I am tenatively planning a trip to Russia in late June. I'm fortunate this time in that I have two weeks to spend. I also have frequent flier miles for a roundtrip to Moscow. After reading lots of posts, I find myself somewhat more confused about the use of guides than I was before!

In general, my husband and I prefer to travel independently. I believe this is possible in Russia. However, after reading the posts on the board, it appears that many people traveling independently are hiring private guides for many of their days. Could I get some clarification on a couple of points?

1. Are the guides mainly for ease of travel (car transport, subway help, etc.) or for valuable information?
2. It appears that hiring a guide at museums moves you in faster. Is this true and, if so, is this a real gain (hours in line) or only a matter of a few minutes?

If having a guide is really an important thing, then it makes sense to get the best one available/affordable. If it just gets you to the front of the line, can we just pick one up outside the museum? How much should we expect to pay for either of these types of guides? I have read an interesting article in Conde Nast Traveler by Wendy Perrin in which she recommends Exeter International, but the prices she quotes are breathtaking!

On another topic, is a week in each city too much? Should we think about other places in Russia or in one of the Scandinavian countries for a few days?

To give you some idea of us as travelers, we are late 30's (me )/early 40's. We have traveled independently in western Europe, South America, and Asia (including China). We always read extensively about any destination, believing that having realistic and informed expectations helps get the most out of a trip. We enjoy cultural sights (museums, cathedrals, palaces) as well as some light hiking, nature appreciation, etc.

Sorry - hit "post" accidentally!
We prefer to have a general plan for most of our travel days, but like to be open to change our minds for something that comes up (a street fair or market or whatever). From this standpoint, it is sometimes restrictive to have a guide.

Thanks for any and all help that you can give me with this topic. Fodor's forums never let me down!

Skedaddle,

We are off to Russia this Aug. Here is what we are doing:

We too travel independently in many places around the world.

HOWEVER for Russia I have decided that indeed I would like a guide and transport for alot of the trip. Since I feel ( at least now, I might feel differently after the trip), that Russia is one of those destinations for us that we'd probably just go once unlike many other destinations we've been to. We decided we wanted to have the very best experience with the least amount of effort. Before Russia on the same trip we are going to Denmark, Sweden and Finland and for those we are traveling completely independently.

But back to Russia. So what we are doing is going with Exeter International and yes the prices are indeed high. But I made this decision and it is the right one for us.

I think though if you do hire guides for the sights you will probably get alot more out of it; Russian history is so fascinating, we decided to have someone who can bring it alive for us.

Anyway, I think a good deal of planing and hiring some guides along the way will be a good idea.

We've decided to go for the whole kit and kaboodle ( the itinerary sent to us is unbelievable, really over the top!), but that's just us.

I know some others who have experience in Russia will respond and will have much better insight than me, but in any event I wish you good luck and I am sure it will all work out!

BTW we are not going with a group; we've hired Exeter privately, just DH and me and the program we told them what we wished to see and do.

Thanks for your reply, TripGirl! I read about your early planning on some of your earlier posts. I haven't been able to find any prices for Exeter without filling out one of their forms, so I'm not completely sure if the prices for just guides and transport (not hotels) are as high as they were in the article I read where absolutely every spectacular experience was included. If you haven't seen it, you might want to take a look (http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/...rticleId=10618). The author really makes Exeter sound fantastic!

We aren't completely sold on Russia, but our vacation time is falling in June and we have enough time this year, so we're thinking that conditions are right for Russia.

We are usually very "mid-range-to-budget" travelers. In other words, we believe if we save money, we can go more often. So, we usually work with good airfares, budget hotels and inexpensive breakfasts. However, we also firmly believe that some things are worth the money - clean, well-located hotels; sights we can't see anywhere else in the world; wonderful museums; and spectacular meals. So, we are willing to spend some money on things, but we like to have confidence that they are really worth it!

To begin with - you will have an amazing time in Russia - it's a very diverse country, rich in culture, wondrful food, and great people. Having said this, I would strongly recomend hiring a guide. I am a native speaker and felt very comfortable in Moscow when I visited last year, however, as interesting and exciting a place that it is, it is still not very tourist friendly compared to W. and E. Europe. (I haven't been to China, so I can't speak for that) I think the guide is mainly for the information/transportation options to answer your question. The subway system is in Russian, so it will be hard to get by if you don't udnerstand or read it. Cabs will rip you off and charge you a lot more. On the other hand, most restaurants carry English menus, so you shouldn't have problems there. You probably won't need a guide for the entire time - may be for a few days just to get you oriented.
If you have 2 weeks, I would definetly squeeze in something else: Golden Ring is great and you may do it by car in 2-3 days. My husband and I did it 3 years ago with a private guide, and loved every minute of it.
There is definetly enough to do in and around St. Pete. for 4-5 days.

Skeddadle - I am in the beginning process of planning a trip to Moscow and St.P in August. Due to time limitations (school starting!), we are going to do 2 days in each. Not enough to see everything that my husband and I want to see, but just enough to keep the kids from getting "museum overload!"

Have you picked hotels yet? That's where I'm stuck. Want to be in the center of things, close (walking) to attractions - but don't want to spend $400 a night per room (since we need 2 rooms).

I am also debating whether to hire a guide. My husband speaks/reads Russian pretty well, so I'm not worried about getting around, but I think it would be much better to have a guide giving us information rather than me just quoting from various guide books.

Skedaddle,

Yes, I read the article; I know Wendy Perrin and I know the job she does and she does it well.

Yes, the prices are that high. Our price includes 4 nights in each location: Savoy Hotel( Moscow), executive room and Grand Hotel Europe; ( St Pete)superior room, all breakfasts, guide at our disposal beyond touring duties, touring into just about every crevice of each city with some of the special access you read about in Wendy's article, tickets to the ballet and much much more.

We are not budget travelers, so the price tag was not a shock to us, but agreed it is rather high. Again, I doubt will be back ; there are so many places yet to see and places we return to alot, so we are doing it up despite the cost.

I am half Russian and so this will be special to me as well. Have no idea about my Russian heritage, only the Hungarian side!

In any event, if you go, please post. You will go before me so anxious to hear of your experience. If you decide not to go, I will be posting late Aug, so you can read all about it

yn10 - How much should we expect to pay for a guide? Should we wait until we arrive to hire one or make arrangements in advance? For which sights do you think a guide would be most helpful-either for information or access? I've considered the Golden Ring - is the only way to do this one pretty much with a guide and driver? It looks like there really isn't public transportation to the villages. Is that true?

GRCxx3 - No, we haven't gotten rooms yet and I've been pretty surprised by the prices! It appears that an apartment might be the most economical for us, but I haven't really gotten that far yet. I agree, though - if I'm paying $400/night for a room, that really mounts up for a two-week trip!

TripGirl - How much time are you spending in each city? Also, the other countries? Are you planning to take the train or fly between Moscow and St. Petersburg? If I remember correctly, you were planning a circle trip?

We will be in Moscow and St Petersburg for 4 nights each ; we are flying into between Moscow and St P. We are not doing the Golden Ring.

We will be in Copenhagen and Stockholm for 4 nights each and 1 night in Helsinki then onto to Moscow. On the way back we stop overnight in Brussels and then home.

In Copenhagen we are staying at the Front and in Stockholm we are staying at the Hotel Rival. I wanted hip design hotels for these cities.

In Helsinki we will be at the Hotel Kamp.

I agree, Russia is wonderful, but having lived there for 4 years I also agree that it is still not very visitor-friendly.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

First, you will probably need to stay at least a few nights in a hotel, rather than in a private apt., because it's difficult to get a tourist visa if you don't have a hotel reservation. Also, the hotel takes care of "registering" you with the local police. (Like I said, it's not very visitor-friendly!)

Second, I'd strongly recommend making some advance arrangements for guides/tours before you arrive. One agency that organizes individual and group tours, including to the Golden Ring, is Patriarshy Dom. I have used them many times in the past and found them efficient and reputable. Their website is:
www.russiatravel-pdtours.netfirms.com

Finally, you might try subscribing to www.expat.ru, which is a free, English-language website serving the expat community in Moscow and St Petersburg. They have listings for guides, accommodations, etc., as well as forums where you can post questions and get advice.

As others have noted, the best hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg are outrageously expensive ... the trick is to find a hotel serving a mostly Russian clientele that still provides a decent level of cleanliness and service. My knowledge on this is several years out of date, so I hesitate to mention any particular ones, but the folks on the expat site probably can help there.

Skedaddle,

1. Late June is the peak season so all good guides well be already booked – so you better hire a guide before you arrive. There are no guides standing near the museums attracting people.
2. There are two reasons to hire a private guide in Russia – on one hand there are several places which are nearly impossible to be visited without guide. In St.Pete such places are – Catherine’s palace with Amber Room, Paul’s palace, Grand palace in Peterhof. Another reason is – Russian guides are very well educated and can provide you with much of interesting information about Russia (history, traditions, food, political and social life, myths and legends and so on..). If you prefer independent traveling the best choice will be to hire a guide for:
* city orientation tour (4-5 hours) - it will help to get oriented in the city, you will see some sights which are located a bit away from the main streets, you will get all necessary information and actually learn the city.
* suburban palaces - Catherine’s palace with Amber Room and Paul’s palace in one day and Peterhof in the other. Such tours take about 6 hours.
Hermitage can be visited by yourself – your guide will give you some important suggestions.
3. Usually if you hire a private guide it is about 10-15 Euro per hour. Prices in tour companies are different. Private car with professional driver is about 12-15 Euro per hour. Private guide means that everything is up to you. If you see something interesting on the way the plan can be changed. Even more – the guide will be glad to show you more “off-the-beaten-path” places.
4. I am not an expert in Moscow but while you are in St.Pete I strongly advise you to take a tour to Novgorod –the-Great. It is beautiful city, the oldest one in the area of Russia. Usually it is full-day (12 hours) tour, because the city is located 124,27 mi away from St.Pete. Such a tour is offered by the good guides.
5. For the high season I don’t know any accommodation under 150USD per night. Check mini-hotels (good prices, nice rooms) or private apartments. Usually the landowner can provide you with Visa Support and then register your visa.

Hope it helps)))

I also travel indipendently and I do never pay for local guides. Anyway i've been suggested in the hotel where I've been of a nice local guide. the hotel where I've been is Nevsky Grand Hotel is www.nevskygrandhotel.com (further information on other post)

Hi Skedaddle: We leave for Moscow, May 24th. Very excited. Have used th info from everyone on this forum. Had previously traveled solo to Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Vilnius and Latvia. We are using FF miles to go in/out Moscow. In Moscow, will stay at Marriott Aurora , take the Grand Express Night train to St Pete, stay at the Baltic Renaissaince (Marriott)hoping to use a guide from Fodor's & then flying to Stockholm 5 days,flying to Moscow for return to US. It is very costly but also rationalized will be the only time to Russia. The concierge at the hotel will arrange a guide or city group tour with guide to Kremlin. We like some down time to meander the streets so we don't want to have a guide every day. Hope this helps. Johanna

Johanna,
It looks like you will be there right before us! Please post your experiences when you return!
What we've decided to do is to fly (Delta FF miles) to Copenhagen for a few days. Then, we will fly to St. Petersburg on Aeroflot (via Moscow, but no good alternatives). We'll stay there 6 nights, then to Moscow on Aeroflot for 4 nights. The reason we decided to do air between St. Petersburg and Moscow is that it was only about $50 US more than the Copenhagen-St. Petersburg flight to just book a multidestination trip. Because we had to fly from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg anyway, this seemed most economical.
I'm still a little floored by the cost of hotels, even compared to places like Tokyo! But, I agree, we just decided this is our big trip for the year and it seems very difficult to find something cheaper unless you are willing to hostel.
Regarding the guides, we still aren't there yet. I think for St. Petersburg, we'll probably need someone for the areas away from the city. What I still can't really discern is if having a guide for the easier access places like the Hermitage (or the Kremlin in Moscow) is important to avoid standing in line for several hours. However, it looks like tickets for the Hermitage can be purchased on-line which might help with that problem. http://shop.hermitagemuseum.org

Have done Moscow/St Pet independently twice - and it isn;t as easy as travel in western/central europe since the tourist infrastructure isn't that developed yet.

Within each town we travel as we please - but take taxis everywhere too far to walk (cheap and plentiful - no waiting like for public transit, which we often use in the west). We also go only for 5* hotels - since some of the lower ratings (even 4*) are just not acceptable to US standards. For trips out of town we usually take a bus tour or guide for the day - organized by the hotel concierge.

nytraveler,
On the taxis, I've heard a lot of discussion about using them because of the lack of meters. How did you manage on your trips?

I've looked at the Exeter site and some of the other ones that are mentioned in the thread and none seem to deal with what I need, so I am hoping someone can help. We would like to take our boys to Russia next spring. They are both Russian and we want to go to the cities we adopted them from (as well as either Moscow or St. Pete). I have never used an tour guide before, but having been to Russia to adopt them, I know when it's time to call in the pros. Any suggestions on agencies that arrange tours to some of the more remote cities (Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg)? We are going on frequent flier miles and while I realize Russia is hardly a budget destination, Exeter was definitely out of my price range.

dacwi - look at Patrishy Dom Tours http://russiatravel-pdtours.netfirms.com/ They do trips Nizhny Novgorod, I know. You can also ask about hiring a private guide. Paying for Exeter is insane in my opinion. We've been living here for 8 months and it's not *that* tourist unfriendly. If you can manage the metro - which works just like every other metro in the world, only faster and in Cyrillic - and read a map you've got it made. Capital tours also does a great tour of the Kremin, and not at the insane prices of Exeter.

In St. Petersburg I recommend Premier Voyage Travel. I've used them twice and both times I was impressed.

Hope that helps.

They don;t operate by meter. You agree on the price with the driver when you get in. The cost will be outrageous (on the local economy of 2 cents for a subway ride) but reasonable for taxis in western europe. None of the rides in town was more than $5 or $6.