I am starting to plan our school trip to Russia for next fall, and I am hoping to get in touch with MDM from Discovering Russia to talk prices, etc...

I searched his name but it seems that he hasn't posted on Fodors in awhile... does anyone know if he is still around? Still working for Discovering Russia?

Thanks if anyone can shed some light on this... we want to work with someone who knows Russia well. (We had a big problem last trip while working with Russian National Group,"RNG".) I can contact Discovering Russia directly, but I might get a better response here...

Why not email him directly, since he posts his email address by his name. Here is a link to a thread where he posted.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34709134

Thanks P_M- I thought to do that, but I also noticed he hasn't been on Fodors (at least with that name) recently. He may no longer be with the company.

I will most likely try to contact him via email- just thought someone might know more about where he is before I commit a faux pas.

Just saw a recent post by Marc David Miller on Frommer's in the Russian category!

a-HA! Maybe he jumped the proverbial ship... I will check out Frommers... thanks!

In case you have questions about St. Petersburg - I'd be happy to answer them

stptours - tell me about the fast train (daytime) service Moscow to StP ... schedule, cost, etc. And how do you book seats? Thx.

Hi stptours- no, I actually don't need a tour guide specifically. We are looking for a company to plan everything for our group- visas, flights, hotels, train, meals, tours, tour buses, etc... for Moscow and Piter.

If you have someone you can recommend (and its NOT Russian National Group) we'd appreciate it. We are just starting the process of planning for next fall.

Katya,

I can still be reached at [email protected]


Marc

Katya,

I can still be reached at [email protected]. Please note that I will be traveling to Washington either this week or next, Russia (Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and possibly St. Petersburg) from November 10-28, and then England and Art Basel Miami December 1-10, so try to contact me this week.

Incidentally, a number of Fodorites (both clients and others) will be in Moscow the week of Thanksgiving and I will be hosting a reception at either an artist's studio or my family's apartment (along with a viewing of a small portion of our art collection). If anyone else is interested in attending please contact me directly-the date is not yet set but it will probably be Tuesday, November 21 or Wednesday, November 22 on Leninsky Prospekt.

Best regards,

Marc David Miller

Nice to see you back here, Marc (I keep on misspelling your name!). Wish I could be in Russia in November with you!

I highly recommend www.cityrealtyrussia.com, they provided me with excellent service during my stay in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They're a Western owned company with a USA toll free number and with offices in both Moscow and St. Petersburg; they will provide you with local emergency contact information so help is always a local call away while you're there. A big point: I found their prices across the board substaintially more competitive than Discovering Russia's for the same quality of service. In fact, the quality of the rooms, transfers services, and tours with City Realty were top, and the turnover time in preparing my trip and ansering all my questions was excellent. They can take care of your visa needs as well. Good luck in planning your trip, I'm sure your students will be fascinated with the country!

hmm... troll?

Thanks for the "attempt"- but the practicality of 22 people in one apartment is questionable.

Reminds me of an old Russian song: "eto kommunalnaya kvartira..."

LOL Katya! No thanks for this kind of memories

Happy to help, Faina!

To CiaoLeone - send me an e-mail with the date of your departure and I shall give you a list of the day trains, departure times and the costs (there are usually 4 trains a day)
To katya_NY - I can recommend Palladium Tours - [email protected] - they can arrange everything for you in both cities.

Katya,
I used www.RussianVisaGuide.com, they were very helpful and patient with all my questions. They have a very low visa processing fee - $154 for a tourist one-month visa.

Marco,
[email protected]