Jūrmala stretches along 33 kilometres of white sand on the Baltic Sea, backed by a pine forest and lined with wooden villas that look like they've been carved rather than built. It's the seaside town Riga locals have been escaping to for a proper lie-down and a swim for generations, and these days it draws just as many visitors chasing the same thing: sand, sea air and a genuinely good spa.

Whatever kind of trip you're planning, from a lazy weekend by the water to a proper wellness reset, there's a stay in Jūrmala to match it. Here's where to look and what it'll cost you.

Where to stay in Jūrmala

• Majori is the town centre and the easiest base for a first visit. Jomas Street's pedestrian strip runs right through it, packed with cafes, boutique shops and ice cream stands, and the beach out the back is a touch quieter than you'd expect for how central it is. Majori's train station also makes hopping back to Riga a non-event.
• Dzintari sits right next door to Majori and is home to the open-air Dzintari Concert Hall, plus a proper pine park with walking and cycling trails running straight down to the dunes. Stay here for the same easy access as Majori, with a bit more forest and a bit less foot traffic.
• Bulduri is the leafy, upscale end of town, full of manicured gardens, grand old villas and a wide stretch of beach. The fancier hotels and restaurants cluster here, so it suits travellers after a quieter, more polished stay without straying too far from the action.
• Vaivari is further out and noticeably calmer, with simple guesthouses, self-catering apartments and a beach that rarely feels crowded even in peak summer. Good for anyone chasing quiet over convenience, and for stretching a budget a bit further.

How much is Jūrmala accommodation?

Expect to pay from around AU$95 a night for a comfortable double in Jūrmala outside peak summer. Prices climb sharply in July and August, when Riga empties out to the coast on weekends.

• Budget guesthouses & pensions: from AU$60 per night. Simple rooms, often family-run, usually a short walk or bike ride from the beach rather than right on it.
• Mid-range hotels & apartments: from AU$100 per night. Self-catering apartments are common here and a solid option if you're staying more than a couple of nights.
• Boutique hotels: from AU$150 per night. Smaller properties, often set in restored villas, with more personality and location than a standard hotel floor plan gives you.
• Luxury spa resorts: from AU$230 per night. This is where Jūrmala earns its reputation, with full wellness centres, treatment menus running into the hundreds of options, and sea-view rooms as standard rather than an upsell.

Top-rated hotels in Jūrmala

• Baltic Beach Hotel & SPA is a five-star right on a private stretch of beach, with a wellness centre big enough to get lost in. Slavic and juniper saunas, a seawater pool and a traditional Latvian hay room are all on the treatment list.
• Boutique Spa Hotel Pegasa Pils sits just off Jomas Street, a couple of minutes' walk from both the Dzintari Concert Hall and the sand, with a spa menu that runs to Ayurvedic treatments alongside the usual massages.
• Amber Sea Hotel & SPA is set back in the pine forest rather than on the beachfront, so you get a quiet, tree-lined walk-in rather than a busy promenade view. The sand is still only a few minutes away on foot.
• Jūrmala SPA Hotel is a long-running wellness address with a genuinely deep treatment list, popular with guests booking a multi-day spa program rather than just a room.
• Lielupe by Semarah is a family and pet-friendly pick on the quieter Lielupe side of town, useful if you're travelling with kids or a dog and want more room to move than a central hotel offers.

Tips for finding the perfect accommodation in Jūrmala

• Book well ahead for July and August weekends. That's when half of Riga decamps to the coast and the good rooms go early.
• Check whether "sea view" actually means it. Jūrmala's beach runs for kilometres, and plenty of hotels sit a block or two back with pine trees rather than water outside the window.
• Weeknights are noticeably cheaper than weekends year-round. Shifting your stay off a Friday or Saturday can save you a fair bit without losing anything.
• If the spa is the main reason you're going, look closely at what's actually included in the room rate versus what's a paid add-on. Treatment lists can be enormous, and the headline price on a booking site rarely covers all of it.
• Want a quieter, cheaper stretch of sand? Look toward Vaivari or Melluži rather than Majori. You'll still be a short drive or cycle from the main strip when you want it.
• Travelling without a car, stick to Majori or Dzintari. Both sit on the train line back to Riga, which takes about half an hour.