Planning a Trip to Russia

I think the best time to get there is in middle june, during the "white nights" ; the sun enlights that fucking beautiful city 24h/24!

Quite a beautiful place to visit. Best time is summer. end of summer, beginning of fall.

Kostroma is one of the oldest Russian cities, which is well worth seeing. The main attraction is the monastery of the 15 century where tsar Mikhail Romanov hid from his enemies. There are also lots of beautiful churches and perfect Volga-river. You can get the best view on the volga from VOLGA hotel, the interior of which is a bit old but service and price are not bad. Best time to go - summer.

www.artistico.ru    super restaurant near Red square ...Travel tip the best time 9.5 ...empty city 

Travel in Siberia is very hard, but not impossible. We had wanted to see Lake Baikal. Pokoyniki is on the Western shore about half-way down. We actually flew into Ulaanbataar, Mongolia and drove to the Russian boarder. (Very stupid). There are places to fly into in Russia, we just thought that it would be "cool" to fly into Ghengis Khan's home town and drive up to the Lake. Do not do this!!!! We knew it would be a long drive, but did not know all of the problems that would ensue. It's only about 684 km / 425 m. Come on, how hard can it be? Road conditions were one issue, the weather was another issue and the car was a third issue. When one of these issues was good the other two were bad. At least we survied. Arriving at the Russian boarder at 11pm is not the best idea. Non-Russians coming from Mongolia are bad enough, but non-Russians crossing at 11pm are trouble. It took us two hours to get across. We arrived in Pokoyniki around 5 am local time. Ahead of time, we booked a dacha. Dachas are like cabins but beautifully painted and carved. A bit spartan for me, but still very clean and everything was in order. A word about money. Before you leave home, buy Rubles. We did this thinking that they would not be able or willing to take Euros or Dollars. Very glad we did this. Some places do take credit cards / debit cards but many do not. There are restaurants and bars, but you should count on visiting the local markets and buying food for yourself. I say this because of the fact that we take so much for granted in the West and seeing what it takes to make it in Siberia was impressive and made me very thankful for all I have. The food in the restaurants and bars was pretty good. You need to be open-minded and just smile and say thank you. We visited many villages and towns around the lake over a period of two weeks. We used Pokoyniki as one of our home bases and made day trips out from there. There are not words to discribe the beauty of this place. High mountains sloping down to this very large fresh-water paradise. Deep blue water that sparkled and changed colors during the day like a caleidoscope. Birch and Aspens fill the hillsides and rocky beaches dot the shore. Even though it was summer, it was still fairly cool. That did not stop us from hiking and from convincing a couple of the locals to loan us a boat for a day. (They thought we were crazy). We also enjoyed seeing the flora and fauna as it were. Wildlife is aboundant so be aware of where you are and what is around you. Big game is found all over and you must be very careful. Do not go out at night if your Dacha is in the woods. Bears and wildcats tend to hunt then. Language was a barrier in some places, but for the most part we did just fine. They may not all like foreigners, but they love our money. Over-all, I loved it. We want to go back, but this time we will fly into Russia and avoid the drama.

Remember that public restrooms in Moscow/Moskva are not for free! However, they are free of charge in restaurants, bars, etc. so it is better to use them there.

take the tube to the Peter and Paul Cathedral Newskj Prospect Ermitage (don't use the toilets)

If you've been to Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or other previous Russian invaded countries, you'll notice certain likeness in appearance.

St.-Petersburg is a historical city, with huge palaces and colorful churches there's plenty to see (especially the church of blood).

Though few tips for first timers in Russia:
1. Few Russians understand/speak English
2.The water is yellow in Petersburg
3.The toilet paper does terrable things to lady-parts
4. Never pour vodka in a restaurant (the waiter/waitress pours it for you). If you do pour your vodka in a restaurant you're messaging the restaurant owner that the service is awful (especially if a woman pours the vodka!)
5. Don't yell "hui" it means penis in Russian.
6. If the first cash register doesn't give you the cheaper ticket to the museum, try the next register. ( One cash register didn't want to let me through as a student, I would have had to pay 50% more, when I went to the other register I was a student after all)

And the few positive tips:
1. You can find cheap souvenirs, you'll just have to walk a bit further to find them
2. There are cheap restaurants! Try the cafés and sandwich bars.
3.The metro is safe and chep!

Have a nice trip ;)

Carry a stash of toilet paper with you at all times.

Hire a taxi and go to the Buddhist temple about 50km form the city. There are several temples and retreats. Everything is peaceful and quiet. Don't use the toilets it spoils the experience!

there is an Internet Café!

...well... Ufa is very nice town. Soviet style, but fine.There are very kind and friendly people live in Ufa .The population is over a million people.One Problem - nobody speaks English ( Italian too %) I had lived and worked there 3 weeks, and I met some very nice guys, who helped me to feel myself there like at home. First of all, it was my 3rd trip to Ufa , so I knew some things about the city. 2 times I stayed at Ufa hotels (President Hotel), but last time I decided to find an Ufa   apartment. I found out one company on Internet www.lime-ufa.ru - Lime-Tour(what interesting this company is the only company who works with foreigners in Ufa , it has English-speaking manager Regina . She was really kind to me and tried to help me in all my problems while I was in Ufa ). I understood one important thing - if you want your trip to Ufa goes smoothly find very nice guide who could help you. As for that company I rented one very nice Ufa apartment (western style) in the center of the city, it was fully equipped by all stuff. It was not expansive, and of course better then a hotel room. The company hired for me an interpreter. Btw they have rather good tourist information on the site. Regina helped me to know the city better. We had 3 excursions around Ufa - Ufa walking excursion, Ufa tour by car and one "Nightlife in Ufa" excursion (I liked it more then others), because we went out ... to a restaurant, then to several nightclubs. It was really fine idea. She introduced me to her friends and it was like I were at home with my own friends. All of them were really hospitable and friendly. I hope that Regina 's business will be fine cuz it's really useful for foreigners in Ufa .

Truly one of the most astounding cities in the world. It earned its reputation for Venice of the North. It is simply beautiful although there are no gondolas. Do not miss visiting the burial site of the last Czar's family. If you don't know the alphabet, ask one of the locals who throng the place to point it out. If you are there during the endless days of midsummer, you will see bridal parties everywhere. Join in the fun and take pictures. Some of my most fun pictures of the week I spent there were of the bridal wedding shoots. Everyone seems to do their official wedding pictures at one of the many spectacular spots in the city. If you go to the ballet, be aware that the company dancers are always on tour during the summer and you will see junior dancers from their schools or even from other cities filling the dance roster.

8:09 - 11:31 Way to Vladimir (230 rub train ticket)
12:30 Bus to Suzdal' from Vladimir
20:00 Last bus to Moscow from Suzdal' (220 rub bus ticket)
Photo Suzdal': http://www.photosuzdal.ru/arch.htm

Take a canal tour of the city. There will be lots of great photo ops during the boat ride. You can also drink on the boat. Not too expensive but a nice way to get a different view of the city.

Make a loop in the Metro, the brown line makes a circle. Get off at all the stops and look at the stations. Some are very intricate. Take photos and get on the next one.

If you're American, make sure to carry around all of your necessary paperwork (passport with visa, any documents they give you at the airport). You can be stopped by the police at any time and hassled if you don't have it!

Moo Moo Restaurant, Old Arbat Street (next to Home from Home Hostel)
Nice Restaurant with Buffet, Barbecue, also local specialities. Meeting people is easy, fun place.
Meet Phil!

GENERATOR Club, Tolyatti
rock music/live club just outside of town. rather small but very rock'n'roll! the bar has just about nine beer glasses, so sometimes you have to wait for them to collect and wash 'em... lot of famous russian and also international bands played there.

Tinkoff Brewery/Restaurant: while the setting is rather upperclass, you can eat a lot for little money. Tinkoff is a Russian beer brewery, so you are at the source here ;)
They also serve sushi, and at night it turns into a club when local or national bands and DJs perform, from Rock to Electro.

Bring warm clothes whenever u come here, smt. we have snow in june;)

Has one of the worlds most modern underground tubes, have a look at it, you wouldnt expect it. Also try the various local dishes, some of them are ok some are really amazing.