Seven minutes to the sea: Ventspils beaches and routes from Terra House

Terra House stands in the quiet seaside streets of Ventspils, and the beach is at the end of the street — seven minutes on foot. From the same door you can reach almost everything the city is known for by the water without getting in a car. These are the routes we would take, with the minutes we measured on our map of the seaside quarter. They are approximate; children and prams set their own pace.

The sea: 7 minutes

Walk to the end of the street and keep going: seven minutes to the water. It is the quickest way to a morning swim, a walk before breakfast, or the sunset — the Ventspils beach faces west, so the sun goes down over the sea.

The guarded beach: 10–12 minutes

• The swimming area by the pier end — about 10 minutes. The guarded stretch, with first aid and a viewing platform.
• The Blue Flag beach — about 12 minutes. The main Ventspils beach: lifeguards in season, showers, changing rooms, playgrounds and the promenade behind the dune.
• Beach volleyball — about 13 minutes. Courts on the sand and a small stadium behind them.

With children, this is the route for the day: guarded water, toilets and a playground within a few steps.

For the rainy day: 7 minutes

The aqua park is about 7 minutes on foot or two by bike — indoor and outdoor pools and slides. It is the plan for the day the weather turns.

The seaside park and the little train: 11–12 minutes

The seaside park starts about 11 minutes away: kilometres of paths through the pines, a bike track, ponds, benches and a narrow-gauge railway that runs in a ring. The open-air museum is about 12 minutes away, with fishermen's houses, boats and anchors under the pines and the little steam train that circles the park. The city camping, about 16 minutes on foot, has bike hire in season.

The longer walks: 17–23 minutes

• Surfers' beach — about 17 minutes. Where the wind-surfers and kiters go in.
• Naturist beach — about 20 minutes, a marked stretch south of the main beach.
• The South pier — about 23 minutes. A long walk out into the sea, the port on one side and open water on the other. Go for the sunset and the ships.
• The beach through the pines by Kaia House, our second house — about 22 minutes. Wide, quiet and often empty.

Into town

The old town, the market, the promenade along the Venta, the concert hall "Latvija" and the cafés are about 26 minutes on foot or 8 by bike. The coastal cycle path runs from the seaside park to the pier.

Three routes to try

• The morning swim: seven minutes to the sea, a swim, back for breakfast on the terrace.
• The family day: the Blue Flag beach and its playgrounds in the morning, the aqua park after lunch — both within a quarter of an hour on foot.
• The sunset walk: through the seaside park past the open-air museum, out along the South pier, and back along the beach as the light goes.

Good to know

• Emergency number 112. In season the main beach has lifeguards, first-aid points and a rescue service on the water; outside the guarded stretch, swim with care.
• No cars, fires or camping on the sand. Dogs stay off the guarded beach in season; there is a marked dog stretch to the south.
• Quiet after 22:00 — in the park too.

The dates and the drawn map of the seaside quarter are on the house page.