Riga Region Travel Forum

Hi,

I have booked a stag weekend for May this year.

There are 15 of us altogether and will be staying for two nights.

Since booking the stag we have read negative reviews regarding Riga and the way in which stag parties are targeted by dodgy strip clubs and bouncers. We have also read stories of stag parties being conned and even robbed!!

We're a sensible bunch and pretty much keep to ourselves, it just that 99% of us are of oriental descent and will stick out like sore thumbs!

What sort of reception is our party likely to receive out in Riga? Are the stories truly as bad as they say? Or are they just extreme cases? Bearing in mind we are from London and similar things happen here too. We just never come across them.

Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, I'd suggest reading some of the trip reports in the Riga forum on Tripadvisor, lots of stag parties seem to come to that forum to vent!

I visit Riga fairly often, and yeah I'd say that stag parties aren't exactly popular there (perfectly understandable, if you ask me...;o) - and I wouldn't really recommend Riga as a stag-do destination. There are many stories about stag parties being robbed and ripped off and beaten up - but if you behave somewhat sensibly, don't get too mind-numbingly drunk, avoid taxis other than the red ones from Rigas Taksometru Parks, and avoid strip clubs (Really! Avoiding strip clubs *is* the best advice we'll be able to give you if you want to avoid getting into trouble - that, and "don't pee on the Freedom Monument";o)) - then hopefully you'll have a great time!

Racism does, unfortunately, seem to be pretty common in Riga - and I would advise you to be extra careful, keep a low profile, stick together and don't wander about on your own at 4 am... (I do have a warning about this on my Riga page, which you might want to read: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/878cd/6b7a8/ under "Warnings and dangers".)

" shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted " comes to mind here

why didn't you do your research beforehand - oops

hope all goes well - if you can't cancel and go to amsterdam instead

Are you going with a stag travel company? If so, they'll have most likely someone in Riga to look after you. They don't want their clients getting into trouble.

If not, this is something you could still look into. I'm guessing you could arrange just to have the guide.

A lot is going to depend on how you behave too - given the reputation that Riga has, matching T-shirts with names on the back might not be the way to go... It goes without saying that plenty of stags are worse than obnoxious and it seems there's not a lot of sympathy when things go wrong for them.

There are plenty of non-dodgy bars to go to - depends on what you want.