How to get to Russia | Russia travel guides

By bus

A few bus companies, most notably Eurolines, operate international coach services from a number of destinations to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Tallinn, Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw and Berlin all have regular services to Russia.

By plane

Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by direct flights from most European capitals, and Moscow also has direct flights from many cities in East Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. US non-stop flights from the United States to Russia are offered by Singapore from Houston to Moscow, Domodedovo, Delta from New York and Atlanta to Moscow, Sheremetyevo, United Airlines from Washington to Moscow, Domodedovo and Aeroflot from New York, Washington and Los Angeles to Moscow, Sheremeryevo. There are also non-stop services offered from Toronto and Montreal, Canada to Moscow, Domodedovo operated by Transaero.

Please, mind that there are 3 international airports in Moscow: Sheremetyevo SVO in the northwest, Domodedovo DME in the south and Vnukovo VKO in the southwest. Getting between these airports is quite challenging, because there are no means of rapid transfer between them, so if you are planning a transfer trip, mind airports for all your flights. Usual taxi fee for a trip between any of airports is about 1500 rubles, which is expensive unless you travel with others. You can, of course, use public means of transportation which are much cheaper ranging from 200-500 rubles per person depending on means you choose, but if you don't speak Russian at all and first time in the country â you better think twice before attempting that, you might easily get lost.

Airport Sheremetyevo has undergone major expansion in 2010 with two new terminals commissioned and consists of five terminals. Terminals B old Sheremetyevo-1 and C are located on the northern edge of the airport and provide mostly domestic and charter services. Terminals D and E operate since December 2010 along with older Terminal F old Sheremetyevo-2, built for Summer Olympics in Moscow in 1980. Terminal D hosts domestic and international Aeroflot flights, Terminals E and F host international flights operated mostly by SkyTeam alliance.

Domodedovo is a high-class modern airport with a single spacious terminal. It serves both domestic and international flights by most Russian and international companies, so you'd be better off choosing flights bound for it.

Vnukovo is a smaller airport and is generally operated by low-cost airlines. As of March 2012, it undergoes a major renovation with a construction of a new spacious terminal building.There are airports in all large cities in Russia. Some international service can be found in: Novosibirsk, Sochi, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg. International service to other destinations is much more limited.

Local airlines are listed in Get around.

Low-cost air-lines from Europe:

From Austria:

NIKI

(http://flyniki.co.uk/home...) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport (http://wikimapia.org/#lat=55.409625&lon=37.905407&z=13&l=0&m=a&v=2) from Vienna Vienna International Airport. Approximate one-way price â â¬99.

From Germany:

Air Berlin

(http://airberlin.com/site...) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport from Berlin Berlin Tegel, Duesseldorf DÃ¼sseldorf International, Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport and Stuttgart Stuttgart Airport. There is also a connection from Berlin Berlin Tegel to Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport. Approximate one-way price â â¬110

Germanwings

(http://germanwings.com) flies to Moscow Vnukovo International Airport from Berlin Berlin SchÃ¶nefeld, Cologne KÃ¶ln Bonn Airport, Hamburg Hamburg Airport and Stuttgart Stuttgart Airport. There are also connections from Berlin Berlin SchÃ¶nefeld and Cologne KÃ¶ln Bonn Airport to Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport. Approximate one-way price â US$100.

From Greece:

Aegean Airlines

(http://el.aegeanair.com) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport from Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (http://www.aia.gr/) from 155â¬ return ticket, Thessaloniki Macedonia Airport (http://www.airport-thessa...) from 177â¬ return ticket.

Astra Airlines

(http://www.astra-airlines...) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport, Omsk, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport, from Thessaloniki Macedonia Airport (http://www.thessalonikiai...)

From Italy:

Evolavia

(http://evolavia.com) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport from Ancona Raffaello Sanzio Airport on Wednesday. Approximate one-way price â â¬140.

Wind jet

(http://volawindjet.it) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport from Catania Fontanarossa International Airport, ForlÃ¬ L. Ridolfi, Palermo and Verona. Approximate one-way price â â¬90.

From Norway:

Norwegian

(http://norwegian.no/) flies to Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport (http://wikimapia.org/#lat=59.80128&lon=30.265532&z=13&l=0&m=a&v=2) from Oslo Oslo Airport. Approximate one-way price â â¬94.

From Spain:

clickair

(http://clickair.com) flies to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport from Barcelona Barcelona Airport. Approximate one-way price â â¬179.

vueling

(http://vueling.com) also files to Moscow Domodedovo International Airport from Barcelona Barcelona Airport. One-way fare â¬110-â¬180 if booked in advance.

Cheaper ways to get to Moscow from the Middle East, India, South-East Asia and Australia:

From/via United Arab Emirates

Emirates

(http://flyemirates.com) flies from Dubai to Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow and to Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg starting November 1 2011. New jets, high quality, a little pricey but sometimes they have really cheap sales. A good option to connect if flying from India, South-East Asia or Australia.

Etihad

(http://etihadairways.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Domodedovo International Airport. Relatively new player on the highly competitive market of Europe to Asia/Australia connections. Offers one-way fares which are just slightly more expensive than a half of the return fare also, return price generally does not become higher in case of a longer stay up to 1 year, the strategy otherwise employed almost exclusively by low-cost airlines. Offers very competitive rates also, especially for the connecting flights.

From/via Qatar

Qatar Airways

(http://qatarairways.com), another player on the Middle Eastern intercontinental connections market, files from Doha to Domodedovo International] airport. One of just 5 airlines of the world rated by Skytrax as 5-star. Nevertheless, connecting airfares from Asia are often quite modest.

All airports are now conveniently connected to Moscow with Aeroexpress trains which depart every 30 minutes from/to Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo, and every hour from Vnukovo. They operate from 6:00 till midnight. The fare is 320 RUR March 2012, travel time is 35 minutes to/from Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo, and 45 minutes to/from Domodedovo. There are no trains or buses that connect the airports without passing through central Moscow. In Sheremetyevo, Aeroexpress trains arrive at Terminal E and F, Terminal D is in 5 minutes walk from them through a gallery. Terminals B and C are served by buses only. There is a shuttle bus available between Terminals D,E,F and Terminals B,C. Using taxi is discouraged, as traveling to/between the airports is very expensive averages at 1500 RUR from Moscow.

By ship

Ferry services operate in the summer between Sochi and Turkey's Trabzon. In Vladivostok there is a scheduled ro-ro ferry to Busan and numerous lines to the different Japanese ports, however they are mostly oriented to the used Japanese car imports and less to tourism, there is also a weekly service in summer between Korsakov on Sakhalin and Wakkanai on the Japanese island Hokkaido. Cruise ships are also call to Russian ports frequently. There is a boat connection from Lappeenranta, Finland to Vyborg. There is now daily overnight service between Helsinki and St. Petersburg on St. Peter Line that does not require a visa for stays less than 3 days.

By car

Traveling in Russia by car can be difficult. Roads may be poorly marked, if marked at all, and poorly maintained, especially outside the cities and towns. Car rental services are only starting to develop in major cities such as Moscow or Saint Petersburg, and are expensive.

Crossing the border by car is a peculiar entertainment.

There is no doubt that car travel is the best way to see the country, but it is a risky enterprise which is recommended only for the brave and capable.

Russian highways have highway patrol police GAI roadblock every 20 km or so. If you have an international license plate, prepare to pay a bribe $5-$20 in some of the most corrupt regions e.g., in the Caucasus. Russian traffic rules are very numerous and you will be found violating some of them. If you decide not to pay, at best you should expect to spend several hours at every road block.

Service is scarce and poor, and the countryside can be quite dangerous without experience and fluency in the Russian language.

It is possible to travel safely by car in Russia using a private licensed guide. Traveling independently is not recommended, especially for the non-Russian speaker. Guides generally provide their own cars or vans and know the roads, the customs and the countryside making seeing small towns and historic sites possible.