3 June 2009. Train times valid from 14 June to 12 December
2009.
UK to Russia by train...
St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow
It's easy, safe & comfortable to travel from London to Moscow by
train. Just take Eurostar from London to Brussels, a
high-speed train to Cologne, then the daily Russian sleeping-car
from Cologne to Moscow, taking two nights. It's the civilised way to reach Russia!
Or choose from a range of other options via Berlin or
Warsaw, including some to St Petersburg.
On this page...
You'll find a
step-by-step guide to planning, booking & making a train journey
from the UK to Russia:
This is the fastest,
most comfortable & convenient option. Although
option 2
is usually
a bit cheaper, option described here gives you the comfort of an
air-conditioned Russian sleeping-car all the way from Cologne to
Moscow.
Above:
The Cologne-Moscow sleeping-car at Brest. These Russian
international sleeping-cars were built in the 1990s and are
clean, comfortable & air-conditioned. They link Moscow
with Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Munich, Basel
and other cities...
Train
times London ► Moscow
Day 1: Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 12:57, arriving in
Brussels Midi at 16:03.
Day 1: Travel from Brussels to Cologne
(Köln in German) by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels
Midi at 16:55 and arriving Cologne Hauptbahnhof 19:15.
Day 1: Travel from Cologne to Moscow by
direct Russian Railways sleeping-car, leaving Cologne at
22:28,
travelling across Germany, Poland and Belarus, arriving Moscow
(Byelorruski Station) 2 nights later at 10:59 (Day 3 from
London). The sleeper has 1, 2
& 3-bed compartments with washbasin,
see the photos below.
Map of Moscow showing Byelorruski station.
Train times
Moscow ► London
Day 1:
Travel from Moscow to Cologne by direct Russian sleeping-car,
leaving Moscow daily at 21:09 and arriving in Cologne at 06:14
two nights later after passing through Belarus, Poland and
Germany. The sleeping-car is modern and air-conditioned,
with 1, 2 and 3-bed compartments with washbasin,
see the photos below.
Day 3:
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne daily at 07:45, arriving
Brussels Midi at
10:01.
Day 3: A
Eurostar
leaves Brussels
Midi daily at 11:29
and arrives London St Pancras at 12:26.
The Cologne-Moscow sleeping-car
is
modern and air-conditioned, with ten compartments each of which
can be used
as 3-berth, 2-berth or
single-berth. By day the room is a comfortable sitting
room (pictured below left), by night the beds fold out from the wall behind the
sofa, one above the other (pictured below centre as a
single-berth room with the middle and top bunks folded away
against the wall, below right as a 2-berth room with third
bunk unused). Each room has a washbasin,
towels & soap are provided. Each berth has fresh clean
sheets, fluffy pillow and blankets, plus an individual berth
reading light. The sleeping-car attendant can
serve you excellent Russian tea. A restaurant car runs
with this train between Cologne and Warsaw, serving meals, snacks and drinks,
but always travel with supplies of your own including maybe a
favourite bottle of wine.
The picture above shows the Cologne-Moscow
sleeping-car at Brest on the Poland/Belarus frontier.
Passengers travelling alone who can't afford the single-berth
sleeper fare can share a 2-bed or 3-bed compartment with other
sleeper passengers of the same sex.
Above: A compartment
in the Amsterdam-Cologne-Moscow sleeper, in daytime mode with
beds folded away & seats folded out...
Above: A similar
compartment in night mode, set up as a single room (middle &
top bunks unused & folded away).
Above: A similar
compartment in night mode, set up as a 2-berth room (third bunk
unused & folded away)
What's the journey
like?
Your Eurostar journey takes you out of London and across Kent
at up to 186 mph,
with glimpses of Rochester castle and cathedral to the left as
the train crosses the River Medway. The transit through
the Channel Tunnel takes just 20 minutes. Changing
trains at Brussels (Midi/Zuid station) is easy. The
high-speed Thalys train from Brussels to Cologne takes you
across the old coal-mining part of Belgium, green and hilly,
passing into Germany at Aachen. The Thalys crosses the
Rhine into Cologne's main station (Hauptbahnhof), right next
to the imposing towers of Cologne cathedral.
Leaving Cologne, the train to Moscow passes slowly
through the industrial Ruhr via Dortmund and Düsseldorf and
heads overnight into Poland. Poland is largely flat,
rich green farmland. Although Warsaw Centralna station itself
is underground, look out for Warsaw's 'Palace of Culture' on
the skyline as the train approaches and leaves Warsaw, a
Soviet-style 'wedding cake' of a skyscraper.
Russian track gauge is 5', but most of Europe (including
the UK) is 4' 8½", so at Brest on the Belarus frontier the sleeping-cars are
shunted into a shed, each car is separated and jacked up to
have its bogies (wheelsets) changed. You remain on board while this is
done, it' quite an experience! After entering
Belarus and Russia, the scenery changes to rolling hills,
birch tree forests, and villages of small wooden
houses. If you
are awake in the small hours approaching Moscow, you may catch
a glimpse of the plaques on the station building marked '1812'
and '1942' as the train passes through the small station of
Borodino.
How much does it
cost?
1. London to
Cologne
by Eurostar+Thalys:
Fares start at £87 return (£59 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne)
or £65 one-way (£51 London-Brussels + £14
Brussels-Cologne)
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
Click the button (or
click here) and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
Assuming you're okay with the price, you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
whose staff are used
to making more exotic bookings like this. They are
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets
using this form.
If you need train tickets within Russia, for example
Moscow to St Petersburg,
click here.
Don't forget to arrange your
Russian visa &
Belarus transit visa.
How to buy
tickets, the full story...
You can't book
train travel from London to Moscow online, you need to buy
tickets from a booking agency by phone or email. Bookings
for the Cologne-Moscow sleeper open 90 days in
advance, you can't buy tickets until reservations open.
Bookings for the westbound Moscow-Cologne sleeper open 45 days
before departure. Here are the best agencies to use for buying train tickets to
Moscow:
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday. You can
use this special booking form, just email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form. European Rail
is an experienced London-based booking agency equipped with the
German Railways reservation system and whose staff are
familiar with bookings like this. When they
get your form, they will make all the reservations (without
obligation) and call you
back to confirm the price and take your credit card details.
There's a £25 booking fee per transaction.
From overseas
call +44 20 7619 1083, tickets can be sent outside the UK if
necessary.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday.
Prices are the same as those charged by European Rail, though
an advantage is that DB don't charge a booking fee,
just a 2% fee for credit cards. However, their staff aren't
always as familiar with more exotic bookings like this, so
make sure you are clear about exactly which trains you want to
book before calling.
If you need train
tickets within Russia, for example Moscow to St Petersburg,
click here.
For more
information about how to book European trains, see the
How to buy European train tickets page. If
you are making a return journey or a one-way trip inbound from
Moscow, please read the section below about booking westbound
trains from Moscow to London.
Russia here we come! The
air-conditioned Russian sleeping-car to Moscow gathers speed
down the platform... It's a safe & comfortable way to
reach Russia. Direct Russian sleeping-cars link Moscow
with Amsterdam, Cologne, Basel, Prague, Vienna, Warsaw,
Munich, Paris & Berlin.
Above:
Children travelling in the Cologne-Moscow sleeping-car
watch from the end of their coach as it is jacked up in
the shed at Brest to have its bogies changed to Russian
track gauge.
Photo courtesy of
www.fiddlerontherails.com.
UK agencies can
easily book sleepers to Russia using the computer reservation system
which covers trains starting in
Germany. However, berths on trains starting in Russia
are held on the Russian reservation system, so UK agencies
may have difficulty booking an inbound
sleeper from Russia back to western Europe. The German
reservation computer sometimes has an allocation of
berths for the inbound Moscow to Cologne or Berlin sleepers - If you are
booking through Deutsche Bahn's UK office, ask the agent to
try using the train number '11MJ' for the Moscow-Cologne train
(whatever train number appears on their timetable enquiry
screen) as this has been reported to work. But if all
else fails and your UK agency is unable to obtain the inbound
Moscow-Cologne sleeper for you, simply ask them to book
you (1) the return Eurostar+Thalys ticket from London to Cologne and
back, (2) a one way sleeper from Cologne to Moscow.
Then book the return sleeper from Moscow to Cologne using a local
Russian agency such as
RealRussia,
Svezhy
Veter, Waytorussia.net or
G&R
International. Alternatively, you can book westbound
Moscow-Warsaw or Moscow-Berlin tickets
using the online
form below, then use
www.europeanrail.com
or DB's UK
office to book the Warsaw or Berlin to London section.
This option usually works out as the cheapest way to reach
Moscow. It's not as convenient as using the direct
Cologne-Moscow sleeper, as it involves an extra change of train
in Warsaw and takes a couple of hours longer. But with cheap fares available on the
Cologne-Warsaw part of the trip, the total cost is usually about £165 from London to Moscow
making it cheaper than most one-way flights and far more
rewarding.
Train times London ► Moscow
Day 1: Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 12:57, arriving in
Brussels Midi at 16:03.
Day 1: Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels
Midi at 16:55 and arriving in
Cologne (Hauptbahnhof) at 19:15.
Day 1: Travel
from Cologne to Warsaw overnight on the 'Jan Kiepura'
sleeper train, leaving Cologne at 22:28 and arriving Warsaw
(Centralna station)
at 10:35 next morning (day 2). The 'Jan Kiepura' has modern
air-conditioned Polish
sleeping-cars (1- & 2-bed deluxe rooms with private
toilet & shower plus TV/DVD player, 1- 2- & 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin, hot shower at end of the
corridor, CCTV security, highly recommended), modern
couchettes (more basic sleeping accommodation in 4-berth & 6-berth
compartments), and reclining seats (not recommended). The sleeper fare
includes complimentary toiletries pack and morning tea or
coffee and croissant. There is no restaurant car, but
feel free to take your own picnic, wine or beer on board! Spend the morning
in Warsaw.
Day 2: Travel from Warsaw to Moscow on the
'Polonez' sleeper train, leaving Warsaw (Centralna
station) at 15:30 and
arriving Moscow at 11:45 next day (Day 3 from London). The train has modern
air-conditioned Polish
or Russian sleeping-cars with 1st class 2-bed and 2nd class
3-bed compartments with carpet and washbasin. A Polish
buffet car is attached between Warsaw and Terespol (on the
Polish/Russian frontier) and a Russian restaurant car is
attached for breakfast between Brest (on the other side of the
frontier) and Moscow. Next morning, as the train passes
through the small station of Borodino, look out for the
plaques on the station building marked '1812' and '1942'...
Map of Moscow showing Byelorruski station.
Train times Moscow ► London
Day 1: Travel from
Moscow to Warsaw overnight by the 'Polonez' sleeper
train, leaving Moscow (Byelorruski station) at 16:50 and
arriving Warsaw (Centralna station) at 08:40 next
day. The train has modern air-conditioned Polish
sleeping-cars with 1st class 2-bed and 2nd class 3-bed
compartments with carpet and washbasin. A Russian
restaurant car is attached between Moscow and Brest (on
the Polish frontier) for dinner and a Polish buffet car
is attached between Terespol (the other side of the
frontier) and Warsaw.
Day 2: Travel
from Warsaw to Cologne on the 'Jan Kiepura' sleeper
train,
leaving Warsaw Centralna at 17:55 and
arriving in Cologne at 06:14 next morning. The
Jan Kiepura has modern
Polish sleeping-cars
(1- 2- & 3-bed standard rooms with washbasin, 1- &
2-bed deluxe rooms with private shower & toilet,
highly recommended),
couchettes (more basic sleeping accommodation in 4-
& 6-berth compartments) and reclining seats (not
recommended). There is no restaurant car,
but feel free to take your own picnic, wine or beer on
board! Spend the morning
in Warsaw.
Day 3:
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne daily at 07:45, arriving
Brussels Midi at
10:01.
Day 3: A
Eurostar
leaves Brussels
Midi at 11:29 daily
and arrives London St Pancras at 12:26.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleepers: The EuroNight 'Jan Kiepura'
has two modern air-conditioned Polish sleeping-cars,
with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, either deluxe with shower & toilet or standard with washbasin...
3-bed sleeper with beds
folded out... Photo courtesy of Tobias Köhler.
3-bed sleeper with beds
folded away. Photo courtesy of Tobias Köhler
4-berth couchettes: Ideal for families.
Much more space per person than 6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes: A very economical
option, far better than a seat for just a few euros
more...
Above: The
Jan Kiepura also has two couchette cars, with 4 & 6
berth compartments. There are toilets &
washrooms at the end of the corridor...
How much does it cost?
1.
London to Cologne
by Eurostar+Thalys:
Fares start at £87 return (£59 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne)
or £65 one-way (£51 London-Brussels + £14
Brussels-Cologne)
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
Click the button (or
click here) and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
Assuming you're okay with the price, you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
whose staff are used
to making more exotic bookings like this. They are
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets
using this form.
If you need train tickets within Russia, for example
Moscow to St Petersburg,
click here.
Don't forget to arrange your
Russian visa and
Belarus transit visa.
How to buy
tickets, the full story...
You can't book
train travel from London to Moscow online, you need to buy
tickets from a booking agency by phone or email. Bookings
for the Cologne-Moscow sleeper open 60 days in
advance, you can't buy tickets until reservations open.
Here are the best agencies to use for buying train tickets to
Moscow:
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturdays. You can
use this special booking form, just email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form. European Rail
is an experienced London-based booking agency equipped with the
German Railways reservation system and whose staff are
familiar with bookings like this. When they
get your form, they will make all the reservations (without
obligation) and call you
back to confirm the price and take your credit card details.
There's a £25 booking fee per transaction.
From overseas
call +44 20 7619 1083, tickets can be sent outside the UK if
necessary.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday.
Prices are the same as those charged by European Rail, though
an advantage is that DB don't charge a booking fee,
just a 2% fee for credit cards. However, their staff aren't
always as familiar with more exotic bookings like this, so
make sure you are clear about exactly which trains you want to
book before calling.
Above: The
destination board on the Moskva Express.
Photo courtesy of Chris Sparks
The luxury option: One of the four special deluxe sleeper
compartments on the Moskva Express from Berlin to Moscow, 1 or 2 berth with
private shower/toilet.
Photo courtesy of
António M. Tavares
This option is useful if you want to stop off in Paris or Berlin on the
way, or need to leave London later in the day because of work
commitments or the need to travel to London from remoter parts of the UK.
It runs daily for most of the year, but only 4 times a week in
winter, and from around £170 one-way it costs a bit more than the
cheapest option via Warsaw. If you have the money it can
also be the deluxe option, as a luxury sleeper (with double
bed!) is available on the Berlin-Moscow train and deluxe sleeper
compartments with private shower/toilet are available on the
Paris-Berlin overnight train.
Train times London ► Moscow
Day 1, travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 15:29, arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 18:56.
It's a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Day 1, travel from Paris to Berlin
by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof
at 09:02 next
morning. This train runs on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 26 March 2009, then daily from 27 March to 2 November 2009, then
on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again. The 'Perseus' has sleepers, couchettes, seats
and a bistro car,
see the photos & information below
or click for more pictures and information about this train.
Day 2: Travel
from Berlin to Moscow on the 'Moskva Express'. This runs
on Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays until 31 May
2009, then daily except Mondays & Saturdays from 1 June to
18 October 2009,
then Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays again from 19 October onwards. It leaves Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 15:15 and arrives in Moscow Byelorruski at
20:35 the next day (Day 3 from London). You can double-check the days when
this train runs using
http://bahn.hafas.de.
The 'Moskva Express' uses the same air-conditioned Russian
sleeping-cars as the Brussels-Moscow train, with
comfortable 1, 2 and 3-berth compartments with washbasin,
see the pictures
above. A Russian
restaurant car runs between Brest and Moscow serving
inexpensive meals, drinks and snacks.
: A special luxury
sleeping-car of the Russian Railways is attached to the 'Moskva
Express', introduced in 2004. It has just four
sleeper compartments, each with private shower and toilet, TV/DVD
entertainment system, by day there is a sofa and coffee
table, by night there is a full-width double bed plus
additional single upper bunk if required. The Berlin-Moscow one-way fare in this luxury
sleeping-car is about 344 euros (£245) per person for two
people sharing, or 448 euros (£320) for sole occupancy.
Try this link for more information about this luxury
service, and see the photo opposite. Traveller
António Tavares reports
that he was the only passenger, the other 3 compartments
were empty - the car has a fancy bar area, which was
closed on his trip, hot meals were included and served in
his compartment, but only from Brest to Moscow.
Train times Moscow ► London
Day 1: Travel
from Moscow to Berlin on the 'Moskva Express'. This runs
on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays until 30
May 2009, then daily except Fridays & Sundays from 1 June to
14
October 2009,
then on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays again from 15
October onwards. It leaves Moscow Byelorruski at
08:00 and arrives in Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 09:00 the following
day (day 2). The 'Moskva Express' uses the same
air-conditioned Russian sleeping-cars as the
Brussels-Moscow train, with comfortable 1, 2 & 3-berth
compartments with washbasin, see the pictures above.
It also has a special
luxury sleeping-car with 1- and 2-bed rooms with en
suite shower and toilet, TV/DVD system and full-width
double bed. Spend the day in Berlin.
Day 2, travel from Berlin to Paris by City Night Line sleeper
train 'Perseus', leaving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 19:58 and
arriving Paris Gare de l'Est at 09:30 next morning.
This train runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 25 March 2009, then daily from 26 March to 1 November 2009,
then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again. The
'Perseus' has ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and modern sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth standard
rooms with washbasin or
deluxe rooms with private shower & toilet, highly
recommended), plus a bistro-restaurant car,
see the photos & information below.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
Day 3, travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar,
leaving Paris Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St
Pancras at 12:29.
One-way fare in 3-bed
sleeper about £130 per person.
One-way fare in
2-bed sleeper about £160 per person.
One-way fare in a
single-bed sleeper about £250.
Special deluxe
sleeper with shower/toilet, one-way:
£265 per person
for 2 people sharing, £350 for sole occupancy.
How to
buy tickets from London to Moscow, the easy way...
Click the button (or
click here) and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
Assuming you're okay with the price, you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
whose staff are used
to making more exotic bookings like this. They are
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets
using this form.
If you need train tickets within Russia, for example
Moscow to St Petersburg,
click here.
Don't forget to arrange your
Russian visa and
Belarus transit visa.
How to buy
tickets, the full story...
You can't book
train travel from London to Moscow online, you need to buy
tickets from a booking agency by phone or email. Bookings
for the Cologne-Moscow sleeper open 60 days in
advance, you can't buy tickets until reservations open.
Here are the best agencies to use for buying train tickets to
Moscow:
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturdays. You can
use this special booking form, just email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form. European Rail
is an experienced London-based booking agency equipped with the
German Railways reservation system and whose staff are
familiar with bookings like this. When they
get your form, they will make all the reservations (without
obligation) and call you
back to confirm the price and take your credit card details.
There's a £25 booking fee per transaction.
From overseas
call +44 20 7619 1083, tickets can be sent outside the UK if
necessary.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday.
Prices are the same as those charged by European Rail, though
an advantage is that DB don't charge a booking fee,
just a 2% fee for credit cards. However, their staff aren't
always as familiar with more exotic bookings like this, so
make sure you are clear about exactly which trains you want to
book before calling.
In December 2007, the Cologne-Moscow sleeping-car
described
in option 1 above was extended to start in Amsterdam.
This is a now good route if you're coming from Scotland, the North
of England or East Anglia, as you can by-pass London by taking an
overnight cruise ferry direct to
Holland, spend a day exploring Amsterdam, then head off to
Russia!
Above: The destination board proudly
displayed on the side of the air-conditioned sleeping-car
between Moscow & Amsterdam...
Scotland, north of England, East Anglia ► Moscow...
Day 1, Take a train from your local station to either Harwich,
Hull or Newcastle, whichever is most convenient for where you
live. Transfer to the overnight cruise ferry from
Harwich/Hull/Newcastle to Holland, with bars, restaurants &
comfortable en suite cabins, arriving next morning. For
details of timetables, fares & how to buy tickets for travel
to Amsterdam via each of these ferry routes,
see the UK-Netherlands page.
Day 2, spend the day
in Amsterdam, all the sights are easy walking distance from
Centraal station. Left luggage lockers are available
at Centraal station, 4-6 euro for 24 hours, paid for with
Maestro or Visa cards.
Day 2 evening:
The direct Russian sleeping-car leaves Amsterdam Centraal at
19:01 daily, arriving Moscow 2 nights later at 10:59 (day 4), passing
through Germany, Poland & Belarus. It has 1, 2 & 3 bed
compartments with washbasin, see the
photos above.
Information on the Russian Railways website.
Moscow ► Scotland, north of
England, East Anglia...
Day 1:
The Moscow-Amsterdam sleeper
leaves Moscow at 21:09, arriving in Amsterdam 2 nights later
(day 3) at 10:29, passing through Belarus, Poland & Germany.
Day 3: Spend the day in Amsterdam, left luggage lockers are
available.
Day 3, evening: Travel overnight by cruise ferry from
Holland to either Harwich, Hull or Newcastle, whichever is
most convenient for where you live, and next morning (day 4)
transfer to the station and take a train home. For full
details of train & ferry times and how to buy tickets for each
of these routes,
see the UK-Netherlands page.
You can't book train travel from
Amsterdam to Moscow online, so you need to call an agency to buy
tickets by phone. Remember that bookings open 60 days in
advance, and you can't buy tickets until reservations open!
The best agencies to call for this journey are
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66
(lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee) or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (08:30-18:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £25
booking fee but can sometimes have more time to help). For more
information about how to book European trains, see the
How to buy European train tickets page. If you are making a return journey or a one-way trip inbound
from Moscow, please read the section above about
booking westbound trains from
Moscow to London, as the same applies to this option.
Don't forget to arrange your Russian visa
and Belarus transit visa.
Above: The
Paris-Moscow sleeping-car, sandwiched between the
Paris-Berlin & Paris-Munich portions of the City Night
Line sleeper train about to leave Paris Gare de l'Est...
Above: A
compartment in the Moscow-Paris sleeping-car. Photo courtesy of John Delikanakis
Above: On
board the Paris-Moscow sleeper. The china and
serviette stand are proudly branded 'Paris-Moscow'! Photo courtesy of
John Delikanakis
This is a new option, although not a cheap one, thanks to
a new twice-weekly direct sleeping-car between Paris &
Moscow taking 2 nights and introduced in December 2007 -
See news video about the start of the new Paris-Moscow
train service.
The last direct Paris-Moscow sleeping-cars were withdrawn in 1994,
having been introduced by the Soviets in the 1960s.
Today's Paris-Moscow train consists of the same type of modern
air-conditioned 200km/h sleeping-car used on the Cologne-Moscow train,
see the photos above. It's safe, comfortable, and very
civilised.
Information on the Russian Railways website.
Travel from Paris to Moscow by twice-weekly (3 times weekly in
summer) direct air-conditioned sleeping-car of the Russian
Railways, leaving Paris Gare de 'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Moscow
Byelorruski station at 20:35 two nights (about 48 hours) later.
The Paris-Moscow sleeping-car leaves Paris attached to the existing
Paris-Berlin sleeper arriving Berlin just after 8am next
morning. It is transferred in Berlin to the 'Moskva
Express' leaving Berlin at 15:22 and arriving Moscow at 20:35
the day after (day 3 from Paris/London). You can leave the
train to explore Berlin during the layover period. The
sleeper leaves Paris on Mondays & Saturdays all year round,
also on Thursdays from 4 June to 19 Oct 2009.
Train times Moscow ► London
Travel from Moscow to Paris by twice-weekly (3 times weekly in
summer) direct air-conditioned sleeping-car of the Russian
Railways, leaving Moscow Byelorruski station at 08:00 and
arriving in Paris Gare de l'Est at 09:30 two nights (48 hours) later.
The Moscow-Paris sleeping-car leaves Moscow attached to the
Moscow-Berlin 'Moskva Express' arriving Berlin at 9am next
morning. It is transferred in Berlin to the existing
Berlin-Paris sleeper leaving Berlin at 19:58
arriving Paris 09:30 next morning. You can leave the train
to explore Berlin during the layover period. The sleeper
leaves Moscow on Thursdays & Sundays all year round, it also
runs on Tuesdays from 2 June to 17 October 2009.
Take any suitable
Eurostar to
London. The 11:13 Eurostar arrives London St Pancras at
12:29.
How to
buy tickets for the Paris-Moscow sleeper...
Here's the catch -
reservations for the Paris-Moscow
sleeping-car aren't held on the French Railways reservation
system as normal, but on the Russian system, so aren't
bookable in the normal way by UK agencies. By all means
tryDeutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66
(lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee)
or
www.europeanrail.com on 020 7619 1083 (08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £25 booking fee).
If you have no luck, try Russian agency
www.realrussia.co.uk,
as they can access the Russian Railways reservation system
that holds berths for this train. Feedback
would be appreciated if you manage to book this train! If
you are making a return journey or a one-way trip inbound from
Moscow, please read the section below about booking westbound
trains from Moscow to London. Don't forget to arrange
your
Russian visa and
Belarus transit visa.
If you want to
avoid Belarus to save the cost of another visa, the quickest
and easiest way is
probably south through Ukraine, as Ukraine no longer requires
a visa for UK or EU citizens. Going via Kiev will take at least
24 hours longer than travelling on a direct train from western
Europe to Moscow via Belarus, so don't go this way just to save the visa fee, it probably
won't save you much money overall. Go this way if you don't
mind the extra day or two, and want to see Kiev on the way.
First,
see the London to Ukraine page for trains
between London and Kiev via Berlin. There is a direct
train from Berlin to Kiev, or you can take an earlier train to
Warsaw and pick up the Warsaw-Kiev sleeper there.
Neither the Berlin-Kiev nor Warsaw-Kiev train go through
Belarus, they both pass straight from Poland into Ukraine.
Then use the
online booking
form below
to find overnight trains between Kiev and Moscow and buy
tickets online.
London to Moscow via Vilnius & Riga...
You can also travel from London to
Moscow via the Baltic states. This avoids Belarus and
the need to obtain a Belarus transit visa, although there is
no real problem going to Russia via Belarus (whatever you
might have heard) and the extra time
and effort required to go around Belarus will almost certainly be
far more than the
cost of the visa. Going via the Baltic states will take
at least 2 days longer, and the journey can
only be pre-booked from the UK as far as Vilnius so you will
have to book onward travel when you get to Vilnius. However,
if you have the time and want to see Latvia, Lithuania and
perhaps Estonia on the way, it can be an option to consider.
See the London to Lithuania page for
trains London-Warsaw-Vilnius. From Vilnius, there is a
daily train to Moscow but this passes through Belarus.
There is an overnight train from Vilnius to St Petersburg
which does not pass through Belarus.
Alternatively, travel from Vilnius to Riga by regular bus (www.eurolines.lv)
or occasional train (see the
Lithuania page or use
www.poezda.net),
then take the daily overnight sleeper train from Riga to
either Moscow or
St Petersburg, neither of which pass through Belarus.
The booking form
below will give you train times for the
Vilnius-Moscow, Vilnius-St Petersburg, Vilnius-Riga, Riga-Moscow
& Riga-St
Petersburg trains and let you buy tickets for these trains
online. There are also buses from Riga to Tallinn and
overnight trains from Tallinn to Moscow, see the
Estonia page.
London to Moscow via Stockholm & Helsinki...
Although
it's slower (it will take 4 nights), you can reach Moscow
travelling by sea from Newcastle to Gothenburg, train from
Gothenburg to Stockholm, overnight ship from Stockholm to
Helsinki, and overnight train Moscow. Go this way if you
have a hankering to see Scandinavia en route! See the Finland
page for details of both London-Helsinki options and
Helsinki-Moscow/St Petersburg trains.
London to Moscow via Stockholm & Tallinn...
Another
possibility is travelling by sea from Newcastle to Gothenburg,
train from Gothenburg to Stockholm, overnight ship from
Stockholm to Tallinn in Estonia, and then overnight train
Moscow. See the London to Estonia page
for details.
There are several good ways to travel from the UK to St
Petersburg by train:
Option 1: London to St Petersburg via Berlin.
This is the most direct route, and the cheapest (by a small
margin) for one-way trips. However, it's not the fastest
or most frequent option. It uses the direct Berlin-St
Petersburg sleeper train which runs three times a week in
winter, 5 times a week in summer.
The whole trip takes 3 nights.
Option 2:
London to Moscow then Moscow to St Petersburg. This is
the fastest & most frequent option as it runs daily and can take
as little as 2 nights if you take a daytime train to St
Petersburg the same day you arrive in Moscow. However, you
can stop off in Moscow for however long you want, as the
Moscow-St Petersburg leg is ticketed separately. This
route isn't much more expensive than option 1 for one-way trips
and it's actually cheaper for return journeys as discounted
Saver return fares are available.
Option 3: London to St Petersburg with a stopover in Minsk.
The often-underrated capital of Belarus is worth a stop, so this
option is worth considering, especially as the whole trip still
only takes 3 nights even with 1 night in a hotel in Minsk.
Other options... You could
travel to Copenhagen, then Stockholm, take an overnight cruise
ferry to either Tallinn or Helsinki, then a train to St
Petersburg or Moscow. Slower & more complex, but much to
see on the way, a holiday in itself.
This is the direct route, using the two-or-three-times-a-week
Berlin-St Petersburg sleeper train.
Train times London ► St Petersburg
Day 1, travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 15:29, arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 18:56.
It's a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Day 1, travel from Paris to Berlin
by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving at Berlin (Hauptbahnhof)
at 09:02 next
morning. This train runs on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 26 March 2009, then daily from 27 March to 2 November 2009, then
on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again until
March 2010. The 'Perseus' has sleepers, couchettes, seats
and a bistro car,
see the photos & information below
or click for more pictures and information about this train.
Day 2:
travel from Berlin to St Petersburg by direct
sleeping-car. These leave Berlin on Fridays & Sundays until 21 May 2009, then daily except Mondays & Saturdays from 1 June
to 18 October 2009, then Fridays & Sundays
again from 19 October onwards. The sleeping-cars leave Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 15:15 and
arrive in St Petersburg (Vitebski station) at 06:15 two
nights later (Day 4 from London). The days of
running vary on certain dates, so double-check the days when
this train runs using
http://bahn.hafas.de.
This train is routed via Belarus into Russia, so you will
need both a Russian visa and a Belarus transit visa.
The sleeping-cars have 2-berth & 3-berth compartments. There is no restaurant car, so take
plenty of food and water, and your own supply of wine or
beer...
Map of St Petersburg showing Vitebski station.
Train times St Petersburg ► London
Day 1: Travel from St
Petersburg to Berlin by direct Russian sleeping-car.
These leave on Wednesdays, & Fridays
until 29 May 2009, then (subject to confirmation) daily except Thursdays & Saturdays
from 1 June to 14 October 2009, then on
Wednesdays, & Fridays again from 15 October onwards.
They leave St Petersburg (Vitebski station) at 23:55,
arriving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 09:00 two nights later
(i.e. Day 3).
You can double-check the days when
this train runs using
http://bahn.hafas.de.
The sleeping-cars have 2-berth & 3-berth compartments.
Day 2, travel from Berlin to Paris by City Night Line sleeper
train 'Perseus', leaving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 19:58 and
arriving Paris Gare de l'Est at 09:30 next morning.
This train runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 25 March 2009, then daily from 26 March to 1 November 2009,
then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again. The
'Perseus' has ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and modern sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth standard
rooms with washbasin or
deluxe rooms with private shower & toilet, highly
recommended), plus a bistro-restaurant car,
see the photos & information below.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
Day 3, travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar,
leaving Paris Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St
Pancras at 12:29.
Far left: The Berlin to St Petersburg
sleeping-cars receiving passengers in Berlin.
Left: A 3-bed sleeper compartment on the
Berlin-St Petersburg train. In this photo, the
washbasin is in the far right corner with the cover
lowered. The middle of the three bunks has been
raised slightly. Photo courtesy of Howard
Vickers.
£279 one-way, £557
return with private single-bed sleeper
No Saver
return fares available on this route, returns are
twice the one-way.
How to
buy tickets from London to St Petersburg, the easy way...
Click the button (or
click here) to see a booking form which lists all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form and email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost. If you're
okay with the price you can then give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
whose staff are used
to making more exotic bookings like this. They are
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets
using this form.
If you need train tickets within Russia, for example
Moscow to St Petersburg,
click here.
How to buy
tickets, the full story...
You can't book
train travel from London to St Petersburg online, you need to buy
tickets from a booking agency by phone or email. Bookings
for the Berlin-St Petersburg sleepers open 90 days in
advance, you can't buy tickets until reservations open.
Bookings for the westbound St Petersburg-Berlin sleeper open 45 days
before departure. Here are the best agencies to use for buying train tickets to
St Petersburg:
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday. You can
use this special booking form, just email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form. European Rail
is an experienced London-based booking agency equipped with the
German Railways reservation system and whose staff are
familiar with bookings like this. When they
get your form, they will make all the reservations (without
obligation) and call you
back to confirm the price and take your credit card details.
There's a £25 booking fee per transaction.
From overseas
call +44 20 7619 1083, tickets can be sent outside the UK if
necessary.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday.
Prices are the same as those charged by European Rail, though
an advantage is that DB don't charge a booking fee,
just a 2% fee for credit cards. However, their staff aren't
always as familiar with more exotic bookings like this, so
make sure you are clear about exactly which trains you want to
book before calling.
This is the
fastest and most frequent option, using daily direct trains
from Cologne or Warsaw to Moscow, then one of many Moscow-St
Petersburg trains. For a return trip, this is the
cheapest option.
Travel from Moscow to St Petersburg
by any of the many overnight or daytime trains. There are a couple of daytime
trains, including the high-speed 'Aurora' with a 5 hour 15
journey time but most expresses run overnight. The best
Russian Railways overnight train is
the famous 'Krasnaya Strela' (Red Arrow) leaving
Moscow (Leningradski Vokzal) at 23:55 daily, arriving in St
Petersburg (Moskovski Vokzal) at 07:55 next morning. The
Krasnaya Strela has 2-berth and 4-berth sleeping cars plus two
luxury sleeping-cars with 1- & 2-bed rooms with private toilet
shower and TV/DVD entertainment.
The fare is about 1,295 rubles (£25 or $45) in kupé (4-berth
sleeper), 2,622 rubles (£49 or $90) spalny vagon (2-berth
sleeper) or 5,964 rubles (£112 or $206) luxury sleeper with
private shower and toilet. The Krasnaya Strela has now
been joined by a couple of other premium sleeper trains, train
3/4 'Ekspress' and train 5/6 'Nicholaevsky Express'. Since 2005, there's
also a privately-run luxury train, the Grand Express, with
fares from 3,300 rubles.
Click here for info on the Grand Express.
To buy tickets,
first arrange your London to Moscow tickets as
shown above.
Then book an
internal Russian train between Moscow & St Petersburg
using the booking
form below which links to Russian rail ticketing & visa
agency Real Russia.
Above:
Train number 1/2, the famous Krasnaya Strela (Red
Arrow) between St Petersburg & Moscow. Photo
courtesy of Chris Sparks
Above:
A first class 2-berth sleeper on the Krasnaya Strela
between Moscow & St Petersburg. Photo courtesy of
Chris Sparks
If you'd like to
visit the capital of Belarus for 24 hours or more on the way,
this option is daily with cheap Saver return fares available.
It doesn't cost much more, either.
Travel from
London to Minsk as shown in the section below.
Spend a night &
day in Minsk, or longer if you'd like.
A sleeper train
leaves Minsk at 17:40 arriving St Petersburg Vitebski station
at 08:52. It has 2-berth & 4-berth sleepers.
Returning, a
sleeper train leaves St Petersburg Vitebski at 19:08 arriving
Minsk at 09:10. It has 2-berth & 4-berth sleepers.
Spend a day and
night in Minsk, then travel from Minsk to London as shown in
the section below
How much does it cost?
1. London to
Cologne
by Eurostar+Thalys:
Fares start at £87 return (£59 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne)
or £65 one-way (£51 London-Brussels + £14
Brussels-Cologne)
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
London to St
Petersburg via Stockholm & Helsinki...
If
you feel like seeing a bit of Scandinavia on the way to
Russia, you could travel from London to St Petersburg via Stockholm and
Helsinki. This will take 3 nights / 4 days. See the
Finland page for information on the journey from London to
Helsinki and the connections to St Petersburg.
London to St
Petersburg via Stockholm & Tallinn...
Alternatively,
you could travel from London to St Petersburg via Stockholm and
Tallinn. See the Estonia page for information on the journey from London to
Tallinn, and the overnight sleeper train linking Tallinn and St
Petersburg.
On its way! The direct Belarus Railways
sleeping-car to Minsk gathers speed down the
platform...
Right:
A cosy 1, 2 or 3 berth sleeper compartment in the
sleeper to Minsk. It's seen here in daytime
mode (although the top bunk is still folded out).
Train times
London ► Minsk
Day 1: Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 12:57, arriving in Brussels at 16:03.
Day 1: Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels at 16:55 and arriving in
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 19:15.
Day 1: Travel from Cologne to Minsk by
modern, air-conditioned Belarus Railways sleeping-car, leaving
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 22:28. After travelling across
Germany and Poland, it arrives in Minsk at 23:36 the next
day (Day 2 from London). Take you own
supplies, including beer or wine if you like. Internally,
the Belarus Railways sleeping-car is identical
to the Russian Cologne-Moscow sleeping-car
shown above
(which also call at Minsk on their way to Moscow in the same
train), with 1, 2 &
3-bed compartments, but externally it is pale blue with a white
stripe.
Train times Minsk
► London
Day 1: Travel from Minsk to
Cologne by direct sleeping-car, leaving
Minsk daily at 06:25, crossing Poland and Germany and arriving in Cologne at 06:14
the next day. The sleeper has 1 2 & 3 bed
compartments, identical to the Russian Cologne-Moscow
sleeping-car
shown above.
Day 2:
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne daily at 07:45, arriving
Brussels Midi at
10:01.
Day 2: Travel from Brussels to London by
Eurostar,
leaving Brussels at 11:29
and arriving London St Pancras at 12:26.
Fares...
1. London to
Cologne
by Eurostar+Thalys:
Fares start at £87 return (£59 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne)
or £65 one-way (£51 London-Brussels + £14
Brussels-Cologne)
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
Click the button (or
click here) and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price, you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
whose staff are used
to making more exotic bookings like this. They are
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets
using this form.
If you need train tickets within Belarus & Russia, for example
Minsk to Moscow or St Petersburg,
click here.
Don't forget to arrange your
Belarus visa.
How to buy
tickets, the full story...
You cannot
book this journey online, only by phone. Bookings
for the Cologne-Minsk sleeper open 60 days before
departure, you can't book before reservations open. The best UK agencies to use
to book tickets to Minsk are either
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open
09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday,
no booking fee, 2% credit card fee but none for debit
cards) or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (08:30-18:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £25 booking fee but are often more
familiar with bookings like this). If you are making a
return journey (or a one-way inbound journey) see the note
above about booking trains back from Russia, the same
applies to journeys back from Minsk. You
can book westbound Minsk-Warsaw or Minsk-Berlin tickets
using the
online form below.
What tickets
can this system sell? This system can sell
tickets for any mainline train journey within
Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus,
Lithuania, Kazakhstan and the other ex-Soviet
states. It will also sell tickets for journeys
starting in those countries heading outwards, for
example Moscow to Berlin or St Petersburg to
Helsinki. Reservations officially open 45
days before departure, but Real Russia allow you to
request tickets up to 180 days ahead and they will
contact you for payment when the price is confirmed.
Can
anyone buy tickets using this system? Yes,
you can buy tickets online with a credit card
whether you live in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia,
or wherever.
How
are tickets delivered? Tickets can be
collected free of charge at Real Russia's offices in
Moscow or St Petersburg, or an e-ticket can be
emailed to you so you can collect the ticket from
most main stations in Russia. For journeys
starting in other ex-Soviet countries, tickets can be sent to UK or
EU addresses for a £12-£15 charge, or couriered to
any address worldwide, also for an extra charge.
Who run this
service?Is it reliable? This
service is provided by Real Russia, a reputable
joint UK-Russian company which has got good reports
from users. Real Russia can also sort out your
Russian visa.
Booking tips: Look for a train marked 'Firm'
if there is one. 'Firmeny' trains are the best
'quality' trains, with modern coaches and good
on-board service. 'TBC' means the system
cannot provide a price for that particular train
automatically, but they'll contact you with a cost
by phone or email.
Is
it cheaper to buy at the ticket office?
Real Russia charge the normal Russian Railways fare
plus a 15-23% mark-up to cover their costs (all
agencies charge a mark-up, in fact Real Russia is
one of the cheapest agencies).
There's a 2.5% charge for credit card payments,
but you can easily avoid this by calling their UK office
to pay by debit card when your tickets are
confirmed. The fares shown include the
mark-up, but not the credit card charge. By
all means buy tickets at the ticket office if you're
flexible, but Russian trains can get fully-booked so
it's good to pre-book if you want a specific date
and train. Russian Railways offer online
booking but it's only in Russian, so it can be worth
the extra to quickly and simply organise your
Russian rail tickets in English.
To visit Russia, you'll
need a tourist visa. All the direct sleeper trains
from Cologne, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin & Warsaw to
Moscow pass though Belarus on
the way, and so do the Berlin/Warsaw to St Petersburg
trains, so you'll also need a Belarus transit visa.
How to arrange a Russian visa...
Always check
the latest visa information, as it changes from time to
time, but here's a quick run-down of the
arrangements as at 2007:
Tourist, transit or business visa? A tourist visa
allows stays of up to 30 days, and is probably what you need.
A business visa allows a longer stay, but is more expensive.
A transit visa allows up to 10 days in transit if you're
passing straight through Russia, but you aren't allowed to
spend time in Moscow.
When to
apply? Visas are only issued 90 days or less
before your intended date of entry to Russia, so no need to
apply before than. Ideally, allow a month for the
visa processing, but if you have less time than this,
don't worry, various agencies offer 'express' services that will help you get a visa
much quicker.
Letters of invitation & visa support: A hangover
from Soviet times is that to get a visa you need supporting documentation
('visa support'). In theory, this must be a
letter of invitation from your travel agency, or for
independent travellers, an accommodation voucher from your hotel(s) covering every night you plan to spend in Russia.
This is ridiculously restrictive, so here's how it
really works: You go to an agency such as
www.realrussia.co.uk or one of the Russian agencies listed
above and they sell you the
necessary visa support for a small fee, which allows you to
get a visa without any hotel bookings, so you can travel freely
just as
you would in any other country. Behind the scenes, the agency
usually has an arrangement with a local
hotel, and a 'reservation' is made for you
so they can legally issue the visa support,
even though you don't pay for the hotel and everyone knows
(apart from the Russian government) that you have no intention
of ever using that reservation.
Important: Get your dates of entry/exit right! You need a
visa valid from the day you enter Russian territory (which on a sleeper
train is often the day before you arrive in Moscow) to
the day you leave Russian territory (which on a sleeper train
might be the
day after you leave Moscow). You will not be allowed
into Russia if your visa doesn't start until the following
day. When leaving Russia, you may be required to get off
the train to arrange a visa extension if you try to leave
Russia with a visa that expired the previous day. Don't
take the risk, get a visa that covers your whole stay in
Russia.
Russian visas made easy: If you live in the UK,
probably the easiest and quickest way to get a Russian visa is
from
www.realrussia.co.uk. They are a reliable UK agency which
arranges Russian
visas simply and
cheaply, including all
necessary visa support included in the price. They have already recommended by one seat61 correspondent.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through this link.
www.realrussia.co.uk can also arrange Chinese and Mongolian visas,
and train tickets too. If you have feedback on their service, please email me..!
You'll need a
Belarus transit visa if you are travelling from London to
Moscow on the direct
London-Brussels-Berlin-Warsaw-Moscow route, as all the
direct trains from Cologne, Berlin or Warsaw to Moscow or
St Petersburg pass through Belarus. However, getting
a Belarus transit visa is
quite straightforward. You'll need a tourist
visa if you plan to stop off.
You will need
to get your Russian visa before applying for the Belarus
one, although you can apply for both together if you go
through
www.realrussia.co.uk.
Cost: The
Belarusians significantly increased visa fees in June
2007 and again in August 2008. A Belarus transit visa
now costs £63 one-way
or £114 return if you arrange it yourself direct with the
embassy, or £83 one-way or £133
return arranged through
www.realrussia.co.uk. It takes 6 working days, or
there's an extra-fee express option which takes 2 days.
Ouch! Before you blame Johnny Foreigner for this,
the high costs are in retaliation for stringent visa
requirements imposed on Belarusian by the UK Foreign
Office.
For official visa information see
the Belarus embassy website,
http://belembassy.org/uk/
or call 020 7938 3677.
The embassy
address in London is 6 Kensington Court, London W8 5DL,
visa section open 09:00-12:30 Monday-Friday.
The simple way to get a Belarus transit visa: If you live in the UK,
the easiest and quickest way to get a Belarus visa is to use
www.realrussia.co.uk. Real Russia is a reliable UK agency which
arranges visas simply and
cheaply, including all
necessary visa support included in the price shown on their
site. They have already recommended by one seat61 correspondent.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through
www.realrussia.co.uk using this link.
www.realrussia.co.uk can also arrange Chinese and Mongolian visas,
and train tickets too. If you have feedback on their service, please email me!
Should you
avoid Belarus? Some people
get worked up about trying to avoid Belarus, and with the
new higher visa fees you might want
to try. Just remember that if you pay the visa fee,
you can travel quickly and simply from western Europe to
Moscow on a direct train through Belarus saving time and
expense.
Avoiding Belarus by travelling via the Baltic states means an awkward and time-consuming relay
race of trains and buses, taking at
least 48 hours longer, with two extra hotel nights.
Going via Ukraine (Ukraine no longer requires EU citizens
to buy a visa) is quicker, but will still take at least an extra 24 hours,
changing trains in Kiev and with no easy way to pre-book
the Kiev-Moscow train before you get to Kiev. In other words, the detour might be
interesting if you have the time and particularly want to
see Ukraine or Lithuania/Latvia on the way, but it will
take longer and in the end cost more than simply buying
the visa and travelling direct. To avoid Belarus by
going via Ukraine, see above.
Getting a Belarus transit visa in Moscow:
If you're travelling westbound and want to arrange a Belarus
visa in Moscow, this is easy. The Belarus embassy is at
Maroseika 17⁄6, 101990, Moscow. It's a couple of
blocks from Kitai Gorod or Lubyanka metro stations. You will
need a photocopy of your passport and Russian visa, one
passport photo, US$45 for same day visa issue or US$36 for
next day visa issue. The visa office is open 10:00-12:00
Mon, Tue, Thur & Fri and you pick up your passport and transit visa between
16:00-16:30 on those days. There's also a Belarus
consulate in St Petersburg.
Sponsored links:
Thomas Cook Timetables
There
are two truly remarkable books that are a 'must' for
serious overland travellers and an inspiration for
armchair travellers:
This is probably the most adventurous timetable ever
produced. It has train, bus & ferry times for every country in
Asia, Africa, North and South America and Australasia,
including non-European Russia, Asian Turkey, Mongolia, China and the
Trans-Siberian Railway. It costs £13.99 from any branch of Thomas
Cook or you can buy it online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com.
Alternatively, buy the
independent traveller's edition at Amazon.co.uk,
Overseas Timetable summer 2009 edition.
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe...
This is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at Amazon.co.uk with worldwide delivery. See an extract from the map
Definitely take a good guidebook,
and a phrasebook may be a good idea too. I think the Lonely Planets
and Rough Guides are about the best out there for the
independent traveller, and you will not regret buying one!
My own book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe
based on this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and is available
from Amazon.co.uk with shipping worldwide.
Click the images to buy the book
from
Amazon.co.uk...
Or buy the Lonely
Planet guides direct from
the
Lonely Planet website, with shipping worldwide.
Hotels
in Moscow, St Petersburg or elsewhere in
Russia...
A guidebook like the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides will point
you at some good hotels in each town or city when you get
there, or you can pre-book a hotel using the search box below. This links to
www.hotelscombined.com, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere,
Asiarooms and many
others) to find just about the widest range of hotels with the cheapest rates on the net. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide.
Travel insurance is boring, but a necessity, so
never travel without it. Make sure your cover is adequate, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover,
from a reliable insurer. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Direct Line,
Columbus Direct & the Environmental Transport Association
(click the banner below).
I've used Direct Line myself and on one occasion, successfully
claimed back the cost of non-refundable Eurostar & trainhotel
tickets to Spain when we cancelled the trip because my mother
fell ill. ETA offer discounts on insurance for
non-flying trips, so give them a try too although I have yet
to use them myself.
Feedback from
using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome!
UK citizens travelling in Europe should carry a European
Health Insurance Card. This replaces the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available free
from
www.ehic.org.uk and entitles you to free or reduced rate
health care if you become ill or get injured in many European
countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the UK's NHS.
Right:
A cosy 1, 2 or 3 berth sleeper compartment in the
sleeper to Minsk. It's seen here in daytime
mode (although the top bunk is still folded out).
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see