Does anyone know of a reputable US based travel agency that conducts tours of Russia, that they would recommend? We are considering 4 nights in Moscow and 5 nights in St Petersburg.

MIR Travel has been around for a while, I have not used them. They are at
http://www.mircorp.com/

It is easy to deal directly with agents and guides in Russia. For info see waytorussia.net

We've just come back from a week-long tour of Moscow and St. P. with General Tours based out of New Hampshire. We spent three days in Moscow & three in St. P., but you could extend that a day or two on either side. General Tours gave good value for the cost. An advantage is that you can choose the level of of hotel (good, better, best) that you would like; the sightseeing is the same for all the participants.

I. Peltier
I. Peltier

Thank you both for responding. jpeltier, can you tell me more about your experience? Garfield, what else might you share in terms of advice on seeing these remarkable cities?

Is Red Square closed to tourists? I am going to Moscow in September and was looking forward to walking around- does anyone know?

Red Square is suppose to open again at the begining of September.

Some of the local agents will provide good sightseeing services in Moscow and St Petersburg. You can get to places that the standard tours do not go to.

In Moscow have a look at the tours offered by Patriarshy Dom Tours at:
http://russiatravel-pdtours.netfirms.com/index.html

In St Petersburg walking tours can be booked through: peterswalk.com

For information about non-guided walks in Moscow see:
http://members.aol.com/imershein/Page7.html

For travel information see:
waytorussia.net

Much of Moscow and St Petersburg can bee seen without a guide, do some research before you go, get an idea what you want to see, get a metro map and amap of the city and go.
http://russiatravel-pdtours.netfirms.com/index.html

My wife and I used the following:

EASTERN TOURS CONSOLIDATED

We booked a great tour thru this agency. Their address is:
10 East 39th Street, Suite 914, New York, NY 10016
Phone: 800-339-6967; 212-683-8930; Fax: 212-481-3570; email: [email protected]
Website: www.traveltorussia.com

We dealt with a number of individuals who were typically helpful. Natasha, Vladimir, and Irina. Natasha handled most of our initial booking arrangements.

Caution: Check all of your paperwork. Make sure everything is in order. We were told the same thing by others who had used the agency. They are cordial and helpful but at times will make mistakes in the paperwork. As was the case with us.

Also, you will probably get all of your tickets, etc. about a week before you leave. This is just their policy. In our case, due to some inconsistencies in our paper work, we got everything finally in sync the day before we left. The airline tickets were fine. There were just some small details that had to be corrected and it required some extra phone calls to the agency to make sure they were done in time.

They handle your VISA requirements which is something you do not have to worry about doing on your own.

All things considered, there was no way we could pass up this trip. For the price and what it included, it was just an incredible deal. It turned out to be one of our best vacations ever.

Have fun with your planning. If you want our trip report, email me at:
[email protected]

Bill2222
What would you like to know? If you e-mail me at [email protected] I will answer your questions.