Classic Russia tour

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Has very high quality customer experiences and demonstrated commitment to responsible travel practices. read more
4.9 . Excellent
98%
Travel Style: Array Full on
Physical Level: Normal generally flat walking in urban or suburban environments. Very Easy
Lodging Level: Mid-range budget with accommodations ranging from comfortable lodges, guesthouses, and homestays to three star hotels. Value (3*)
8 days
From: $ 3,214 $ 402 / day
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Overview

Short Description

Russia’s main cities feel broadly European, but its history tells a different story due to the singular political path the country forged in the 20th century, which lives on in the bold Stalinist buildings that pepper Moscow. Our specialists are skilled at crafting Russia holidays that take in all the country’s paradoxes. They can help you delve into St Petersburg, advising you on which imperial palaces to visit, and how to avoid the crowds. In Moscow, they can indicate more unusual ways to experience the city (such as night river cruises), and they know where to find the best skyline views.

Then, leaving the urban behind, you discover a sleepier, more sedate Russia where the vagaries of politburos seem to have had little effect. Holidays to Russia can easily include trips to see the wooden churches of the Golden Ring, and the well-preserved half-medieval town of Suzdal.

Style Private guided tour
See all the highlights and popular spots on a classic tour.
Itinerary Focus Classic Highlights
Mid-range budget with accommodations ranging from comfortable lodges, guesthouses, and homestays to three star hotels.
Lodging Level Value (3*)
Flight & Transport Inclusions All internal ground transport
Start City Moscow
End City St Petersburg

Destinations

Russia

Attractions & Cities Visited

Moscow St. Petersburg

N/A
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Itinerary

Day 1 : Moscow

Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Moscow. Arriving into Moscow you're met at the airport by your private driver and guide, and driven to your hotel. Most flights arrive in the evening, so spend your first few hours in Russia simply relaxing in your hotel.

Day 2 : Moscow

This morning your private guide meets you at your hotel and takes you on the city's metro to Red Square and the Kremlin. You'll also visit the Armoury, containing a number of Fabergé Eggs as well as jewels, weapons and clothing of the Tsars, and St Basil's Cathedral. The afternoon is at leisure for you to explore by yourself. We recommend visiting the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum.

Day 3 : Moscow

Today continue exploring Moscow under your own steam. We suggest making use of the city's elegant metro system to get around. Almost like an underground art museum full of marble monuments, the metro system's a sight in itself. You could visit the Novodevichy Convent and Heroes' Cemetery, which has excellent views over the city. In the afternoon, we recommend taking a river cruise on the Moskva, ending with a cocktail in the Radisson, which is located in one of Moscow's seven skyscrapers, nicknamed the Seven Sisters.

Day 4 : St Petersburg

Use your final morning at leisure in Moscow to wander by the river through Gorky Park, or perhaps visit the Museum of Russian Contemporary History. Later you'll be collected from your hotel by your private guide and driver, and taken to the train station to catch the day train to St Petersburg. The journey lasts around four and a half hours. On arriving in St Petersburg, you're met by your private guide and transferred to your hotel by private transfer.

Day 5 : St Petersburg

This morning, explore St Petersburg under your own steam. We suggest visiting St Isaac's Cathedral with its vast granite columns and colonnade that offers views over the city. Alternatively, explore the lavish, eccentric décor of the Yusupov Palace and learn more about its dark history as the place where the tsar's advisor Grigory Rasputin was murdered.In the afternoon, we can arrange a private guided tour of the Hermitage to see the highlights of its art collections. The guided tour itself takes three or four hours, but we recommend staying on afterwards and exploring some of the collections in greater depth.

Day 6 : St Petersburg

Today is at leisure to continue exploring the city. We suggest following our tried-and-tested walking route past St Petersburg's main attractions. We'd recommend ending your walk at St Isaac's Cathedral which affords panoramic views of the city.

Day 7 : St Petersburg

Today you have a further day to wander around the city at leisure. We suggest visiting Kazan Cathedral on Nevsly Prospekt for its interesting icon. En route, you could take in the exquisitely detailed creations of the Fabergé Museum.

Day 8 : International return flight

Your journey ends on a high note. A drive out from the city takes you to the staggeringly opulent Tsars' Village, where you visit the Summer Palace of Catherine the Great with your private guide. From here you'll take a private transfer to the airport for your return flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.

Availability

Checking price
Price From $ 3,214
Price Per Day: $ 402 per day

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3,377 Audley Travel Travel Reviews & Ratings

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Value
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Classic Russia tour

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We've just booked our honeymoon with…

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We've just booked our honeymoon with Audley. Emily was brilliant at listening to the kind of trip we would like, answered all our questions by drawing on her in-depth knowledge and personal experience, and has put together the perfect itinerary for us. We're so excited! Also, a shout-out to concierge specialist Sofya Jasmine who took our initial query, helped us hone our options and connected us with Emily.
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Thailand tour organised by Suzi

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We have just returned from an amazing holiday in Thailand. Suzi,one of the Thailand specialists ,put the holiday together for us and did a fantastic job. After really asking about our expectations and previous holidays , she put together a bespoke holiday full of activities,tours and plenty of time for relaxation too! The holiday itinerary pack was so useful.I cannot recommend this company highly enough.
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Barbados with wonderful Audley Travel

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We recently visited Barbados through Audley Travel. We have used this company many times visiting South Africa, Mauritius and Borneo to mention a few. We have always felt they are a safe and gentle pair of hands when visiting more exotic destinations. We have never had a problem, all the arrangements and transfers etc were always professionally done and exceptionally smooth. However, through NO FAULT on Audleys behalf, the hotel we had chosen, The Tamarind was awful, filthy with damaged flooring, and not of the standard we have become accustomed to. We had asked for an alternative room, but the one we were offered was inappropriate due to my mobility issues, which they were well aware of. As usual we received an email from Isabelle at Audley, kindly checking that we were happy with our room allocation. I explained the situation and sent her pictures. She was appalled, and this is why we would never, ever contemplate going anywhere without the confidence of have Audley behind us. Amazingly, within 3 hours we were expertly whisked away to our new boutique hotel, the Little Good Harbour (Isabelle's favourite) We had an amazing time, and we are just relieved we took the leap of faith with Isabelle's suggestion. Audley (and Isabelle) are amazing, they not only offer tailor made, bespoke holidays, but have endless patience when arranging travel options, but what is priceless, you have the insurance behind you to know that if anything does go wrong, despite not being their fault, they are like a fairy godmother and will work their magic and place you back in paradise. I cannot thank Isabelle enough, she is an asset to Audley Travel and an amazing representative protecting their reputation as being 'top of the game'. We are looking forward to our next holiday with them to South Africa on safari and then onto Mauritius.
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Sarah was so great and really…

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Sarah was so great and really understood what was important to us about our trip. She was helpful, upbeat and endlessly patient. What great customer service...felt like I'd made a friend and that nothing was too much trouble.
Thank you Sarah...what a star! You made this process easy from beginning to end :)
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So much more than a travel agent

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Where do I start. Twice we have booked with Audley and twice we have reason to thank our lucky stars that we did. The first was a safari trip that had to be cancelled because of Covid. We were offered or money back with no quibbles.
The second and more recent time was on a trip to Vietnam organised by their Indochina expert Ross Cleary.
We were on the final day of a 19 day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia which given the quality the hotels and excursions arranged by Ross was shaping up to be the best holiday we had ever taken.
Unfortunately my wife developed breathing difficulties and I had to take her to hospital. The hospital decided to admit her and we were left very frightened and wondering what to do about our flights which were due to leave in 4 hours time. There is a 7 hour time difference between U.K. and Vietnam so it was the middle of the night in the U.K. However, one phone call to the Audley duty manager had me connected to him via "whatsapp" so that he could update me real time on the situation without the £7 per minute phone charges. The flights were postponed, I was put up in the closest hotel to the hospital and Audley took care of all the minutiae so that I could concentrate on my wife who was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Upon being discharged my wife was told she could not travel immediately. We spent a total of 8 days in a hotel arranged by Audleys local partners Vidotours. A fantastic hotel at a very reasonable price. The hotel bill was covered until I got home and the flights were re-instated for a tiny admin fee.
We don't always use a travel company to book our holidays, but visiting out of the way places where local knowledge and support can be invaluable I would thoroughly recommend Audley.
These guys are so much more than a travel agent.
No prizes for guessing that I will be using them on my next big excursion. Thank you. Pete
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We were quoted an extortionate price…

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We were quoted an extortionate price for a holiday to Ecuador and the Galapagos, which we ended up booking ourselves like for like (if not for better rooms etc.) spending about £10k less than quoted by Audley. When challenged about the initial quote, the agent came up with all the “added value” they claimed to provide, when it had come across clearly to us that the agent knew less about the country than us after having read the Lonely Planet the week end before. In fact it felt like we were giving the agent information about the country/ option rather than the agent advising us. i.e. we were shown a cruise advertised as being suitable for retirees, when in fact we said we were a young couple on their honeymoon.

It might be different for other countries, as we have friends who have been happy with Audley’s service to the US, but we found it completely overpriced but more importantly unjustifiably so as we couldn’t see any added value.
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Details

Flight & Transport Inclusions

All internal ground transport

Group Size

Intimate Group - 12 max

Trip ID#:

audley-travel-39957

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