Classic Russia: St. Petersburg, Moscow & the Golden Ring

11 days
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4.9/5 Excellent
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Group Tour
Welcome to Russia! Arrive in St. Petersburg, a beautiful city filled with palaces, cathedrals, beautiful bridges over canals, spacious squares and wide streets. Lleisure to explore the city known for its art and culture. Consider an optional half-day tour to the Church of Spilled Blood & St. Isaac’s Cathedral. This landmark church was commissioned by Alex...

Overview

Trip type
Group Tour
Lodging level
Standard - 3 star
Physical level
Very Easy
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Explore St. Petersburg
    • Enjoy early-access to the Hermitage, the world’s biggest museum
    • Visit Peterhof’s Palace
    • Visit the Old Tretyakov gallery

What's this trip about?

    Welcome to Russia! Arrive in St. Petersburg, a beautiful city filled with palaces, cathedrals, beautiful bridges over canals, spacious squares and wide streets. Lleisure to explore the city known for its art and culture. Consider an optional half-day tour to the Church of Spilled Blood & St. Isaac’s Cathedral. This landmark church was commissioned by Alexander III in 1182 to honor the memory of his father Alexander who was assassinated the previous year.

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Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeIntimate group - 12 max
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportN/A
Start CitySt. Petersburg
End CityMoscow

Travel Themes

  • Cultural

Destinations

  • Europe
  • Russia

Attractions

  • Moscow
  • St. Petersburg

Activities

  • Culture
  • Historic sightseeing
  • History

Trip includes

    • Round-trip international airfare from New York via Lufthansa or Swiss Airlines
    • Airfare taxes, fees & fuel surcharges
    • Accommodations in First Class hotels
    • Intra-Europe transportation and transfers
    • Comprehensive sightseeing tours including admission fees
    • English-speaking tour guides throughout

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Itinerary

Day 1: Depart USA
Your unforgettable trip to Russia begins as you depart New York today with an overnight flight.

Day 2: Arrive St. Petersburg
Meals: Dinner Accommodation: Solo Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky or similar Welcome to Russia! Arrive in St. Petersburg, a beautiful city filled with palaces, cathedrals, beautiful bridges over canals, spacious squares and wide streets. You’ll be met and escorted to your centrally located hotel. After check-in and a short rest, attend a welcome dinner.

Day 3: St. Petersburg
Meals: Breakfast After breakfast, enjoy early-access to the Hermitage, the world’s biggest museum. Today, the museum has over 2 million exhibits. The exhibitions are diverse with works by Da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, an impressive collection of impressionists and the ...
Day 4: St. Petersburg
Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and then head to Peterhof, or “Peter’s Court”, for a special early opening of the Grand Palace. Peterhof dates back to 1715 and is the former summer residence of the Russian Tsars. Most famous for its stunning golden fountains, the palace gro...
Day 5: St. Petersburg
Meals: Breakfast

Today is at your leisure to explore the city known for its art and culture. Consider an optional half-day tour to the Church of Spilled Blood & St. Isaac’s Cathedral. This landmark church was commissioned by Alexander III in 1182 to honor the memory of his father Ale...
Day 6: St. Petersburg/Moscow/Golden Ring (Suzdal)
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch Accommodation: Art Hotel Nikolaevsky Posad or similar Today, take the Sapsan (high speed) train to Moscow. On arrival in Moscow, enjoy lunch before the journey through the Golden Ring. The Golden Ring of Russia is amidst plains, lakes and m...
Day 7: Golden Ring (Suzdal)
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Today, explore Suzdal. The entire town is a museum which has hardly changed for the past two and a half centuries. First, visit the Monastery of St. Euthymius which was founded in the 14th century and grew in importance in the 16th and 17th centuries after donations from...
Day 8: Golden Ring (Suzdal)/Vladimir/Moscow
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch Accommodation: Holiday Inn Moscow – Tagansky or similar

After breakfast, explore Vladimir en route to Moscow. The history of Vladimir goes back over one thousand years and preserves examples of white-stone medieval architecture along with buildings from the 16-20th centuries. Unique memorials of XII still remain – Cathedrals ...
Day 9: Moscow
Meals: Breakfast Begin the day with an early entrance tour of the heart of the city and country – the Kremlin. You might be surprised how many ancient and magnificent structures one can see within its walls: 15th century cathedrals, a bell-tower, Patriarch’s Palace, Gr...
Day 10: Moscow
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

In the morning, you are welcome to visit the Old Tretyakov gallery which is a unique museum where one will have the perfect chance to get acquainted with the best examples of Russian art. Enjoy a tour in the halls devoted to Russian icon painting, where you will learn th...
Day 11: Depart Moscow/USA
Meals: Breakfast

Check out of the hotel after breakfast and head to the airport for your return flight back to the USA.

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Dates & Availability

Price From $2,999
Price per day$273
Single supplement (single occupancy)$499
Last Updated: 6/11/2019

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with SmarTours.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

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SmarTours

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smarTours was founded in 1996 with one goal in mind: to provide high quality, exciting group tour packages to some of the most fascinating countries in the world at the lowest possible price.  The team at smarTours believes deeply that high quality international travel should be affordable, and we work tirelessly to deliver affordability.

At smarTours, most of our travelers in any given year are repeat customers – they had such great experiences with us before that they decided to travel with us again.  And many of our customers are so happy with smarTours that they have made traveling with us an annual tradition, reaching 5, 10, even 15 trips with smarTours!  In other words, we must be doing at least a few things right.

Unbeatable Value: We provide exceptional value for your money, and it does not take that much time visiting our website to figure that out.  However, it can be difficult to compare the value provided by different tour operators because the tours are so intricate and multifaceted.  If you take the time to really peel back onion and evaluate the tours offered by smarTours, we are confident that you would come to the conclusion that our loyal customers have – that smarTours provides unbeatable value.

Phenomenal Tour Guides: If you ask anyone who has been on an escorted tour, they will tell you that the tour guides are an essential ingredient to making the trip a success.  The importance of tour guides is not lost on us at smarTours, which is why we are relentless in our pursuit and retention of the very best tour guides.  We are proud to say with confidence that our tour guides are phenomenal, and many of them have become celebrity-like figures within the smarTours community.

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Focus: Unlike most of our competitors, we focus exclusively on providing affordable group tours to foreign, largely exotic destinations.  In the travel business, it is particularly easy to get distracted by new trends and themes, but we have chosen to focus on what we do best.  We are extremely deliberate in introducing new tours because we have set a standard that our loyal customers have come to rely on, and we are committed to meeting and exceeding your expectations.

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Logistics

Accommodation

St. Petersburg: Church of Spilled Blood & St. Isaac’s Cathedral (55 Euros per person) Explore the Church of Spilled Blood & Yusupov Palace on a half-day tour. The landmark church was commissioned by Alexander III in 1182 to honor the memory of his father Alexander who was assassinated the previous year; the altar was built on the very place where his blood stained the cobblestones. It was built to resemble St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow- hence it’s stunning exterior- and is open now as a museum of mosaics. St. Isaac’s Cathedral stands out in the Saint Petersburg skyline and is the largest cathedral in the city. It adorns impressive exteriors and beautiful interiors and is a landmark in the city. Folklore Show Kostroma (60 Euros per person) This incredible dance show, performed by the Russian National Ballet Company, is an aesthetic journey into Russia’s deep history. The program includes a varied mix of traditional national dance and contemporary ballet pieces.
Cancellation policy
Cancellation charges per person are: Up to 75 days before departure: $300 74-45 days before departure: $600 44-30 days before departure: $1000 29-10 days before departure: $1500 9 days or fewer before departure: No refund. All cancellations must be received in writing.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included
9 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches and 2 Dinners
Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Optional Activities
St. Petersburg: Church of Spilled Blood & St. Isaac’s Cathedral (55 Euros per person) Explore the Church of Spilled Blood & Yusupov Palace on a half-day tour. The landmark church was commissioned by Alexander III in 1182 to honor the memory of his father Alexander who was assassinated the previous year; the altar was built on the very place where his blood stained the cobblestones. It was built to resemble St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow- hence it’s stunning exterior- and is open now as a museum of mosaics. St. Isaac’s Cathedral stands out in the Saint Petersburg skyline and is the largest cathedral in the city. It adorns impressive exteriors and beautiful interiors and is a landmark in the city. Folklore Show Kostroma (60 Euros per person) This incredible dance show, performed by the Russian National Ballet Company, is an aesthetic journey into Russia’s deep history. The program includes a varied mix of traditional national dance and contemporary ballet pieces.
Additional Information
Trip ID
smartours-SmaClaRus

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