With its magnificent cities and world-class museums, historic sites, and fascinating waterways, Russia has much to offer for cruise holidays. The country's outstanding waterways system allows ocean-going ships to travel all the way from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic. Moscow, the capital of Russia hundreds of miles away from the ocean, is linked to five seas: Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov by rivers, canals, and other waterways. The river cruises operate in three main areas: Central European Russia, Northwestern European Russia, and Asian Russia.
The Volga River is the best known Russian river and is the largest one in all of Europe. It starts northwest of Moscow and flows into the Caspian Sea some 3,500 kilometers to the south. It is also the main waterway to take you on a Russian River trip.
How to choose and book a river cruise in Russia?
You will find a variety of Russian boat cruises on the market, and sometimes it may be challenging to choose between the best Russian cruises.
Before booking a trip, you should firstly think about which cities you wish to visit. You can choose cruises between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which probably are the best Russian river cruises. During this cruise, you will visit two major tourist destinations – Moscow and St Petersburg - and you will also visit the Russian countryside and the authentic little towns of the Golden Ring.
CRUISE DURATION is also important. The Russian river tours along the Volga River are among the most popular ones. Typically these Russian river trips are of a longer duration - 15 to 20 days and include visiting Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov as well as some other Russian cities and towns. Most cruises range from 8 to 20-day river tours.
Moscow and St. Petersburg cruises are available as 8, 10, 11 and 12-day options, visit east-west-tours.com to learn more.
When to go on a cruise?
Most cruise ships in Russia start operating in May and navigation ends late October. In May, September, and October, cruises usually are less expensive and less crowded.
Once you decided which route to take and when you can choose your ship. All ships can be compared by a hotel rating although there is no official rating of ships on Russian waterways.
Rest on a river cruise. How much does a trip cost?
Russian waterways cruises 2019 offer an escape from noise and hassle of crowded tourist destinations at the same time introduce you to a colorful mosaic of Russian people, history, traditions, religion, music, and art. This relaxed style of travel clearly appealing to a more mature audience, but the young and energetic will find lots of activities on Russian river boat tours as well.
Most Russian river cruises 2019 are overnight passenger cruises, which allows the guests to rest at night and enjoy the main destinations of the trip during the day. In some cases, the cities are visited in the morning hours, and the afternoons are for sailing and having a wonderful time with onboard entertainments.
The river cruises usually stop in places like Uglich, one of the amazing cities of the Golden Ring of Russia, Yaroslavl, an interesting town, near Moscow where two rivers — the Volga and the Kotorosl — meet, or Goritzy, famous for the 14th-century Monastery of St. Cyril on the White Lake.
Closer to St. Petersburg, cruises stop in such places as the Valaam Islands, in the northern portion of Lake Ladoga, or Kizhi Island, with the churches made entirely of wood and listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also worth talking about Madrogui, which preserves many traditions of the Russian people. In addition, there is the Russian Vodka Museum, one of the most popular sports in the town.
In short, Russian river cruises offer the chance of visiting the most beautiful places relaxed and without any rush.
Besides, Russian river cruises offer a very economical way of having a cultural holiday in Russia. Russia is an expensive destinations, however for a cruise you will spend far less than you would if you were to take a land tour or travel by yourself and also have a more vibrant, safer experience with everything taken care of for you.
Russian river cruises give the travelers the active vacation full of history and cultural activities as well as a relaxing time cruising on a comfortable riverboat. A Russian river cruise is not just an introduction to Russia - it leaves you with the impression of the country's present life and ritch historical heritage and you will have had the time of your life!