Russia
To get our mini brochure for this holiday please click here, and we will email you a PDF copy.
Day One: Exploring St. Petersburg
Touch down in the city, ready for an action-packed day of exploration. After a private transfer to your hotel, you’ll check-in and leave your luggage as your guide whisks you off on a city tour of all its main attractions, including time inside the splendid Peter and Paul Fortress, where the city first sprung up. See the ornate cathedral (where the Romanovs are buried), the old prison, and the impressive views from its ancient walls – as well as a lovely sandy beach that’s a hotspot for city dwellers come summer. After some free time over lunch, you’ll continue your adventure, visiting St Isaac’s Cathedral, where the frescoed, gilded and semi-precious-stone-adorned interior is now open as a museum. Then it’s time for something completely different, as you toast your arrival in the country at the Museum of Russian Vodka, learning about the complex history of the spirit before enjoying a tasting. Finish your day with dinner at the fantastic onsite restaurant, Vodka Room No.1, which serves up traditional Russian fare in refined surroundings (dinner for your own account).
Overnight in St. Petersburg
We offer a variety of hotel classes to suit different budgets. You can choose the style that’s right for you.
Select from Classic, Premium or Deluxe when booking, and click hotel name below for more details.
Classic: Hotel Moscow, St Petersburg
Premium: Solo Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky
Deluxe: Solo Sokos Hotel Palace Bridge
Meals included: None
Day Two: To the Hermitage
It’s time for a full day within the city’s most famous museum, the Hermitage. To enable you to make the most of its six buildings, we’ve enlisted one of its qualified curators to show you around on a private tour. As well as all the main exhibits (including the old Winter Palace and the world’s largest art collection), you’ll enjoy a private visit to the Diamond Room, home to a vast collection of jewels that once belonged to the Romanov dynasty of Russian Emperors. Afterwards, you’ll visit the Fabergé Museum and Church of the Savior On The Spilled Blood with its iconic onion domes, before returning to your hotel for the evening. There’s also the option (at extra cost) to attend a ballet or opera performance at St. Petersburg’s famous Mariinsky or Mikhailovsky Theatres, then round off your day with a late dinner at The Repa, a renowned restaurant adorned with striking murals inspired by the theatre, on a site that was once a hangout for the city’s bohemian theatre crowd. For related costs, please see the Extras tab.
Overnight in St. Petersburg
Classic: Hotel Moscow, St Petersburg
Premium: Solo Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky
Deluxe: Solo Sokos Hotel Palace Bridge
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Three: Water World
It’s time to visit the Peterhof Low Gardens and Grand Palace today – and you’ll get there by hydrofoil. It’s a 30-minute hop along the Neva River to this series of impressive palaces and gardens created by Peter The Great, and your private guide will be able to tell you more about their intriguing history as you look around. Afterwards, you’ll make a stop for lunch (not included), before heading onwards to the State Russian Museum, packed with Russian fine art treasures. Summer travellers will then continue their day with an evening boat trip along the rivers and canals of the city, for spectacular views towards its grand buildings and a light show over the opening bridges of the Neva River (for guests travelling between April 15 and October 15) with an option to upgrade this to a private boat cruise to one of five of the city’s best restaurants. As this option is only available for the summer months we have listed it as an additional cost - for further details and related costs, please click the Extras tab.
Overnight in St. Petersburg
Classic: Hotel Moscow, St Petersburg
Premium: Solo Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky
Deluxe: Solo Sokos Hotel Palace Bridge
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Four: Movie Stars
It’s time to head away from the city this morning, on a visit to ‘Paul’s Palace’, a neo-classical mansion that was once the summer home of the Emperors and a firm favourite with Paul 1 (son of Catherine The Great). Take a Troika (three-horse carriage) ride around its vast estate, littered with pavilions, statues and bridges, before breaking for lunch (not included). This afternoon, you’ll learn about Russian film at the old studio of cinema giant Lenfilm (once known as ‘Russian Hollywood’), where some of the country’s best movies were made. See its fascinating collection of historical props and costumes, as well as the makeup studio and technical equipment.
Overnight in St. Petersburg
Classic: Hotel Moscow, St Petersburg
Premium: Solo Sokos Hotel Vasilievsky
Deluxe: Solo Sokos Hotel Palace Bridge
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Five: To Moscow
The journey to the Russian capital by SAPSAN high-speed train takes just four hours – with meals and drinks available onboard, meaning you’ll be ready to be whisked straight to Red Square by your private guide on arrival. Here, you’ll enjoy a glass of Champagne (or cup of coffee!) at Bosco, a grand cafe in a privileged position right on the square, before exploring the city’s highlights on a private tour which ends at Vorobiev Hills park for panoramic views over its sprawl. Finish your day with dinner at Cafe Pushkin, an unforgettable restaurant packed with eccentric rooms filled with antiques, set in the famous nobleman’s palace (cost of dinner not included).
Overnight in Moscow
Classic: AZIMUT Hotel Smolenskaya Moscow
Premium: Novotel Moscow City Hotel
Deluxe: Hotel National Moscow
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Six: Whistlestop Moscow
Your last full day in Russia is packed with incredible highlights. Start off on a private guided exploration of its must-sees (including the Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum and St. Basil’s Cathedral). Afterwards, you have the option of enjoying lunch aboard a Radisson Royal yacht, as you take a two-and-a-half hour journey along the Moscow River over a two-course meal (for related costs, see the Extras tab.) Then you’ll visit the fascinating Vadim Zadorozhny’s Museum, packed with planes, trains, classic automobiles… and tanks. (Those keen to test drive one can do so as an optional extra. For related costs, please see the Extras tab.) Round off your day by visiting the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre, for an unforgettable opera or ballet performance (good seats normally available as an option - see Extras tab).
Overnight in Moscow
Classic: AZIMUT Hotel Smolenskaya Moscow
Premium: Novotel Moscow City Hotel
Deluxe: Hotel National Moscow
Meals included: Breakfast
Day Seven: Best foot forward!
There’s time to fit in a little more of Moscow this morning, as you set out on a walking tour on Old Arbat Street, a pedestrianised road lined with bars and restaurants and adorned with blossom and street art. Then you’ll go underground for Moscow’s metro, to explore its grand stations filled with marble panelling, bronze statues and mosaics and built as propaganda during Stalinist times. You’ll have time to get some lunch, before taking a private transfer back to the airport, ready for your flight home.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overall meals included: 6 breakfasts
What's included:
- Private English-speaking guides unless stated otherwise
- Private transfers and internal flights unless stated otherwise
- Meals as listed
- Mandatory taxes and service fees
- Entrance tickets and permits unless stated otherwise
What's not included:
- International flights to/from experience:
call 0208 251 0425 for AX specially negotiated flight rates - Tips for guides, drivers, hotel and restaurant staff
- Any visa, customs, airport taxes or similar charges before or after the holiday
- We cannot guarantee the included hotel breakfast for early departures
- Drinks during meals unless stated otherwise
- Personal expenses, such as laundry
- Optional Extras
SUITABILITY FOR FAMILIES : Suitable for families with adult kids
If you intend to travel solo, contact us on 0208 251 0425
GETTING THERE
Direct flights from London to St Petersburg, returning from Moscow, cost around £500pp, with the journey to St Petersburg taking 3 hours and 15 minutes, and the return from Moscow taking four hours and 15 minutes.
Experience start point: St. Petersburg
End point: Moscow
Ready to book