A travel guide to Russia
I have always wanted to go to Russia, something about the history and culture has fascinated me and I’m a little obsessed with the movie Anastasia and the Romanov Family.
I have quite an interest in travel and experiencing what the world has to offer and have found Russia somewhere that not many people travel to or talk about which inspired me to put it at the top of my ‘Places to Visit’ list.
Also after reading the book The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simmons which was set in the World War II / Communist times, I become even more obsessed. This book taught me a lot about St. Petersburg (Leningrad) and World War II that I didn’t know about. p.s I highly recommend this book as it’s now become one of my all time favourites.
If you ever get the opportunity to visit Russia, Take it! You won’t regret it, I’m super grateful for being able to experience all it had to offer.
The planning stage was quite lengthy because of the requirements to enter the country however I chose to get assistance from a travel agent which helped immensely and gave me a little bit of reassurance. I spent 8 days in Russia all together, flying into St Petersburg and then taking a fast train straight to Moscow.
Currency: Russian Ruble
Religion: Russian Orthodoxy
Capital City: Moscow
Visa
I arranged my visa through my travel agent which made things super easy as they had all of the information and knew what was needed etc. You are required to get a letter of invitation from someone in the country, in our case it was the hotel who issued the letter (again all organised through the travel agent)
I then needed to complete the application, answer a million questions online through https://visa.kdmid.ru and get passport type pictures taken to be attached to the application. This was all sent off together and once approved, my passport was sent back to me. It took a few weeks roughly to have everything sent off, approved and received back.
I found it really easy getting everything sent off through my travel agent however you can acquire the visa on your own through the same website and also different channels online.
Transport
Most of the time I chose to walk because I think it’s the best way to see a city however I used Uber, private transfers or the metro system for everything else.
I didn’t use taxi’s as it was difficult to speak with the Taxi drivers due to the language barrier. They can also sometimes rip you off when you don’t know your directions.
TIP: When you try to use the Uber app it will ask you to download an app called Yandex. This is the equivalent to Uber, but the Russian version. It’s completely safe and I didn’t have any problems.
TIP: Unless you read and speak fluent Russian, the language and alphabet can be hard to understand and decipher, also there aren’t many English signs present to help foreigners. I would recommend organising a private transfer to and from the airport/train station at least for the first time you arrive in the country as it can alleviate any stress until you are familiar with where everything is and what is available. Otherwise I suggest being super organised in your research and knowing your transport options and locations prior to arriving…..or completely wing it and go with the flow if that’s your kinda thing.
Train from St. Petersburg to Moscow
I took the Sapsan Fast Train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The Sapsan is a high speed train that travels to and from St. Petersburg and Moscow, It takes around 3 - 4 hours travelling at an average speed of 210km/ph. Travelling by train instead of by aeroplane was really cool as you could see the outer towns and land that you wouldn’t normally get to experience.
