By Bus

Though it's not as comfortable as traveling by train, the bus can be a decent way to travel as long as it's not the height of summer, when the vehicles can be exceedingly stuffy. Buses run on direct routes to all the towns of the Golden Ring. And, to get to two towns—Pereslavl-Zalessky and Suzdal—by public transport, you'll need to travel by bus at least part of the way.

For short-distance travel between towns, buses can't be beat. But buses are the most unreliable form of long-distance transport. Be sure to check schedules before you leave Moscow to make sure that there are plenty of return buses if you need one.

Fares & Schedules

Pereslavl-Zalessky is a three-hour journey from Moscow's Central Bus Station (Tsentralny Avtovokzal). There are four buses daily that run between the capital and Pereslavl-Zalessky; many other buses travel farther on and simply stop here. There are also four buses each day between Pereslavl-Zalessky and Sergiev-Posad (about a one-hour ride).

From Moscow it's a five-hour trip to Rostov and a 1- or 1½-hour trip to Sergiev-Posad. Vladimir is four hours and Yaroslavl is six hours from Moscow. Just one daily bus goes directly to Suzdal from Moscow, departing at 5 pm and taking five hours. It's best to take the train or bus to Vladimir and then change to a bus (running nearly every hour) between Vladimir and Suzdal.

Contact

Central Bus Station. 75 Schelkovskoe shosse, Moscow. 495/468-0400. www.mostransavto.ru/index.php?page=avshelk. Schelkovskaya.