The books indicated above are ones I’ve read about Russia’s culture and history, as well as a tourist guide. For the most of my trip, I followed the Lonely Planet Russia guidebook. Culture Smart’s book gave me a fast overview of this country.

Now that you’ve read the travelogue, let’s talk about a few prerequisites for a trip to Russia. Remember that due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many international services will not operate in Russia. In this aspect, Russia’s withdrawal from SWIFT has hampered online and offline banking services. As a result, you will need to arrange tickets for museums, theaters, circuses, and trains after you arrive. If you are traveling with a tour package, most of the information provided below may not apply to you, as our journey was performed without any packages or tour guides.

So, let’s talk about these prerequisites in detail:

Before going to Russia.

1. Do you want to go to Russia?
   • Remember, we have undertaken this trip out of several circumstances. Having the determination to go to Russia is important. Expect racial and language barriers as you travel across this country.
   • Read through the country’s details in an encyclopedia. You need to know Russia is much more than Lenin/Trotsky/Communism or Tsars. It’s good to be aware of the history of Russia (especially the statelets, freedom from “Tatar yoke”), the genealogy of Tsars, Romanov dynasty, Napoleonic War, the Russian revolution and World War II (how it affected the USSR, especially Moscow and St. Petersburg).
   • For citizens of the EU/USA: Please follow your government’s travel advisory for Russia. It will be obvious that you should not travel to Russia under these circumstances.
   • Keep updated of the local news at all times. Russo-Ukrainian war is a dynamic situation and therefore volatile. As a matter of fact, AVOID travel to Russia’s border regions, including Ukraine’s.
   • And if you are a vegetarian, expect a lot of hurdles as you travel, as Russia is mainly a country where majority eats food composed of meat.
   • And once you are there, AVOID discussing about the war to the Russians, criticism of the Russian government and president, its culture at ALL costs. Russians are really patriotic and slightest mention of the war can trigger them. (It’s known officially as “special military operation”.)
2. Planning your itinerary:
   • Applicable for tourist intentions.
     • As you have read my Russian travelogue, you would have realised that Russia is much more than Moscow or St. Petersburg.
     • Planning a Russian travel itinerary involves a dedicated research into the cities you will travel and hotels/apartments to stay.
     • You have to plan your visits to museums/castles depending on the time-schedules and closure days. Unless you have a Russia bank account, booking these tickets online is impossible.
     • Please get a copy of a reliable travel-guide book like Lonely Planet. That will give you a head-start for your planning.
     • If you want to have some idea as to where you want to start, please take a look at my schematic map below.
3. Linguistic issues:
   • The people of Russia speaks Russian. It is possible for you to do the trip without learning Russian, especially if you have hired a Russian tour-guide or selected a Russian package.
   • Otherwise, in my opinion, learn Russian. It is an indispensable asset, which you will need throughout your trip in Russia. If you have contemplated to make a trip to Russia for a long time and planned it well in advance, I suggest you to learn Russian. Even if you have planned to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg, let alone the Trans-Siberian Railways. Remember, Russians will respect you for having taken the time to have learned Russian.
   • Learn the Cyrillic alphabet! Most of the things you read on streets or shops will be understood if you learn to read the Cyrillic. (For example, tabak in Russian means tobacco.)
   • Even if you have planned a trip in hurry or staying for a short period, do learn some basic Russian phrases. And for the long sentences, you can use the Translate app on your mobile phone. (Bing Translate/Google Translate). Download an offline version of it, as the network in Russia outside the major cities is poor. The translate application also offers translating by taking photographs of stuff written in Russian and you want its translation in your local language. (For example, you have gone to a supermarket in Russia, where you want to buy an oatmeal and find its price. But everything is written in Russian, so you use the Translate application to simplify your job for you.)
   • But once again, if time permits in your pre-travel period, learn Russian. The smart way where you learn how to order a meal in the restaurant, how to buy a postcard in a shop, how to go to Rostov by Marshrutka etc.
   • Story cut short, please carry a Russian phrasebook with you and use it where-ever you go. You must realise that having a mobile in Russia is a life-saver.
4. Prepare your budget for the trip?
   • As Russia is disconnected from the SWIFT banking system, expect hurdles in your management of the budget. (Unless there is a peace treaty, which in my opinion, won’t be soon…), unless you have a Russian bank account.
   • You need to take cash with you. Plain and simple. This cash can be divided as follows (in terms of currency):
     • ‘X’ Rubles (Or you can take dollars and euros, following which you can convert into rubles at the currency exchange counters in Russia.)
     • ‘Y’ Dollars
     • ‘Z’ Euros.
   • Make sure you carry enough cash with you, as the Russian immigration officers will question you about it. One of their acceptance criteria for entry into the territory of Russian Federation is availability of funds.
   • Remember this pre-determined cash that you are carrying is ONLY available with you for your travel. Therefore, make your financial budget as per your requirements.
     • For Hotel/Apartment (if for apartment, allocate as per transportation to your residence by taxi/metro/bus/electro-bus/trolley-bus per day, buying groceries from supermarkets per day,
     • For buying tickets for museum/circuses/theatres/train travel/cruises/audio-guides.
     • For restaurants (if you don’t obviously plan on making your own meals in your apartment.)
     • For ancillaries (like souvenirs such as matryoshka dolls, stamps, T-shirts, miniature statues.)
5. Book an apartment or a hotel in Russia.
   • It is important to book an apartment or a hotel in Russia, as the immigration officers will ask you where you will be staying and he/she will contact them for confirmation. Ensure you have already communicated with your hosts by E-mail/WhatsApp/Telegram (most Russians use Telegram.)
   • Please book through ostrovok.ru, as this is a reputable site. You can only use the option ‘ Payment on the spot’, unless you have an already existing Russian bank account from where you make the payment. Ostrovok website gives you innumerable options of stay in Russia. When you review each hotel/apartment, please go to the Russian version of this website, as many reviews are made by Russian travellers and their reviews, therefore, will be in Russian. Check through the specifications of the apartment/hotel. A majority of them will have their own ‘plate’ (cooking stove, akin to an induction stove), whose operation may differ as per the model.
   • AirBnB and other popular sites will not give options, as they are complying with the sanctions.
   • If you are booking your own apartment and plan to cook your own food, ensure you have supermarkets within walking distance. Famed supermarkets include EUROSPAR, MAGNIT and DIXI.
   • Try to book your apartment/hotel, closer to the city centre. If not possible, then try booking them, closer to a bus-stop which serves routes to the city centre (like Teatralnaya Ploschad/Lubyanka/Arbatskoye) or a metro-station.
   • Once you book the apartment/hotel, contact your hosts without fail. They will give you more instructions.
     • If Apartment: Contact them. Let them know when you are arriving. Ask them where to get the key. You will be asked to come to an address (office usually) where you will get the key after payment, or it may be present inside the door calling box, locked by a code. If you are planning to stay there for more than a week, insist on them getting the visa registration done, as it is per the law.
     • If Hotel: Contact them. Let them know when you are arriving.
   • Do remember, the check-in and check-out times are adhered to strictly. That’s non-negotiable. If you read Part II of the travelogue, you will come to know. So get those timings accordingly.
6. Invitation letter from a tourist agency:
   • This letter is absolutely important, for your entry into the territory of the Russian Federation. No letter, no entry!
   • Various agencies specialise in these invitation letters, but make sure you get this letter from those approved by the government of Russia. Invalid letters also include those issued by unapproved agencies.
   • These agencies can be online/offline. Please search and make your decisions accordingly. We are not recommending anything here, as it is your decision. (Nevertheless, we used FortunaTravels). Exercise safe internet practices, including payment to such agencies.
7. Travel health insurance:
   • Please ensure that you get a travel health insurance, which covers your trip for that duration. Ensure that your insurance covers Russia. Avoid any non-accredited insurance companies in Russia.
   • (We have taken care health insurance for our travel.) Anyways, Rosgosstrakh is a leading accredited insurance company in Russia, who can issue the travel insurance.
8. Applying for the visa to Russia:
   • The most important part! However, for certain countries, the rules differ. Therefore you need to check if Russia offers a visa-free travel for your country. If not, follow the steps below.
   • Go to this website, electronic visa application form. This is an electronic-visa application form, hosted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You need to fill all the details carefully and after completing it, get two copies of the document. You need to mention the dates of your travel. This is important, as if you are taking a visa of less than 14 days, the visa will be issued only for those dates. If you are taking for more than 14 days, do include a detailed itinerary and bookings.
   • After that, you can go to this web-site, Russia Service Centre. https://russia-visacentre.com/, if you want to go through a visa application service or directly book appointment through the Russian Embassy of your country. Please check for more details for passport retrieval from either of them.
   • The web-site (Russia Service Centre/your embassy) has all the details required to apply for the visa. Read all the steps. By now, you should have reserved your residence of stay and obtained an invitation letter.
   • Do remember, the Russia Service Centre levies additional charges for their visa-processing. Basically, they send the visa applications to the embassies/consulate generals and it’s THEIR decision to approve/reject. Russia Service Centre has no effect on their decision in any ways.
   • You can visit them in person or send your documents to them by courier. Additional fees may apply if you apply by courier. Fees for visa application will depend on its procession urgently (2-3 days, which will be double the cost you will pay usually) or normally (5-7 days).
9. Booking your transport (flight/rail) tickets to Russia:
   • This is one of the difficult decisions to make. As a lot of European airlines have stopped services to Russia, so it is important to know how you can make this international travel.
   • Please remember, all the EU-Russia border checkpoints are closed, so there is no way you can travel from the EU countries by road, rail or flight. The same applies for USA.
   • You can however make your entry from the post-Soviet countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan or Tajikistan) or from Middle-East (most of the GCC nations like UAE, Oman, Qatar have flight services to Russia) or from Turkey/China/India.
   • Countries with Russian borders — Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Mongolia or China, you can enter by road/rail to Russia. Some of the railway services may run irregularly, so check with the official railway timetables accordingly. Some of these border checkpoints may not be allowed for foreigners to travel, so check!
   • Having a proof of the airline ticket and return is essential, as the Russian immigration officers will need it for your entry into Russia.
   • Remember, plan your dates accordingly. This will help you get cheap flights.
   • For flight tickets:
     • You can use Russia’s popular airline, the Aeroflot. Please download the mobile application and search for the tickets, as the desktop version is glitchy. They offer really cheap tickets, if you include a return journey with the same airlines. If you plan to book, inquire with them regarding the mode of payment. Most of these Russian airlines outside Russia, have their own accounts in local banks, so the representatives will give you the details for you to pay.
     • Otherwise there are other airlines, like Pobeda Airlines, airlines with a stopover (for instance, Uzbekistan Airlines with a stopover at Tashkent, Emirates with a stopover at Dubai, AirArabia with a stopover at Sharjah, Turkish Airlines with a stopover at Istanbul)
     • There are other Russian airlines like Pobeda, Ural Airlines, S7 Airways, Nordwind which will serve domestic locations within Russia.
     • (What have we done? We booked a ticket, including return, to Moscow Domodedovo Airport, through AirArabia flight, as it was cheap. I have heard of various Russian aviation incidents on news, especially with those airlines using ill-maintained Boeing/Airbus (especially after the sanctions, whose maintenance is questionable.), or Sukhoi/Tupolev etc. Of course, there is a safety of flight factor, considered by Boeing/Airbus for these airlines. There was an online article, an unverified report, where it did mention Aeroflot sending its aircrafts to Iran for maintenance. Keeping that in mind, we booked with AirArabia. Since I mentioned this point, as far as possible, make your domestic travels within Russia, with train travels.)
   • For rail tickets:
     • Please download the RZD application in your mobile phone. (RZD stands for Russian Railways). Android or iOS.
     • This RZD application is created by the official Russian Railways. Please use this application to search all the schedule of trains that run. You can use this app to pay for tickets, if you have a Russian bank account, otherwise you can pay cash at their RZD counters in railway stations (vokzal)
10. Must-have mobile applications:
    • YandexGo: A taxi-aggregator mobile application which will be very useful in your trips.
    • Yandex Maps: A must-have. It can not only tell you the directions to your destination, but also the ways to reach there. They have a bus and metro schedule integrated real-time, therefore it’s a must use.
    • RZD Mobile Application: Links to Android/iOS version given in this page.
    • Tutu.ru: The all-in-one travel application for your tours in Russia.
    • Ostrovok.ru: A hotel/apartment service application.
    • Microsoft Translate/Google Translate: For translation purposes.
    • Any PDF reader and a mobile web browser.

Options for your itinerary in Russia may include any one or more of the following listed below:

• Moscow-St. Petersburg.
• Moscow-Golden Ring towns (Sergiev Posad, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, Rostov and Kostroma)
• Moscow-Smolensk-Tula-Volgograd (Lonely Planet talks about the Volga Route from Astrakhan to Moscow)
• Moscow-Kazan-Samara-Ulyanovsk
• Sortavala-Petrozavodsk-Kizhi (known as the Great Lakes option as that region is in Karelia and hosts bountiful lakes include Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga). There is a historic retro-styled train (Ruskeala Express) that runs between Sortavala and Petrozavodsk, and its scintillating.
• Trans-Siberian Railways (Moscow-Kazan-Ekaterinburg-Novosibirsk-Irkutsk (near to the world famous Lake Baikal)-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok)
  • Trans-Mongolian Railway: A branch from Ulan-Ude, which will terminate at Beijing, by passing through Ulan-Bator, the capital of Mongolia. You will see Mongolian hinterlands.
  • Trans-Manchurian Railway: A branch after Chita. This will also terminate at Beijing, but will pass through the Manchurian Province of China.
  • Extension to North Korea: From Ussuryisk (near Vladivostok), it is possible to go to Rason/Pyongyang. If you have a North Korea itinerary and want to use this route (The Korean-Russian Friendship Bridge at Tumen River), please be aware of the irregularity of these schedules and the fact that the borders to North Korea are closed, in view of the pandemic. This route is least used by foreigners.

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After coming to Russia

If you have planned a tour-guide/tour package for your Russian trip, most of these may have been already arranged by your Russian host.

1. Get a SIM card.
   • Various options for availability of a SIM card are present, in the airport itself. BeeLine, MTS, MegaFon and Tele2 render their services in the airport. Take your time and review the plans they are currently offering. Choose what suits your requirements. You can get most for 500 rubles. Higher options include unlimited SMSes, internet browsing and unlimited phone calls, which may cost around 3000-3500 rubles.
2. Get your currency exchanged.
   • If you didn’t exchange for rubles before, you need to do it immediately. Keep some dollars/euros with you as a reserve. That is because there is a huge difference between their buying and selling rate per unit.
   • You can exchange at the currency exchange centers (Obnotyy Valuta) or at banks in the airport (As far as I know, there’s a SberBank in the Domodedovo Airport. Please check with the other airports). Keep in mind, extra fees can be levied (in the airport especially), so it’s better that you exchange them in the city itself. (Suggest you to exchange them at VTB / Gazprom Bank because of better exchange rates)
3. Get a Troika/Porodizhnik card from a nearby metro station.
   • Please avail these cards. Troika is for Moscow transportation and Porodizhnik is for St. Petersburg transportation. You can obtain these cards from the kiosks that are present near the ticket counters. If you don’t know Russian, you can switch to English or other languages and follow the steps to get the card.
   • You can also top-up these cards using the kiosks. You can also avail monthly passes, if you are staying for a longer duration and you will be travelling on public transport often.
4. Get a Russian bank account debit card.
   • Not applicable, if you already have one.
   • If you are planning to stay for a longer time in Russia, please get a Russian bank account debit card. It’s better to do so, as you don’t have to carry large amounts of cash with you.
   • The Russian banks which offer you a hassle-free experience in getting a debit card at zero cost includes Tinkoff Bank and Raiffesenbank. They have their mobile applications in the mobile application store. Create an account and book for a debit card. You will need to give a photo of your passport first page, visa and migration card usually.
   • Cashback offers are present, when you dine in or buy groceries. By linking your card with YandexGo, you can ride in the taxies, without having to pay cash. Did you know that this application has a scooters option? With your card, you can ride their scooters, at a certain cost. Did you also know that apart from your transportation cards (Troika/Porodizhnik), you can use your debit card to swipe on the machines (NFC) in the metro/bus/electro-bus/trolley-bus? You can easily shop at the Russian supermarkets and get your items billed with no-contact option of payment.
5. Keep your passports, visa and migration card safe with you at all times.

Hope you understand the basics of planning a trip to Russia. Have a good trip!

Udachnoy poyezdki! Удачной поездки!

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