Travel To Russia

[moNkaD8]

Please help.Somebody travelled across Russia? How There?I Am going to go here, advise, what route is better for choosing? Of what agency to take advantage? On the internet it is a lot of sites offering these services (gotorussia.com, russia-travel.com, 3btours.com, russia.com, etc.), but it were would be desirable to hear opinion of people which already there.Thanks

[mysubaruimp]

This is something that I have been interested in for that past couple of years. I will be looking to take a trip around Russia and visit some of the not-so-normal places for tourists. The normal tourist stuff doesnt do anything for me, I would wather spend a month getting into the culture of the real Russia.

I have looked at a few cruises that go through. Most seem to stop at all of the big places a normal person may want to visit. They travel by night and stop at ports during the day. You spend very little time actually on the cruise ship that you arent sleeping.

I would take a look at a local travel agency before going to an online company, especially the ones that offer travel into Russia. There is so much that could go wrong. Pay a little extra and go through a local company where you can talk to someone in person.

You need to have some paperwork filled out before travelling into Russia, if not on a cruise. A travel agency can help you out with most of it. If you plan to stay longer than a month, I believe you need an AIDS test, in Russian and English languages to be allowed in (This may be only for stays longer than 3 months.) You need a visa. The visa is in Russian, so you will most likely need to find someone to help you fill it out if you do not know the language. You need to register your visa once you arrive. Most major hotels can do this for you.

You need an international drivers license if you plan to drive. If you intend to travel by train on popular routes such as Warsaw-Moscow or St Petersburg-Kiev you will need to obtain a transit visa before travelling.

Tap water is not drinkable throughout much of Russia. Bottled water is widely available.

The photographing of any military installation, establishment or site of strategic importance is prohibited; this includes airports. You are likely to have your camera confiscated, be detained for questioning and possibly arrested if you do not observe this rule.

[jev]

Ok for russia

- you can drive with US or EU driver license for 30 days
- even if you have Russian driver license, you still need to give bribes
- hire a car with a driver for the whole trip, relatively cheap
- get someone local or contact an travel agency that will give you russian guide, this solves all of your problems
- you can shoot anything you want, even millitary objects, assuming someone local is with you and they said it's ok
- it's not that scary, it's just completely different mentality