another 1,000 miles or so visiting and site seeing. For the past 12 years we have flown to Riga and hired a car at the airport
or locally. Looking  at the return ferry prices, it will cost about the same as car hire from the major hire companies at Riga airport. We have hired locally and a lot cheaper with problems, failed clutch in the middle of a town, front wheel blow out, spare
flat with a nail in!

So, has anyone taken their caravan to Latvia? Which is the best way, return ferry, road or ferry one way and road the other? how long a drive by road? We want to explore more of the country,
Northern Latvia into Estonia and Eastern Latvia towards the Russian border around Aglona. We have seen plenty of  caravan sites, good and bad, we do stay at a farm guest house which does have a camping ground, more basic than our basic 5 van sites!

Next year we do need the flexibility of our own car, looking for a farm or what is left of it; a descendent of my wife (5 greats grandfather) owned it in 1740, very long story and don’t want to end up in a forest on a very, very
muddy track with a VW Polo looking for a graveyard like 2013.