Just got back from our trip! We went DIY and it was much easier than I expected. Let me just share some stuff that might be helpful to those traveling to Russia.
VisaRegular visa processing takes about a month, so we availed of the rush service (PHP 7,000) and got our visas in a week. We submitted completed application forms, passport size photos, and an invitation letter from our hotel in Moscow. Appearance is not required. I think we paid about PHP 3,000 for the invitation letter.
Getting ThereWe booked Aeroflot four months in advance. For our route HKG-SVO-HKG, the airfare was around PHP 29,000 net. I love Aeroflot. Unbelievably smooth yung flight namin going to Moscow, and while the return flight was a bit bumpy due to weather conditions, okay yung paghandle ng pilots. Very good selection of movies, too. Onboard meals were adequate.
Flying time to Moscow was 10 hours and 30 minutes. Return was 9 hours and 30 minutes.
AirportAeroflot uses Sheremetyevo Airport. Other international airlines use Domodedovo Airport. Mas malapit yata SVO sa city center. Took 35 minutes on Aeroexpress to travel from point A to B. One-way fare costs RUB 350.
AccommodationI highly, highly recommend Holiday Inn Lesnaya in Moscow. Fantastic location. Maraming makakainan nearby and there is a 24-hour convenience store a few blocks away. Walking distance lang yung Aeroexpress Station and Belorussky Station (300 meters). Belorussky is on the green and brown lines. Most of the tourist attractions are located near green line stops, so hindi na kami palipat lipat ng trains. For example, the Red Square is only 3 stops away (Teatralnaya Station) and Tretyakov Gallery is 4 stops away (Tretyakovskaya Station). The brown line naman was useful to us when we traveled to St. Petersburg. The Leningradsky Railway Station kasi is right outside Komsomolskaya Station, which is 3 stops away on the brown line. Sa Leningradsky yung sakayan ng overnight train from Moscow to St. Pete’s.
In St. Petersburg, we stayed at the Allegro Hotel. It’s a guesthouse on the third floor of an old building with no elevators, but our room was clean and spacious. Rate includes a simple homey breakfast and free coffee/tea all day & night. The hotel is near a metro station, restaurants, and convenience stores.
FoodRussia is an expensive country. A small cup of coffee costs anywhere between RUB 100 to RUB 300. Allot RUB 500 per person for midrange lunch. Of course, dinner is more expensive.
If on a tight budget, though, there are fast food joints like KFC, McDo, Sbarro, Burger King, etc. In Moscow, there are cafeteria-type restaurants. We tried one called My My (read as Moo-Moo). They offer decent Russian fare for cheap. Others like it are Yolki Palki and Grabli.
If you want a sophisticated meal, check out Café Pushkin (Tverskoy Bulvar, Moscow). The menu is on their website. It’s a lovely old world restaurant. Really fancy. Food and service that we received were both remarkable. Read more about Pushkin Café
here and
here.
But, our favorite restaurant in Moscow is Torro Grill. It’s near our hotel, so we had brunch there three times. A huge breakfast set costs RUB 390. Pag kumakain kami dito, very light na lang dinner namin kasi super nakakabusog.
Breakfast sets are generally cheaper. It should set you back some RUB 350 - RUB 450. Lunch sets are slightly more expensive. Maybe RUB 400 and up. Hence, consider making brunch your main meal of the day.
Also, you may be interested to dine at restaurants that serve traditional Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian, and Kazakh cuisines. We had affordable Russian and Georgian food at Cafe Ket (Cat) in St. Petersburg. The Hachapuri Adzharian was yummy. Parang cheese pizza na may egg.
Getting AroundWe used the metro lang in Moscow (RUB 40 per ride) and St. Petersburg (RUB 28 per ride). Print out the metro maps in Russian and English and study how to read Cyrillic alphabet. Madali lang naman matutunan. Most of the signs kasi sa metro and sa streets are in Cyrillic.
Overnight Train – Moscow to St. PetersburgYou can take the SAPSAN (bullet train) to cut down travel time to 4 hours, or you can go for the 8-hour overnight train ride. We picked the latter and it was so fun. First time kasi namin matulog on berths inside a moving train. We chose the Smena Train that leaves Moscow at 10:50 PM (Leningradsky Railway Station, Train No. 26A) and St. Petersburg at 11:00 PM (Moskovsky Railway Station, Train No. 25A).
Third class lang kinuha namin and comfortable naman. Walang doors 'to, only compartments. One compartment has two double-deck beds. They provide pillows, blankets, and comforters. Make sure you get bottom beds in the compartments para mabantayan nyo gamit nyo, AND avoid side beds (both top and bottom) kasi mas smaller beds 'tong mga 'to. Bed Nos. 1 - 32 yung nasa compartments. Any number above that, side bed na. Google how to read Russian train tickets para makita nyo bed and cart numbers assigned sa inyo. If you want more privacy, go first class na lang.
For Moscow to St. Pete’s, we bought tickets online via RealRussia before we left Manila. I think RUB 2,500 per person yung fare. We were worried kasi na baka maubusan kami kung sa Russia pa kami bibili. However, maluwag pa yung train. Walang nag occupy nung top beds sa compartment namin. Konti yung tourists because winter, I guess. When we arrived in St. Pete’s, we bought agad tickets for our return to Moscow. RUB 1,400 lang pala per person. Ang laki nga ng service charge ng RealRussia.
We bought meat pies and water before boarding para just in case magutom. Pero there was a trolley lady naman on board. We slept throughout the trip.
Things to doI don’t like doing touristy stuff too much. I prefer just taking it slow, walking around, people watching. Basically, just experiencing local life. I visited only the attractions that I really wanted to see - the Red Square, the Kremlin, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage, The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, and the remains of the Romanovs at the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Then, we spent time looking around shops on Tverskaya Road, Arbat Street, and Nevsky Prospekt. There’s a small posh grocery store on Tverskaya called the Eliseevsky Gastronom. Check it out.
And because it was cold (-24 degrees), we stopped for coffee often. I didn’t want to drink vodka kasi. We frequented the coffee shops on the top level of GUM.
We bought pasalubong from Galeria Mall in St. Petersburg, Metropolis in Moscow, and that lane of Russian souvenirs outside the Red Square.
And on our last night, we saw an opera at the Bolshoi Theater. Buy tickets way in advance kasi mabilis maubos.
Final NoteI will go back to Russia for the Hermitage, the Romanovs, and Torro Grill. Haha.
I posted some photos on my Tumblr and will maybe post some more soon.
