Travel advice for Russia
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for visiting Russia
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The train and bus network is extensive and largely efficient, with up to twenty trains a day in each direction connecting the two main cities. Express trains such as Sapsan, Aurora and Er-200 whisk passengers from one city to the other in under five hours in the early evening, but cheapest, and most atmospheric, are overnight trains, a quintessential Russian experience, which take around eight hours. Trains are generally safe, reliable and cheap (one-way from approx R600 seated only, R1000 in a couchette). Buy tickets in advance from Leningradskiy station in Moscow or Moskovskiy station in St Petersburg. City transport in Moscow and St Petersburg centres on the punctual metro; overground transport includes buses, trams, trolleybuses and minibuses (marshrútki). Official taxis can be very expensive, whereas unofficial ones are not necessarily safe. Bike rental in St Petersburg offers a pleasant way to see the city’s quieter outer corners, but cycle around Moscow at your peril.
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for visiting Russia
written by
Rough Guides Editors
updated 26.04.2021