Viking St Petersburg to Moscow

Has anyone gone on this trip? We are going the first week of May 2018. Looking for recommendations,tips etc.

Prepare for a different mentality of people and officials there. You may not see as many smiles as you are used to. Be cautious - as in any big city. Not many people in the streets speak English - especially older ones. Media installs “dislike” for Americans and Western Europeans, sometimes you may feel it.

It will be busy. Remember that 9 May - if you are there - is the Russian Day to celebrate Vday. It’s always been a special day. Now There will also be a lot of pseudo patriotic frenzy.

Apart from that - a great time of the year to go, you will love it. SP in particular might be a bit cool ( temperature wise).

Be prepared to be blown away by The St Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square and the Isaac Cathedral in St Petersburg. Not sure if Petetgof would be open yet- if yes, it is a must! And so is the Catherina’s Palace in Tsarskoe Selo and it’s Amber Room.

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Be aware that both the Red Square and the Kremlin will be largely closed for the public between May 3 and May 10 for a combination of presidential inauguration and Vday celebrations.

Viking should be able to come up with alternatives - but also bear in mind that as a visa holder, you are not in any way limited to the activities or itineraries offered by Viking. For suggestions, please check out TripAdvisor.

As to past experiences - there is a bunch of Viking cruise reviews here on Cruisecritic (search by ship names - Rurik, Helgi, Ingvar, Truvor). Might as well check out other cruise lines (scenic Tsar/Tolstoy, Ama Katarina/Rostropovich, uniworld princess Victoria/knyzhna viktoriya) – the experience with the route itself and excursions should be quite similar across the board.

I loved this tour. Make sure to go ride the subways in Moscow. They are unlike anything in the US. We hired a private guide who took us on a tour of some of the subway stations and a church and an unbelievable grocery store. She was very good, found her on the internet. Very easy to understand.

I loved this tour. Make sure to go ride the subways in Moscow. They are unlike anything in the US. We hired a private guide who took us on a tour of some of the subway stations and a church and an unbelievable grocery store. She was very good, found her on the internet. Very easy to understand.