Cost of Vacation in Russia 2020 See Top 5 Places to Visit and Extra Details

Cost of Vacation in Russia: Where else will you want to spend your vacation this time if not Russia? A vacation in Russia will give you nothing less than a memorable experience;

one that you’ve never had in any country of the world. Russia is indeed one of the biggest and most famous countries in the world; with beautiful cities and lovely places to thrill your memory day by day during your stay.

Do you know that the longest and deepest lake in the world (Lake Baikal) is located in Russia? If you don’t want to miss the unique opportunity of getting yourself acquainted with Russia’s history and culture, take a bold vacation in Russia. In this, article, you have a lot to learn about what vacation in Russia means; cost and everything. Read on.

Money in Russia

You can exchange USD or Euro in most banks in small towns they do exchange currency in hotels or tour agencies. Visa and Master Card are accepted everywhere,

for drawing money it’s better to find City Bank, Raiffeisen or any other international bank ATM as they allow you to draw bigger sums compare to Russian banks like Sberbank or VTB.

When travel to the country or small towns rather carry cash as usually there is only one ATM and it’s often out of service or have no money.

Russia International Travel and Visa Budget

Every traveler knows that the most significant part of the budget usually gets spent on actually reaching your holiday destination. If you live halfway across the world from Russia it’ll most likely mean spending a considerable amount of your savings on flights.

For instance, if one looks at the prices right now, a return flight from New York to Moscow for March 2019 can cost as much as $600-700, while coming from London will set you back $300-400.

On top of this, you’ll also most likely need a visa if you’re coming from the West: U.S. citizens need to pay $90 for a single-entry tourist visa while UK citizens are required to fork out £70 ($91),

plus an additional service charge of 38.40 GBP ($50). Too bad Fan IDs won’t work next year. Spare a thought for us poor Russians – we also need to pay to enter the U.S. and UK.

Local travel Budget

Once you’ve landed, getting around is unlikely to eat much of your budget. A one-way ticket from one of Moscow’s airports to the city center via Aeroexpress trains costs 500 rubles ($8) and even less (420 rubles or $6.4) if you buy it online in advance.

Hopping on and off the Moscow metro won’t break the bank either: a Troika card requires 50 rubles ($0.76) as a deposit and will cut your travel costs to just 36 rubles ($0.55) per ride. Taxis can be pricey, but only if you stop them on the street. Uber, Yandex, and similar taxi hire apps are far cheaper.

One thing that should be arranged in advance is traveling between cities. A one-way express train economy ticket from Moscow to the country’s cultural capital St. Petersburg, for instance, may set you back 3,500 rubles ($53) while a flight to Olympic host city Sochi can be as little as $39 (Pobeda for March 2019) if you’re organized and book ahead. Want to see Kamchatka? Expect to pay  $300 (Moscow to Vladivostok one-way flight, S7 for March 2019).

Budget for Accommodation 

Probably one of the most frustrating things is booking suitable accommodation. There are hundreds of low-budget hostels, as well as hotels for every need, so here everything is up to you.

Cheap options can be found in hostels away from the city center ($10-40 per night) but if you want to soak up life in the center be prepared to part with $100-200 upwards, depending on the location of the hotel and its rating.

For instance, a two-night stay in a decent hotel not far from the Tretyakov Gallery can burn a $150 hole in your pocket.

But if you have spent and want to live like celebrities and sheiks, the Four Seasons Hotel Moscow is an excellent choice. This is probably the city’s most expensive luxury hotel and the closest to the Kremlin – get ready to break with $500 for a night.

Medical Insurance

Public and private healthcare services are available to travelers in Russia. Previously, the UK and Russia had an agreement that meant UK residents were able to use their European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) to access healthcare in Russia. However, this is no longer the case, so you must make sure you have the appropriate medical travel insurance cover.

Sightseeing and Entertainment

A holiday is indeed a time to enjoy oneself and in Russia, there are plenty of things to do – from plunging into the country’s history and culture, visiting museums and ballet, to enjoying the vibrant nightlife in one of the many clubs and bars in the cities you visit.

Considering going to the famous Bolshoi Theater? A ticket to the opera or ballet might cost anywhere from 3,500 ($53) to 15,000 rubles ($230).

Want to visit the museums and galleries? The entry fee can range from 100 rubles ($1.5) in smaller museums to 700 rubles ($11) in bigger ones, but on average be prepared to part with 400-500 rubles ($6-8).

Entry to the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, for instance, is 400 rubles ($6), and the ticket to the main museum complex of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg is 700 rubles ($11).

This not taking into account guided tours or audio guides – prices for these vary but are generally around 200-300 rubles ($3-5) for renting an audio guide and 400 rubles ($6) for joining a group with a guide.

River cruises and bus tours can also range in price, but quite affordable ones can be found for no higher than 400 rubles ($6) for cruises and around 1,500-2,000 rubles ($23-30) for bus tours. Private guides are also available and can set you back about 500-700 rubles ($7-10) per hour in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Bars and clubs – if you fancy winding down after a busy day sightseeing you can find dirt cheap speakeasies and high-end bars to have fun in(prices start at about 200 rubles, that’s $3, for a drink).

In some places, the entry might be free while in posher joints it can cost 500 rubles ($7.6). During concerts and special events, the fee might be higher.

Top 5 Places to Visit:

1. The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

The State Hermitage is one of the largest of art and historical museums in the world, the Federal State Institution of Culture. The tourists visiting St. Petersburg begin their acquaintance of the city from it.

The State Hermitage occupies seven buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Great (Old) Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre, the Menshikov Palace and the General Staff Building.

The collection of the State Hermitage Museum numbers about three million works of art and monuments of world culture. The collection includes paintings, sculptures and works of applied art, archaeological finds and numismatic material.

2. Lake Baikal

3. Kamchatka Peninsula

This area is located in the far east of Russia and sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. Here you will find the Valley of the Geisers, lakes of acid, volcanoes, and plenty of grizzlies.

4. Trans-Siberian Railway

Part of the longest railway system in the world, the classic Trans-Siberian railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, a city near Russia’s borders with China and North Korea.

Begun in 1891 by Tsar Alexander III and completed by his son, Tsar Nicholas II, in 1916, the line is known as the route of the Tsars.

Most travelers use the train as overnight accommodation from one destination to the next. The train features first-, second- and third-class sleepers, some with private bathrooms and showers.

5. Kizhi Island

Located in Karelia, a region in Northwestern Russia that borders Finland and the White Sea, Kizhi Island is best known for its incredible open-air museum. Karelians have lived in the region since the 13th century, torn between the cultures of the East and the West.

The museum’s collection features the 120-foot high Church of the Transfiguration of Our Savior, a structure made famous by its 22 domes.

Other tourist attractions include dozens of wooden houses, windmills, chapels and barns. The peasant culture is represented with craft demonstrations and folk ensembles.

Cost of Food

As with hotels, the cost of dining out is down to you. Grabbing a coffee might cost 120-400 rubles ($2-6), lunch in an average cafe might set you back 400-600 rubles ($6-10), and a fancy dinner in a good restaurant – anywhere between 700-2,500 rubles ($11-38) per person depending on your taste.

Dining at the famous White Rabbit restaurant, considered among the world’s top 50 restaurants, will mean spending at the very least $40 per head.

Popular Foods in Russia

Russian food is known for its hearty and filling nature. Many of the national dishes are derived from peasant foods and make use of readily available staples that can withstand the country’s harsh climate.

Many of the dishes are made from potatoes, poultry, mushrooms, and fish. The meals often include soups and stews that combine meats and vegetables into one hearty dish.

• Pelmeni: These are popular meat-filled dumplings that are most common in Siberia and Ural. The dough is made with flour and water and occasionally egg is added. The meat filling is often made with minced pork, beef, or lamb.
• Piroshki: These small pies are made with doughy buns that can be filled with either a savory or sweet filling. They are either baked or fried and are great as a filling snack or as an accompaniment to a meal.
• Vinegret: This salad is made from boiled beets, potatoes, carrots, and vegetables and is served with a vinegar dressing. It’s a popular New Years’ eve dish for many Russians.

Average Total Costs

While it’s difficult to predict how much each particular person would need to make a trip to Russia a memorable experience, experts have found that tourists tend to spend around 144,000 rubles ($2,203) on average for a seven to eight days in the country (according to the Analytical Center for the government of Russian Federation).

The largest share of this sum goes on arranging international travel (24 percent), accommodation (23 percent), food (19 percent), and travel within the country (9 percent).

If you’ve been thinking about visiting Russia but not sure about your money situation, I strongly believe that this article is of huge help to you.  Take your time and calculate your budget and make a decision to Visit Russia today.

CSN Team.