Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best time to visit Ventspils is June, July, August, when the weather, flight prices, and crowds align. — consistent weather climate
🌥Mild
| Score | 9 | 11 | 16 | 25 | 59 | 84 | 78 | 79 | 64 | 23 | 9 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold | Cold | Cold | Cold | Cold | Mild | Mild | Humid | Mild | Cold | Cold | Cold |
| Temperature | -2–2°C | -1–2°C | 0–5°C | 3–9°C | 7–15°C | 13–19°C | 15–20°C | 15–21°C | 12–17°C | 7–11°C | 4–7°C | 0–4°C |
| Feels like | -8–-4°C | -7–-3°C | -5–0°C | -2–5°C | 4–12°C | 11–18°C | 14–20°C | 14–20°C | 10–15°C | 3–8°C | -1–3°C | -5–-1°C |
| Precipitation | 62mm 16 days | 48mm 11 days | 38mm 10 days | 40mm 9 days | 39mm 7 days | 57mm 8 days | 82mm 13 days | 81mm 13 days | 75mm 13 days | 88mm 15 days | 73mm 15 days | 62mm 16 days |
| Sunshine | 1.8h ☀︎ 24% | 3.5h ☀︎ 37% | 6.5h ☀︎ 55% | 10.3h ☀︎ 72% | 13.3h ☀︎ 80% | 13.9h ☀︎ 78% | 13.6h ☀︎ 79% | 11.6h ☀︎ 76% | 9.3h ☀︎ 73% | 5.1h ☀︎ 49% | 2.3h ☀︎ 29% | 1.2h ☀︎ 18% |
| Wind | SW · 30 km/h | SW · 29 km/h | SW · 27 km/h | NW · 26 km/h | W · 23 km/h | W · 23 km/h | W · 24 km/h | SW · 23 km/h | SW · 25 km/h | SW · 29 km/h | SW · 27 km/h | SW · 29 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 84% | 82% | 79% | 76% | 72% | 75% | 76% | 76% | 77% | 79% | 83% | 83% |
| Day length | 7.4h | 9.5h | 11.9h | 14.3h | 16.6h | 17.9h | 17.2h | 15.2h | 12.8h | 10.3h | 8.0h | 6.8h |
| Tourist Crowds | Low season | Low season | Low season | Low season | Shoulder season | High season | High season | High season | Shoulder season | Low season | Low season | Low season |
Held on the city's Baltic Sea beach each summer, this festival brings sculptors from around the world to create intricat…
Ventspils is defined entirely by its maritime boundary: the Baltic Sea either makes it an open-air northern paradise or locks it under months of damp, sunless wind. The calendar gives you a narrow three-month window where the coast feels genuinely welcoming, and June captures it at its absolute freshest.
Perched where the Venta River empties into the Baltic Sea, Ventspils grew around the sturdy stone bulk of the Livonian Order Castle, guarding Courland's northwestern edge with an ice-free harbor that never sleeps. It is a working maritime outpost that doubles as Latvia's quintessential seaside town. For most of the year, however, travelers forget that latitude is unforgiving. When the Baltic turns grey, the town turns inward, battered by relentless coastal gales. But when summer arrives, the town transforms completely. Pine-scented breezes drift across broad white dunes, the days stretch on until midnight, and the entire riverfront promenade wakes up.
June is the undisputed sweet spot in Ventspils. The Baltic light is near-endless, spilling nearly fourteen hours of bright sunshine across the cobblestones and waterfront docks. Day temperatures sit comfortably in the upper teens, creating crisp, invigorating coastal warmth that invites you to spend entire days outside without breaking a sweat or dodging heavy downpours.
The town has shaken off its long winter slumber, yet the massive summer crowds of mid-season have not yet arrived in force. You can wander along the Venta River toward the Livonian Order Castle in quiet contemplation, watching cargo ships navigate the mouth of the harbor. The town's expansive Baltic Sea beach begins to host the first works of the Ventspils International Sand Sculpture Festival, where monumental figures slowly emerge from damp grain under wide, pale skies.
Water temperatures remain brisk, but on land, the balance of clean marine air, dry paths, and uncrowded boardwalks makes June the month when Ventspils feels most effortlessly itself.
July and August are when Latvia migrates to the coast. August marks the absolute peak of the year's visitor numbers, filling every pathway leading down to the shore. The weather delivers its warmest days, with afternoon air hovering around 20 degrees and the Baltic Sea finally warming enough for brave swimmers to take the plunge.
The centerpiece of life is the wide Baltic Sea beach. Here, the finished works of the Ventspils International Sand Sculpture Festival stand assembled along the coast, drawing steady lines of onlookers who stroll along the sand between ocean dips. Evenings linger forever in soft shades of orange and violet, with daylight holding out well past ten o'clock.
The trade-off is coastal moisture. High summer brings short, intermittent downpours and heavier cloud banks rolling off the water. While showers rarely wash out an entire afternoon, they arrive with little warning. If you want lively open-air terraces, buskers by the riverbank, and sunbathers dotting the dunes, August delivers the energy, provided you do not mind sharing the sand.
Come September, the vacationing families vanish almost overnight, leaving behind an atmospheric, windswept coastline. The temperature slides back toward a crisp 17 degrees, and the low autumn sun casts long, amber shadows across the courtyard of the Livonian Order Castle.
It is a surprisingly pleasant month for solitary walks. The summer humidity breaks, replaced by brisk breezes that whip whitecaps across the Baltic Sea and clear the horizon for miles. You will need a windbreaker along the breakwater, and daylight hours begin to shorten noticeably, but the town retains enough warmth during midday for peaceful rambling.
Rain increases slightly compared to midsummer, but it largely arrives as quick squalls off the water. For travelers who prefer quiet coastlines and moody northern landscapes over beach umbrella culture, September offers a brief, dignified encore.
From late autumn through the end of March, Ventspils retreats into survival mode. While its deepwater harbor remains ice-free—a strategic blessing that built the city's fortune—the maritime exposure makes winter feel harsher than inland Courland. Raw dampness amplifies the chill, turning temperatures barely below freezing into biting, bone-deep cold.
November and December bring heavy, low clouds and as little as one to two hours of pale sun per day. The wind off the Baltic Sea is relentless, carrying a constant spray that keeps the sidewalks damp and strips any warmth from outdoor walks. The broad sweep of the Baltic Sea beach turns desolate, beautiful only from behind the glass of a warm car or shelter.
By January and February, snow and slush glaze the quays along the Venta River. The town does not shutter entirely—commerce continues around the docks, and the Livonian Order Castle stands stoic against the sleet—but pleasure travel here is essentially nonexistent. Coming during these months means accepting dark afternoons, freezing drizzle, and an emptiness that only the hardiest northern travelers seek out.
Spring arrives hesitantly to the Baltic rim. April is notoriously bright yet deceptive: the sun breaks through the winter clouds for over ten hours a day, but the sea air remains stubbornly cold, with highs struggling to reach double digits. The winds off the water still carry the frozen memory of winter.
May is the true transition. Daylight surges past thirteen hours, and daytime warmth finally climbs to around 15 degrees. The greenery along the banks of the Venta River bursts open, and the city begins sweeping away the winter grime, preparing its beach boardwalks and gardens for the coming influx.
May sits in a pleasant shoulder lull. It is too early for swimming, and evenings remain sharp enough to demand a heavy sweater, but the dry days and rising light offer a serene preview of summer without a single queue in sight.