Latvia by campervan: food and supermarkets
Where to buy food in Latvia, which supermarkets to use, opening hours and practical tips for eating on the road. What to know before you go.
Published 18 September 2026Last checked 19 September 2026
Currency
Euro
EUR. Cards nearly everywhere, cash in villages and markets
Language
Latvian
Russian widely spoken, English in Riga and among the young
Driving
Right
90 km/h out of town, 50 in town, 80 on gravel
Power
230V, type F
The same round two-pin plug as most of the continent
Tap water
Safe to drink
Ask for krāna ūdens
Emergency
112
One number for police, fire and ambulance
Food and shops
Food and shops
Rimi and Maxima cover the country between them, with Top!, Elvi and Mego filling in the small towns and Lidl in the larger ones. The pattern for a van is the familiar one: the big out-of-town Rimi Hypermarket or Maxima XX has room to park and the full range, while a Top! or an Elvi may be the only shop for the next half hour. Hours are long and Sunday is an ordinary trading day.
Where to shop
- Best value: Lidl or Maxima.
- Full range: Rimi.
- Camper access: Large Maxima and Rimi hypermarkets outside central Riga have the best access.
What eating out costs, reported
- Cheap restaurant meal
- €12
- Draught beer, 0.5 l
- €4.50
Reported range 7 to 20, Numbeo September 2026. Crowd-sourced, not an official figure. The ēdnīca counter comes in at the bottom of that range
Reported range 2 to 6, Numbeo September 2026. Crowd-sourced, and the spread is wide enough to be worth reading as a range
Supermarkets, and what each one is for
| Chain | Good for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rimi | The full-range chain. Hypermarkets on the edge of towns, small Rimi Express in centres. | Reliable fresh counters and easy parking at the big sites |
| Maxima | The other big one, from tiny X stores up to XX and XXX hypermarkets. | The widest reach into small towns |
| Top! and Elvi | The small-town and village shops. Often the only option for half an hour. | Short hours, cash welcome |
| Mego | Cheap basics, mostly smaller stores. | Concentrated in towns |
| Lidl | Cheapest basket, narrow range. | In the larger towns only |
Eating out without getting it wrong
- The self-service canteen is the value meal. Latvian ēdnīca and buffet chains charge by weight or by plate and feed you properly for very little, at lunchtime.
- Riga's old town restaurants are priced for tourists. One street out is a different price.
Stocking the campervan
- Fill up before Kurzeme and Latgale. The forests and the eastern lakes are thin on shops and thinner on fuel.
- Buy rye bread, smoked fish, curd and honey here. They are the genuine value.