My Custom Tour Details

Russian Visas

Visitors to St. Petersburg who are cruise ship passengers who tour with www.RussiantourGuide.com do not need a Russian tourist visa !

All other visitors to the Russian Federation must have a tourist visa.

Getting a Russian Federation tourist visa is easy.

You must:

• Have a document called an “invitation“.  www.RussiantourGuide.com  obtains the “invitation” for most of our clients*
• Have a letter from us stating that we are responsible for your tours during your visit to St. Petersburg, Moscow or other Russian city. www.RussiantourGuide.com provides this.
• Complete the application procedure for the Russian consulate in your country along with the appropriate fee to that Russian consualte.

You send your passport, invitation and letter, along with the fee, and the Russian consulate returns your passport to you with the visa for the Russian Federation posted inside your passport.

www.RussiantourGuide.com will assist you with each step. We have NEVER had a client rejected for a Russian visa.

Contingency Planning

Working with an experienced tour company can offer unexpected benefits.

Your guide has much experience with almost all situations which arise with tourists and can probably craft a solution for any contingency. Your guide also has phone access to support from our staff in the USA. If needed, she can contact us to assist you.

While you travel in Russia we can facilitate services such as

• Cash advance (for example in the case of a lost or stolen credit card)>
• Foreign exchange.
• Provide Russian phones for your use while visiting.
• Medical facilities with English speaking physicians in St. Petersburg

Submit Passport Details

This form allow you to easily submit the passport details for yourself or those in your party. We use the passport details to obtain “visa Free documents” for our cruise ship clients.

We use the passport details to obtain the tourist visa enabling documents (invitation and voucher) for clients who are not visiting via cruise ships.

Whether you are a cuise ship passenger to St. Petersburg or a land tour client visiting Russia and using RussiantourGuide.com as your tour provider, you will be receiving your documents from us a few days after submitting these details.

As a back up to the accuracy of this data, we encourage you to scan the picture pages of your passport(s) and email them to us so we can double check the accuracy of the details on the form.

Accuracy with travel documents to Russia is essential and www.RussiantourGuide.com cannot be responsible for complications arising from miscommunicated passport details.

Russian Holidays

The Official Russian Holidays (Observed)

• The New Year is first on the calendar and in popularity. Many celebrate it twice, on January 1 and 14 (which conesponds to January 1 in the Julian calendar, used in Russia before 1918.

• Next is February 23,  Day, known until recently as Soviet Army Day, popularly viewed as holiday for all men and closely followed by its female counter-part, Women’s Day, March 8, when women receive flowers, presents and are toasted by men.

• Mayday, until recently officially termed International Workers’ Solidarity Day, is now known as Spring and Labour Day. On some years, it occurs on or close to with Russian Orthodox Easter, so some people celebrate in church while some attend customary demonstrations.

• Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9 to commemorate the millions fallen in World War II. Flowers and wreaths are laid on wartime graves on this day, and veterans come out into the streets wearing their military orders and medals. Alas, there are fewer of them with every passing year.

• June 12 – Day of Russia.

• November 4 – Day of the National Unity is the newest Russian holiday.

• Church feasts have been reborn. Easter is celebrated nationwide, as of old, and Christmas became a day off. Muslims, Jews and Buddhists also celebrate their feasts without fear of secular authorities.

Visiting St. Petersburg Russia

For me, St. Petersburg is the perfect destination, rich with history from the days of the Great Russian Czars to the famous siege and courageous resistance by the soviets in WWII. 

This magnificent city has art to rival the art centers of Europe, palaces built by Peter I and Catherine the Great, and more. 

If you like to follow a day of sightseeing with local nightlife, St. Petersburg is the greatest. Everything is at your fingertips. It’s all here including numerous ballet companies, (St Petersburg is the home of the Russian State ballet school) classical music, and western style nightclubs.
 
St. Petersburg never sleeps. When you combine these features with the shopping that is unique to Russia, you will be sold too.

Russia Travel Tips – How to Enjoy Your Russian Holiday

1. Enjoy your Russian holiday. 
2. Don’t worry about “past experiences” that may have been unfavorable. Also, don’t let the warnings and “don’ts” posted below worry you. They are there to help avoid problems.
3. Trust in your guide. Wherever we travel, we are often a bit vulnerable, since we are not in our “usual” surroundings. By having a guide, you go a long way towards “leveling the playing field.” The guides will take care of you.
4. If you want to make a change to your schedule  ask. If you want to  stop for a longer time than planned, tell your guide. If you need time to rest, take it.
5. Do something that you are not used to. Try a new food. Try a different type theatrical performance. Have your picture made with an actor on the street (remember they charge by the picture, not the session).
6. Enjoy the Russian evening meal in a Russian home that we offer. How often can you really visit a local citizen when you travel and also be invited to dinner?   
7. Take a St. Petersburg metro or Moscow metro, a mashutka ( small bus) and taxi somewhere, even if you can afford a private car for everything.   
8. Buy something beautiful in the “House of Faberge” jewelry store. You can buy a stunning amber necklace for under $50 and get the House of Faberge packaging.
9. If you like paintings, you can purchase a good one for $100 to $500 dollars. I know a little about paintings, and many paintings that we see during travels are junk. In Russia, good paintings with attractive prices are available.     
10. At least learn how to say “please” and :”thank you”  in Russian. Then use them!!
11. Take a stroll at night (assuming the weather is pretty good). If you are very timid, hire the guide for at least one evening. St. Petersburg is especially dynamic in the evening.