Latvia with Kids: Where the Country's Zoos Fit In

Latvia's two zoos sit on opposite sides of the country: Ciruli, Riga Zoo's outdoor branch, in the Dienvidkurzeme region in the west, and Latgale Zoo in Daugavpils in the east. Ciruli is the better-documented stop: 137 hectares of enclosures for 38 species, including Latvia's own blue cattle and a family of kiangs, with tickets from €10 and a simple turn off the Liepāja highway. Latgale Zoo has been open in Daugavpils since 1992, but its own site could not be reached to confirm what it costs or keeps today, so build a route around Ciruli unless you are already passing through Daugavpils.

Which zoo fits your route

Ciruli: the documented choice

Ciruli is Riga Zoo's outdoor base, spread across 137 hectares in Kalvenes pagasts, and it keeps 38 species of wild animals alongside 12 species and breeds of domestic ones. The animals worth building a stop around are Latvia's own blue cattle breed and a family of kiangs, plus the European tree frog, which the site describes as a protected amphibian in Latvia. Walking its paths and stopping at the picnic areas takes several hours by the zoo's own description, so treat it as a half-day out rather than a quick detour.

Featured location Ciruli Kalvene, Latvia Ciruli, opened in 1993, is a zoo in Kalvene, Latvia. Animals on show include Latvijas zilās šķirnes govis, kiangu and Eiropas kokvardi.

Latgale Zoo: the gap in what we know

Latgale Zoo has operated in Daugavpils since 1992. Beyond that, its own website returned an error on every attempt to read it, and no other permitted source (Wikipedia, the city of Daugavpils's own site, or Latgale Zoo's Facebook page) carried usable detail on its animals, hours or prices. If a stop in Daugavpils already suits your route, check the zoo's current information locally rather than relying on anything printed here as current.

Best time to visit

Latvia has a temperate seasonal climate, described as either humid continental or oceanic depending on the classification used, with July its warmest month. Plan around the other end of the calendar too: by December it is still dark at 9am and daylight is gone before 4pm, and Riga's rain falls on about 180 days a year, heaviest around harvest time in August and September.

Ciruli's own hours track the seasons closely: 10am-6pm in June-August, 10am-5pm in March-May and September-October, and 10am-4pm from November through February, though the site warns that hours can shift during sales periods. Winter also brings Ciruli's lower ticket prices, so a visit outside the warmest months costs less even as the days grow shorter.

Tickets and saving money

Ciruli's prices are seasonal. As of September 2026:

• Summer (1 May-11 October): adults €10, children aged 4-17 €5, under-3s free, students and seniors €7.
• Winter (13 October-30 April): adults €7, children aged 4-17 €4, students and seniors €5.
• Family ticket (two adults and up to three children): €25 in summer, €20 in winter; each further child adds €3, and a large family with three or more children, or a Goda ģimene card, pays €14.

Beyond the standard prices, groups of at least 10 get 10% off, and anyone visiting on their birthday gets 20% off for themselves and two companions on showing ID. Visitors with disabilities, a companion for a Group 1 disability, or a disabled child under 18 get reduced or free entry on production of a certificate, and every Wednesday is a free senior's day for anyone with a pensioner's certificate. Latgale Zoo's current prices are not confirmed for the same reason as its hours: its site would not load.

Getting there

Ciruli's address is Cīruļi, Kalvenes pagasts, Dienvidkurzemes novads, LV-3442, and the zoo's own directions are to drive the Liepāja highway to the 154 km mark, then follow the roadside signs from there. Groups wanting a picnic spot can reserve one in advance by phone.

If your trip starts in the capital rather than Kurzeme, the main Riga Zoo, of which Ciruli is a branch, is at Meža prospekts 1 and opens 10am-6pm, with its indoor exhibits running 11am-6:30pm; among the animals on show there are the northern lynx, capybara and two-humped camel. It's a reasonable half-day in Riga itself before or after a trip out to Ciruli. No transport or parking details for Latgale Zoo could be confirmed from an allowed source.

Other wildlife nearby

If Ciruli leaves you wanting to see Latvia's wildlife roaming rather than fenced, Pape Nature Reserve is about 15km south of Liepāja in the same Kurzeme region. It keeps free-roaming Heck cattle, horses and European bison alongside wild moose, red deer, roe deer, wolf and lynx, and around 50,000 migratory birds rest there every autumn.

On the Latgale side, Rāzna National Park is the country's second-largest national park and an EU-designated Important Bird Area with more than 340 species recorded, plus resident Eurasian beaver, otter and grey wolf.