We are going on a Germany tour, but I have always wanted to see Moscow--already lucky enough to have seen St. Petersburg. If the tour finishes in Berlin, is there an inexpensive quick way to make a three or four day trip to Moscow (air, train?). Maybe the equivalent of Southwest Air? Does three or four days cover the sights? Is there a favorite central hotel and a must dining experience? Will we be safe on our own. Lived many years in NYC. Not afraid of cities, but don't really know how Russia is doing these days. Any advice always appreciated. Thanks.

I have flown from Berlin to Moscow, I think (?) it was a company affiliated with Delta- it was just one leg of my flight. But my belief is that flights would be fairly common to one of the Moscow airports (the biggest airport is Sheremetevo).

I would say that if you only have 3-4 days, it is doable, but you will only get a taste. A taste is better than nothing, though- right?

Most of what you will want to see in Moscow is centrally located and very easily accessible via the metro, which is beautiful in its own right.

Let us know what you are looking for as far as hotels are concerned- be forewarned, Moscow is a very expensive city, hotel-wise. Something convenient will be pricer than most European counterparts. I think with limited time, it would be worthwhile investing a few extra rubles in something like the National, which is a Meridien property.

http://www.national.ru/english/

If you are more budget- conscious, you are better off searching for something a bit further from the center, with good amenities. Moscow has never been too much of a tourist town, and unfortunately most of the hotels come with hefty price tags.

I would not be any more concerned with travel to Russia than anywhere else in Europe. If you are willing to put in a bit of time and learn the Cyrillic alphabet, it will be a worthwhile investment of energy.

Fly.

If you take the train, it will not be fast and Belarus requires a special transit visa that you must obtain in advance. I have seen discussions of this on fodors and know nothing of it personally, but I have seen enough to know the train is not the way to go.

Lowcost carrier Germanwings fly from Berlin Schonefeld to Moscow Vnukovo airport. There are train connections from Vnukovo to Kievskaya station in central Moscow, takes about half hour.

Baltschug Kempinski has an excellent location and some rooms face St Basil & Red Square (although a little far from a metro), the Marriotts along Tverskaya Street are also a good option. There are not always many savings to be had by moving out to a less central hotel eg Radisson or Renaissance, depends obviously on the dates.

There are plenty of people who go to Moscow on their own with or without any knowledge of Russian. As in any city, need to be careful but not more so than any other place.

A visa will be needed.

Is it possible to book a package from Germany, that might be the most cost effective way to do it if there's time.

I'm also working on plans to Russia with transportation between Berlin and Moscow.
You can try Germania Express for lower cost flights: (If link doesn't work just do a search)
http://www.gexx.de/gexx/makepage.php?seite=
1&rsl_lang=de&PAGENT=
The Russian airline also has flights between the two but I believe their rates are higher. Just watch German Wings and Germania Express as far as what days they fly.

http://www.aeroflot.aero/eng/

This hotel was one that was recommended here as a less expensive option...even though in the summer it's still over $200...high enough to have me looking into apartments! Good luck with your plans and have a wonderful trip!
http://www.ukraina-hotel.ru/indexen.php

travelfan1,
Germania Express does not exist any more. Were bought by (I think) dba which was now bought itself by Air Berlin. So most probably you have to look only at Air Berlin and Germanwings.

How about St. Petersburg? You could fly from Berlin to Tallinn on EasyJet and then take the bus to St. Petersburg--about six hours.

Second thought, I guess I would fly all the way.

Make sure you deal with the visa requirement - remember from your St. Petersburg trip how you need an "invitation" from your hotel or such, and so on? Or maybe you came in for a short visit off a cruiseship and didn't have to do that?

It's not trivial, so look into it.