Moscow and St-Petersburg vacation in Russia
Highlights
Moscow | Red Square | Sparrow Hills | Guided tour of Moscow Underground | Kremlin | Armoury Museum | Vladimir | Nizhny Novgorod | Overnight train to St. Petersburg | Hermitage Museum | Tsarskoe Selo | Catherine Museum |
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this vacation or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
Toll free 1-866-821-6866 Calling from outside the US? rosy@responsibletravel.comCheck dates
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your vacation will help support conservation and local people.
We see promoting tourism and facilitating business travel as a great way to encourage understanding and interaction between different cultures and peoples, and open up new opportunities for individuals and communities to thrive and develop, learning from and about each other.Of course, travel and tourism can also have a negative impact on any destination, so we use our position as the UK’s leading outbound travel agency to Russia and the countries of the CIS in a number of positive ways:
• We support renovation projects for the many cathedrals and churches which feature prominently on most tourists’ itineraries. We use a portion of the entrance fees charged to access many of the major tourist sights to support the renovation and upkeep of some of the country’s most important historical buildings and landmarks, not just for the benefit of future generations of tourists and locals, but for mankind as a whole.
• We also highlight the fact that new Metro stations, along with many of the more recent parks and other facilities in cities like Moscow, are created using recycled or reclaimed material, reducing the use of valuable natural resources. By promoting these facilities, our customers are better able to support the ecologically-responsible approach of the city authorities and help spread such environmentally beneficial practices.
• Many of our city sightseeing tours involve getting around on foot or by Metro. The is not just an environmentally friendly way for tourists to see the sights and come into contact with local people; it supports the continued growth of the Metro system in Moscow and other major cities as a more sustainable alternative to private car use. Promoting greener transport options in this way helps to relieve the ever-increasing strain on our urban spaces and keep our cities “breathing”.
• Our tours allow sufficient free time for customers to discover their chosen destinations at their own pace. Our tour guides always promote the use of Metro systems, bicycles, Segways and other green transport modes whenever the opportunity arises.
The Impacts of this Trip
• We also support a number of “street greening” schemes, which aim to break up the urban landscape wherever possible with plants, trees and other landscaping projects to bring nature back into the city.
• We only use local guides and suppliers, and encourage Russian students to develop their hospitality skills and practise English through the services we provide to our customers, thus helping grow the economy and develop the next generation of industry providers.
RNTO has always taken a responsible approach to the services it provides. We are ever mindful of the fact that, unless we can provide a sustainable approach to travel and tourism, we are endangering the future of our industry and, ultimately, our own future survival as a company. With a thoughtful, innovative approach on our part and the understanding and support of our customers, we believe we can ensure that future generations continue to take advantage of the same travel and leisure opportunities that we ourselves are fortunate enough to enjoy today.
We see promoting tourism and facilitating business travel as a great way to encourage understanding and interaction between different cultures and peoples, and open up new opportunities for individuals and communities to thrive and develop, learning from and about each other.Of course, travel and tourism can also have a negative impact on any destination, so we use our position as the UK’s leading outbound travel agency to Russia and the countries of the CIS in a number of positive ways:
• We support renovation projects for the many cathedrals and churches which feature prominently on most tourists’ itineraries. We use a portion of the entrance fees charged to access many of the major tourist sights to support the renovation and upkeep of some of the country’s most important historical buildings and landmarks, not just for the benefit of future generations of tourists and locals, but for mankind as a whole.
• We also highlight the fact that new Metro stations, along with many of the more recent parks and other facilities in cities like Moscow, are created using recycled or reclaimed material, reducing the use of valuable natural resources. By promoting these facilities, our customers are better able to support the ecologically-responsible approach of the city authorities and help spread such environmentally beneficial practices.
• Many of our city sightseeing tours involve getting around on foot or by Metro. The is not just an environmentally friendly way for tourists to see the sights and come into contact with local people; it supports the continued growth of the Metro system in Moscow and other major cities as a more sustainable alternative to private car use. Promoting greener transport options in this way helps to relieve the ever-increasing strain on our urban spaces and keep our cities “breathing”.
• Our tours allow sufficient free time for customers to discover their chosen destinations at their own pace. Our tour guides always promote the use of Metro systems, bicycles, Segways and other green transport modes whenever the opportunity arises.
The Impacts of this Trip
• We also support a number of “street greening” schemes, which aim to break up the urban landscape wherever possible with plants, trees and other landscaping projects to bring nature back into the city.
• We only use local guides and suppliers, and encourage Russian students to develop their hospitality skills and practise English through the services we provide to our customers, thus helping grow the economy and develop the next generation of industry providers.
RNTO has always taken a responsible approach to the services it provides. We are ever mindful of the fact that, unless we can provide a sustainable approach to travel and tourism, we are endangering the future of our industry and, ultimately, our own future survival as a company. With a thoughtful, innovative approach on our part and the understanding and support of our customers, we believe we can ensure that future generations continue to take advantage of the same travel and leisure opportunities that we ourselves are fortunate enough to enjoy today.
3 Reviews of Moscow and St-Petersburg vacation in Russia
Reviewed on 10 Sep 2017 by Jim Troy
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Red square and St Petersburg.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Plan in advance as the first hotel is far from the city and attractions. You need to use the underground to fully access the sites from so far away.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Very good.
Reviewed on 11 Jun 2017 by Owen Cawley
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Being able to walk around Red Square on a busy day, despite the rain! This, and having an overnight train journey from Moscow to Novgorod - very memorable! Upon arrival I was lucky enough to be given a mini-tour of Moscow by my airport pickup, free of charge - extremely friendly service that I've never had the likes of anywhere else.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Knowing a small amount of Russian goes a long way - might be worth making a handy guide to Cyrillic phonetics before you go
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Novgorod is definitely a smaller city that most English-speaking tourists don't go through, so adding a little to the local economy there was definitely a plus.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent experience, I'd highly recommend to anyone looking to explore a little more of Europe!
Reviewed on 15 Feb 2017 by Lynda Peters
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Moscow in winter was beautiful. Even though it was January all the Christmas Lights and Markets were still there. Our guide in Moscow was very passionate about his heritage.
2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Make sure you have travel insurance which is valid in Russia. A day in a Russian hospital which involved surgery was very expensive.
3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
In the form of the tourist dollar.
4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Moscow was amazing. Our guide in Saint Petersburg did not talk to my adult daughter unless I was present. She just ignored her. When we missed the last day of the tour due to a medical emergency we left a message at the hotel desk for her to phone us, we never heard from her again. It was very disappointing when we were in a country where we did not speak the language. We would still recommend the tour to others.
Read the operator's response here:
I would like to thank you very much for your comment and your time. We do believe it will help us a lot to do our services better in the future. We also would like to insure you that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation.
As you might aware Mayor of Moscow Mister Sobyanin invests a lot into the cities’ infrastructure and also plants the city. Last year they opened new unique park Zaryadye in the heart of the city. Zaryadye is not simply a park. It is a new type of public space altogether, created by an international team of architects, engineers, landscape designers and other experts. Here the concepts of nature and technology, education and entertainment, history and modernity are united and complement each other. Throughout the course of Zaryadye’s centuries-old history its appearance has changed many times: from the first street of the Moscow Posad (settlement outside the fortified city), to the English Embassy, to a residence of the Tsar, a military garrison, a Jewish quarter and even a slum. At the start of the 20th Century in Zaryadye, construction began on the largest of Stalin’s towers, but the project was abandoned and in its place the hotel Rossiya was built, at that time the biggest hotel in the world.
For a long time after the hotel’s demolition, Zaryadye remained a featureless wasteland, fenced-off like a construction-site, before the decision to open a park at the location was made by President V. V Putin and the Mayor of Moscow, S. S. Sobyanin. Zaryadye was conceived as a new public space with the aim of filling the former void not only in a physical but also a symbolic sense. We do value tourist contribution into the welfare of our country.
We do appreciate your comment once again and we hope that that was not your last visit to Russia. You have so much more to explore and see.
Thank you very much!
Wish you a wonderful day!
Best regards,
Ekaterina
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