Traveling to Russia and then onto Germany or Austria...Good idea?
 

Hi,

I am traveling to Russin in October, and I am considering going to Germany or Austria as a side trip. Is this even possible? I have about 14 days and thought I would spend time in Moscow and St. Petersburg and then head to Germany or Austria.

If this is not a feasible idea is there another thought I should consider?

Thanks,
Michelle

I don't know what would work with your visa. Whether you can come and go. I would be tempted to stay in Russia, see what you want to see, and then go to Germany. I think you need to have your travel plans well established when you start the visa application. Especially when considering the current political situation.

Yes it is possible, you will need a double entry tourist visa for Russia. Obviously it's easier to see Russia and then move on to Germany/Austria but if your travel arrangements are already made and it has to be a sidetrip, you can do it.

Visiting Germany or Austria should be before or after the trip to Russia - don't try to do more than one ins and outs. Whatever you do fly on western airlines - not Russian ones.

I think OP could mean what nytraveler is suggesting. At least I hope so.
If so, it would be quite easy to spend 2 or 3 days in and around Berlin (or Munich, Frankfurt..) or Vienna at the beginning or end of your trip to Russia as there are many flights per day between those cities and Moscow or St. Petersburg.
When you check airfare, you should do a "multi-stop" inquiry (or labeled somewhat similar), e.g. if you decided to add Berlin: home airport > Moscow, St. Petersburg > Berlin, Berlin > home airport.
Re. which airlines to choose: All flights to or from the European Union have to comply with our safety standards, so both major Russian carriers (Aeroflot and S7) that serve destinations in Germany and Austria use modern "Western" aircrafts from Airbus or Boeing. Domestic flights within Russia may be a different issue...

"is there another thought I should consider?" -- what about spending the entire time in Russia? There's more than enough to see and do...

Last year I visited St Petersburg and Moscow, then flew S7 from Moscow to Munich. The flight and service were perfectly fine, but the Russian passengers were subjected to very stringent questioning in Munich (the addresses where they were staying, names of friends they were visiting, etc), which made for a slow entry. I think I was the only non-Russian on the plane.

One thing I wish I had known-- there was no money exchange at Moscow Domodedovo airport so I was stuck with a pile of rubles,and I lost a lot exchanging them in Germany .

thanks everyone for the awesome info. I would be tacking on a stop over at the end of the trip.

Just so you know what a side trip means: a brief excursion off the main route of an itinerary, as to visit a particular person or place.