Volga River Tour & Trip Reviews | Travelstride

Volga River Tour & Trip Reviews

8 reviews0

Tour Reviews

Sort by:
Write a review
G

Greg

Aug 2017

Written on

One of a Kind

This trip through the waterways of northwestern Russia was a truly unique and wonderful learning experience, combining the pleasures of cruising on a small ship (wit...

C

Caryl

Aug 2017

Written on

Cruise Of The Czars

My daughter and I traveled in May to Russia for the Cruise of the Czars in May of 2017, and it was fantastic. The ship was very modern and well maintained and the st...

d

d. Burg

Aug 2016

Written on

Great Way to Visit Russia

Went with a group of seven women on the river cruise Moscow to St. Petersburg and we were extremely well satisfied over all . Trip was handled efficient, our tour le...

B

Bonnie Mack

Aug 2016

Written on

Another Blockbuster for smarTours!

In celebrating 50 consecutive years of international travel this year, I turned to smarTours for the 16th time, and wasn't disappointed with the "Cruise of the Czars...

P

Patsy Martinez

Jun 2016

Written on

Wonderful cruise!!

This cruise was excellent. The crew, activities, food, entertainment,tours, services, room, etc. everything marvelous. The cruise directors, Galia Saufulina was the ...

Volga River Reviews

P

PATSY MARTINEZ

Jun 2016

Written on

Wonderful experience

This cruise was fantastic: the people from the ship, the food, the ports selected, the tours made and the extra tours.The ship is comfortable, lots of amenities and ...

A

Aldo drian Torres

Aug 2015

Written on

cruise of the czars

I want to thank you for evrething I was very happy with your service this is my second time traveling with this company and I hope to continue in the future. But I h...

C

Cheri Davis

Feb 2014

Written on

Amazing Trip

Incredible trip! Such professional tour guides, very attentive, perfect English. The cabins on the boat are small, but that is a cultural thing, so be prepared. The ...

Write a Review

1 - 8 of 8 Reviews shown

Editor’s Take

What to Look For in Volga River Cruise Reviews

Most trip reviews tend to focus on some or all of these 5 key areas, not all of which may be relevant to you: the tour guide, travel company, service level, country or countries traveled in, and the trip itinerary. Remember, just because you see a 1 star review doesn’t necessarily mean that person disliked the country.

Travelers loved the diversity of the trip, and thought the trip length was well suited. Since Moscow and St. Petersburg are such large cities, with endless things to do, travelers enjoyed the block days on each end of the cruise. People also mentioned they thought the itinerary activities, day trips in the villages along the river were a good amount of time, not too short, but not too long where you run out of things to do. The villages were interesting and fun to visit, and the local Russian people were noted to be very friendly, and enjoyable to interact with. The port cities had great variety to them, and were well selected.

Travelers were also a fan of traveling by cruise, and found the boat comfortable, and the rooms and activities inviting. By being on a cruise, you got to meet new people and got to spend a fair amount of time with them, which sometimes isn’t the case with land travel. There were travelers from every background.

Most reviews mention the variety of food, and enjoyed the buffet options that offered various options. Staff on board and the directors were well-liked, and the tour guides are knowledgeable. The boat activities such as the lectures and films were educational and fascinating. The directors made sure customers were well taken care of, and went out of their way to make sure guests enjoyed their cruise.  

Bigger cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg offered optional tours, which were also well enjoyed by travelers. Volga River isn’t a common tourist destination, but reviewers found the tour fascinating and unlike any other travel experiences they have had. The physical activity level was minimal, making it a doable trip for a majority of people in a wide-range of fitness levels. Most reviews noted that the ability to interact and engage with people on their ship, and the friendly, local Russian people they were able to meet were the highlight of the trip.

Traveling to a new country can be difficult, especially those with little-to-no international travel experience. The language barrier, the change of food, experiencing new cultures, etc. can be hard to get used to, and that can lead to negative thoughts about a trip. Since most traveling to Volga results in a cruise, travelers who are not big boat fans can find this experience not what they hoped to be, because water travel is not their preferred method of traveling.

By preparing yourself and learning about the culture before you set off, you can help make for a better trip, so the culture shock isn’t as surprising. The weather in Russia has extremes on both ends – extremely cold in the winter and extremely hot in summer. If you’re looking for weather somewhere in the middle, try booking a trip in the shoulder season (either spring or fall), to avoid super hot or super cold weather, and if you want to visit without all the tourists that the summer and warm weather bring.

If you want a professional take on traveling a Volga River Cruise, see the Travelstride Volga River Guide »