When incentive groups or a conference travel to a new country it is always a nice option to get to see a bit more of the destination – other than the main location of their event. It provides a more complete feeling of having been in a country, and not just visited one city.
We would like to recommend Sigulda as such a perfect addition to a trip to Riga, the capital of Latvia. It is close by, has a whole different appearance and surrounding landscape and is highly professional in offering sport or teambuilding events.
The trip must include the picturesque Gauja River in the National Park with the same name – Gauja. The forest-covered river valleys of Sigulda breathe myths and legends – the visit to the city offers fascinating glimpses into life in medieval Europe. The beautiful park and ruins of the Turaida Museum Reserve give a nice historic tweak if combined with an athletic challenge!
Sigulda is also a great option for “bleisure” – individuals can extend their stay after an event in Riga for 1-2 days in Sigulda, to relax and see more of the country.
So here are a few good reasons to include Sigulda in a corporate program:
- It is just one-hour drive away from Riga and it is perfect for any activity program as part of corporate events.
- Sigulda has a unique range of professional sport venues – with professional instructors and all facilities necessary for mini Olympics. The best thing is that everything is in close vicinity, so no trouble on long transfers and complicated organization.www.siguldassports.lv
- A race on the original bobsleigh track with high-speed bobs means to scorch down a kilometer of ice with a ride in a real bob at the only bobsleigh track in the former USSR. Sigulda Bobsleigh and Luge Track (1200 m) was opened in 1986, and is one of the few tracks in the world that is accessible to both professional athletes and visitors. The track features 16 curves, and allows for a maximum speed of 125 km/h. The track is suited for bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions. Your groups will have the opportunity to chase adrenaline through the curves of the track while competitions are not taking place.
- Tarzāns Sigulda Adventure Park is the largest outdoor adventure park in the Baltics. The park consists of 100 different obstacles with varying degrees of difficulty placed in trees up to 20 meters above the ground.The Park also offers a chair lift, catapult, climbing wall, archery, open-air pneumatic /paintball shooting ground and pedal go-karts.
- Aerodium, where you can launch yourself into an amazing flying experience that has livened up Olympic ceremonies and action movies. Flight in the wind tunnel – Aerodium is the first vertical wind tunnel in Eastern Europe.
- Zērglis and Bungee Jumping. The first and currently the only such attraction in the world, where a zipline ride takes place along a cable car. Zērglis is situated in the Gauja valley landscape and is a breathtaking experience akin to a bird’s flight above the Gauja, facing the horizon at speeds of up to 60 km/h. The creator of the attraction is the Bungee Sigulda team, which has been operating in the extreme sports sector for over 25 years, admiring the high standards of safety and professionalism.If Zērglis doesn’t cut it for you, catch the greatest rush of your life with a bungee jump off the cable car over the Gauja River.
- Historic hotels as the centrally located hotel Sigulda* for lunch/dinner of your group or as your “central meeting point” during any events that might be spread over the small city – or the **Segevold hotel in a quiet green environment – provide meeting rooms, gastronomy and cater for spa and relaxation breaks.
- The running candidature of the city of Sigulda together with Stockholm in Sweden for the Olympic 2026 winter games is a prove for the great conditions of the sport facilities. Sigulda and Stockholm follow a sustainable application and integrate existing tracks and venues in the new concept.
Experiential History with Creative Workshops at the Sigulda Castle Complex:
A wood workshop to create the wooden walking sticks that have been a traditional symbol of Sigulda for over two centuries.
A jewelry workshop at the Balts Jewelry Studio, well known for both the traditional design created based on ancient ornaments and modern interpretation of the traditional jewellery design typical for Baltic region.
A leather workshop in which the group can create customized leather bookmarks, belts, key rings and other small objects
A textile workshop in which one can personalize their own textile by printing a symbol or logo on it.
A paper-art workshop, titled ‘Viktor’s letters’ is where the remains of unique ancient documents stationaries are used to create – post cards, remembrances and paper jewelry. Additionally, Events and story-telling session can be organized for group about ‘Maija and Victor’s’ love, the history about the Summer Palace and the paper casting customs in Latvia and worldwide.
The Tourist Information Centre in Sigulda can help you plan your activities there or connect you with DMCs or agencies for sport activities.
Ausekļa Street 6, Sigulda, +371 67971335, info@sigulda.lv
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* Hotel “Sigulda” was built in 1889, when the Riga-Petersburg railroad was created, which encouraged more people take holidays away from Riga. The nobleman Nikolaj Kropotkin (1872-1939) developed Sigulda as popular tourism destination among Russian and German noblemen. Since reconstruction in 1998 the historical building of the hotel has began to function again after a break of many years. In 2001 the hotel was extended with the building of hotel rooms, a seminar-conference centre and recreation centre. The Hotel is a unique complex of 19th century stone building and contemporary conference centre. www.hotelsigulda.lv
** Hotel GS Segevold
A 4-star business hotel, offers 43 different class rooms equipped with amenities. The hotel has a leisure complex, a restaurant with sophisticated cuisine, a seminar and conference room. The hotel has 3 seminar rooms. The largest gutman “Gutmanis” has a capacity of 80 persons. www.goodstayhotels.com
More hotels in Sigulda you find on the website of www.tourism.sigulda.lv
