Day 1: Arrival in Moscow
On arrival in Moscow, you will be met and transferred to Hotel Novotel Moscow Centre 4* or similar to check in for 3 nights.
Day 2: Gorki Leninskie & Moscow City Tour
After breakfast at the hotel, your English speaking tour guide will meet you at reception at 09.30 for out –of-city excursion to Gorki Leninskie. In Lenin’s later years, he and his family spent time at the 1830s Murozov manor house, set on lovely wooded grounds, 32km southeast of the capital. Designed by Fyodor Shekhtel, it now houses a Lenin museum, where you can see a re-creation of Lenin’s Kremlin office, as well as his vintage Rolls-Royce – one of only 15 such automobiles in the world.
Lunch included.
In the afternoon three-hour city sightseeing tour with photo stops, viewing the famous landmarks and places to which you may return at your leisure. The tour sights include Red Square, the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Bolshoi Theatre, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Victory Park, Novodevichy Convent, the White House, and the famous Moscow streets.
Day 3: Kremlin Grounds, Armoury Museum, Arbat & Metro
Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will explore the grounds of the magnificent Kremlin Grounds and visit one of the cathedrals. Within the territory is the fascinating Armoury Museum, your guide will include a visit to this spectacular collection of costumes, silver and arms amongst a vast treasure trove of exhibits. Time of visit is to be specified by your guide.
In the afternoon your guide will take you on a walking tour along the Arbat – where you will have the opportunity to soak up the Moscow culture and browse and shop at leisure. You will also be taken to visit some of the spectacular underground stations in Moscow.
Day 4: Tretyakov Art Gallery, train: Moscow – St. Petersburg
After breakfast at the hotel, check-out by 09.30 and be ready with your luggage. Guide will take you to visit the Tretyakov Art Gallery.
In the afternoon, transfer to the railway station for your journey to St. Petersburg at around 16.30. Arrival in St. Petersburg at around 20.25 and transfer to the Radisson BLU Sonya Hotel for check-in.
Day 5: St. Petersburg City Tour & Peter and Paul Fortress
Breakfasts at the hotel followed by a panoramic orientation tour of the city at 10.00. You will see all the major sights of this beautiful city, St Petersburg. You will see the world-renowned Hermitage Museum, housed in the Winter Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress and pass along Nevskij Prospect. St Isaac's cathedral is also on our route as well as the Church of the Spilled Blood. (No entrances included this day).
In the afternoon you will visit the outstanding fort which guards the city of St Petersburg, and is located on the island, facing the Hermitage and dominating River Neva, - Peter and Paul Fortress. It was built as a fortification during the Russian-Swedish war, but it was never used as a fortress and its bastions were turned into political prison cells. There a son of Peter the Great, Prince Alexei, a famous pretender to the throne, Princess Tarakanova, writer Radischev, Decembrists, narodniks and revolutionaries were held prisoners. Peter and Paul Cathedral designed by Tresini contains the remains of Russian rulers since 1725.
Day 6: Hermitage
After breakfast, at 09.30 your guide will take you to visit the Hermitage - the magnificent collection of art in the winter palace of Catherine the Great. This is one of the largest museums in the World, founded in 1764; its collection includes over 2.7 million items, including masterpieces of Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Roden, Rembrandt, Rubens, French impressionists, - a feast indeed for art lovers. Duration of the tour is from 10.30 – 13.00.
Day 7: Catherine's Palace
After breakfast at the hotel, at 09.30 you will be taken by your guide to visit one of St Petersburg’s most prized Palaces. In the village of Pushkin (formally Tsarskoye Selo) 29 km south of St. Petersburg, is Catherine’s Summer Palace. The construction of the palace for the Empress Catherine started in 1717. A park in the French style was laid out around it and, in the middle of 18th century, Tsarskoye Selo became the official royal residence. This palace is famous for the ‘Amber Room’, now completely restored to its former glory. Not far from the Catherine's Palace there is the Lyceum where the great poet Alexander Pushkin studied. Afternoon at leisure.
Day 8: Departure from St. Petersburg
After breakfast at your hotel, check out by 12:00 and your departure transfer will be provided to the airport about 3 hours and 30 minutes before your flight.
Visas
For your holidays to Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Ukraine, you will not need a visa if you have a valid passport from any EU country, Australia, Canada, USA, Japan (there are more, so check with us to make sure). Please note that your passport should be valid for at least six months after the date of your return.
However, if you plan to travel to Russia, you will need a visa, which we can help organise for you.
Insurance
Travel insurance is required and also advisable. If you do not have a valid policy, please check our Insurance link on the bottom of our homepage or http://www.baltictravelcompany.com/insurance. We can offer quotes for all nationalities.
Our recommended partner is FS Ball who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Language
You will be able to communicate quite well with the locals, as most people in the service industry are quite adept at speaking English. If English doesn't work, then try Russian (if you can), or German. The further you go from the major cities, the less English you will hear. However, do not let the language barrier keep you from exploring the beauty of the country side. We can always arrange English speaking guides to accompany you wherever you wish to go.
The Estonian language is similar to Finnish and is unrelated to Latvian, Lithuanian or Russian. Latvian and Lithuanian are two of the oldest languages, with roots traceable to Sanskrit. This makes them quite challenging to learn, but attempting a few words will put a smile on the local faces. Russians use the Cyrillic alphabet, so reading street signs and tube maps will be a challenge in St Petersburg .
Restaurants
Dining opportunities are plenty, from ethnic to exotic. We would suggest you to try some national dishes and get a real taste of the region. Note that most traditional dishes contain meat and are fairly heavy, but very tasty.
Reservations in advance are recommended for up-market restaurants, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings.
Tipping - many of the up-market establishments will let you know how good their service is by including it on the bill. Rounding up the bill is usually sufficient, unless you feel your server deserves an extra bit of recognition.
Currency
You can get local currency from ATMs at the airport where you land or in the major cities. Be aware that your bank will charge you a service fee and exchange rate fee for the transaction, but this is likely to be less than exchanging money in the UK before you depart. Please note that in Russia exchange bureau's and banks will not except Scottish bank notes.
We suggest choosing the right credit card for spending abroad. Most credit cards will have an additional cost (about 3%) to the bank exchange rates. You can avoid it by obtaining a specialist overseas card that does not add this % and will give you good exchange rates that are better than money exchange bureau rates.
Credit cards charge you interest rates, but some debit cards (bank account cards) could have fees that could add up to £ 1.50 every time you spend.
We recommend checking with your bank what fees/interest rates will be applied to your card when using it abroad in order to make an educated decision on what card to use.
Most restaurants and shops will take credit/debit cards like Visa and Mastercard, however, many places will not accept AMEX.
Traveller's cheques are difficult to cash, so we recommend not to use them.
Airport or ferry terminals in most cases will have the worst money exchange rates, so if you must get it from the airport, pre-order money for pick-up to get a better rate.
The local currencies are (alphabetic order):
Denmark - Danish Kroner
Estonia - Euro
Finland - Euro
Greenland - Danish Kroner
Iceland - Icelandic Kroner
Latvia - Euro
Lithuania - Euro
Norway - Norwegian Kroner
Poland - Polish Zloty
Russia - Russian Ruble
Sweden - Swedish Kroner
Ukraine - Hryvnia
Transportation
Railway mostly serves domestic routes and is used as an easy and quick way to get from the capital to major cities of the country. There are some international routes, like to Moscow and St. Petersburg, but time spent on the way will be quite long.
Buses are one of the most convenient ways to travel between the Baltic States. Eurolines will get you between Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn. One way tickets will cost £ 15 - £ 20 and approximate travel time is 5 hours between the cities. Ticket reservations in advance are recommended.
Taxis are the quickest and most convenient way of travelling round the city. You'll find them located close to the main hotels. Usually it's quite easy to catch a taxi on the street, however, it's much better and safer to order one by phone. Taxi costs in all of the Baltic countries and Poland are approximately the same and a ride in the centre of the city will cost you approx £ 5 - £ 7. Taxis in Finland and Russia are considerably more expensive. It is always a good idea to get your hotel to book a taxi for you and ask approximately how much the trip will cost before you get in.
We would not recommend you to take public transportation within the city, as it's usually crowded and it may cause you unnecessary anxiety about where to stop.
Mobile Phones
There are several mobile operators in each Baltic country, the Nordics ( Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland incl. Iceland and Greenland as well as Poland, Ukraine and Russia. If you have an international connection, there shouldn't be any problems with your incoming and outgoing calls.
In case your phone doesn't work, please check in the local mobilephone shops and you can buy Calling cards etc. or ask in your hotel, they should be able to advise you too.
Internet Access
Internet access is available at Internet Cafés, which mostly are located in the central part of the city. Most hotels have internet access.
Postal Services
Stamps are available in the post offices and in most newspaper kiosks. Approximate price for a stamp to European Union countries will vary but between appx. £ 0.30 to £ 0.70. You'll see post boxes on the streets or you can ask hotel representative to send your post card, they'll gladly help you.
Emergency Numbers
Emergency telephone number for the police, ambulance services or fire department in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Poland - 112.
Greenland uses 911 and for mobile phones only 112.