Russia Travel Guide (2024)

By Joan Torres 15 Comments Last updated on October 3, 2024

It’s incredible to see how quickly things have changed when traveling in Russia.

From booking accommodation to accessing the internet or just getting into the country, traveling to Russia is very different from what it used to be like pre-2022.

Russia is a massive country, not only in terms of land, but also in its diversity and complexity. It would be impossible to write down a compelling travel guide in just 3500 words.

However, rather than serving as the ultimate guide to traveling across each region, this Russia travel blog contains all the relevant updated info and recent changes that will help plan your trip to Russia, including how to look for hotels, how to get your visa, how to book domestic flights, and much more.

Read: Belarus travel guide

Travel to Russia

In this travel guide to Russia you will find:

With all the current sanctions, IATI Insurance is one of the very few that covers travel in Russia.

🇷🇺 What it’s like to travel to Russia today

Can I visit Russia as a tourist?

Until 2022, Russia was a popular destination for travelers, and nobody was ever criticized for traveling there.

Moscow International Airport had connections with pretty much everywhere in the West, embassies across Europe were always packed with travelers trying to secure their visas, and the main language heard in the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg was definitely English.

But today, Western foreigners are a rarity across Russia.

You can still see Asian tourists (mainly groups from China, Malaysia and Iran) in Moscow’s Red Square but the total number of Western tourists I saw after 1 month of traveling across Russia was zero, not a single one.

This made things particularly interesting, especially when meeting English-speaking Russians, who always had plenty of questions on my country’s opinion of Russia.

Traveling to Russia
Red Square in Moscow, the most touristic place in all Russia

What do Russians think about the Ukraine war?

The conflict with Ukraine was on the top of my mind but engaging in local politics with Russian people wasn’t really my objective, since I had traveled to Russia to learn about the country and its cultural diversity.

Obviously, I did speak about the current conflict with a few Russians, but the only thing I’ll say is that most people around the world dislike war.

From Syria to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, I’ve always been criticised when traveling to certain countries with controversial regimes, and Russia was no exception.

In fact, I don’t think there is any other country in the world which inspires as much rejection as Russia these days.

It’s important to remember that we are travelers, not activists, and that local people can never be blamed for their Government’s actions, whatever those actions might be.

Rural Russia
Photo taken in rural Russia. Seriously, do you think these people like Ukraine war

🪪 How to get a visa for Russia

Can you travel to Russia?

Surprisingly, getting a tourist visa for Russia is much easier than it used to be before the war with Ukraine.

In fact, Russian authorities recently introduced the option of applying for an e-visa for visits no longer than 16 days.

Also, most embassies and consulates around the world no longer require an appointment, probably because they aren’t as busy as they used to be.

Here’s what you need to know about how to apply for a Russian tourist visa.

How to apply for an e-visa for Russia

For single-entry visits of up to 16 days, you can apply for a Russian e-visa.

This is the electronic visa portal.

Which countries are eligible for a Russian e-visa?

All EU and Schengen countries, as well as Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam.

How long does it take to get approval?

Around 4 calendar days.

How much does the Russian e-visa cost?

It costs 52 US dollars.

What’s the e-visa validity?

Once your visa is issued, you have 60 days to enter Russia.

Once you get in, your stay can’t exceed 16 days.

Can I use the e-visa at any entry point?

You can enter Russia via any international airport but with the e-visa, land border crossings are limited.

The electronic portal lists all valid entry points.

How to get a Russian visa via the embassy

When should you get an ordinary visa instead of an e-visa?

Visa requirements for Russia

Russia travel tip: I can’t speak for all Russian embassies and consulates, but I do have recent experience of getting one at the Consulate of Barcelona and, from what I heard, all offer a similar experience. Just check your nearest embassy’s website for specific requirements.

Russian visa typical requirements:

How much does the visa for Russia cost?

Price varies from embassy to embassy but at the Russian Consulate of Barcelona:

Very expensive!

How long does approval take?

In my case, a non-urgent visa took around 2 weeks, while an urgent one takes 2-3 days.

Tourist visa Russia
My visa for Russia

🚑 Travel Insurance for Russia

Due to current sanctions, most travel insurance companies don’t cover for travel in Russia, except for IATI.

I recommend it because:

⚠️ Is it safe to travel to Russia?

Many people believe that due to the war with Ukraine, Russia has become an unsafe country.

In fact, if we look at the FCDO advice, the largest country in the world is today considered one giant red zone, meaning that even places like Vladivostok, which are nearly 10,000km from Ukraine, are also unsafe for travel due to the Ukraine war.

Is it safe to travel to Russia
Russia travel advice according to the FCDO

They also talk about arbitrary detentions and a lack of available flights to return to Europe.

It’s more than obvious that the different foreign ministries don’t want their citizens traveling to Russia, but I’d also like to give my perspective based on my last visit.

Is Russia safe to visit given the war with Ukraine?

As of today, the war with Ukraine is mainly limited to the border areas, up to the region of Kursk.

Outside of those areas, life in Russia is completely normal, just as usual, and the reason is that Russia is just too big for other parts to be affected by it, from a security perspective.

What about the long-distance missiles that hit Moscow?

In September 2024, Ukraine launched a bunch of long-distance missiles that hit some buildings in the suburbs of Moscow, which resulted in the death of one civilian.

Although I’ve never said that the rest of Russia was 100% safe, but I do want to mention that I was in Moscow when that incident happened, and I only found out about it from the Spanish news.

The authorities closed the airport for a few hours but other than that, life went on as always. You also need to remember that there are more than 13 million people living in Moscow.

No country in the world is free of risk, so it’s up to each traveler to assess how much risk they choose to be exposed to when traveling to a certain region or country.

Are arbitrary detentions a risk in Russia?

Arbitrary detentions don’t affect foreign tourists traveling on a valid tourist visa who stick to tourist sites and don’t get involved in politics.

Lack of flights

You can’t fly out direct to Europe, but you can fly to Baku, Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo and many other places around the world.

Visit Russia
Lenin square in Makhachkala. When traveling in Russia, you will see that even the smallest town has a Lenin square

🛫 How to get in Russia

How to fly to Russia

Because of the sanctions, there are no flights operating between Russia and any Western countries, but you can still fly from many cities around the Middle East and Central Asia.

The most popular connections for flying to Russia are:

But you can also travel to Russia from:

Can you fly to Russiawith Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, S7 or any other Russian airline?

Yes, you can.

These airlines have connections with all the previously mentioned cities.

However, because of the sanctions, you can’t book flights through their website using a foreign card, although it can be done through Aviasales.com, a search engine for flights that allows international card payments.

How to travel to Russia by land border

Russia has endless border crossings with 14 different countries, so it’s impossible to provide up-to-date information on each and every one of them.

However, we can give you a rough idea of what the situation is like in each of the countries that borders Russia:

Do you get a lot of questions when entering Russia?

It’s hard to say, I guess it depends on your entry point.

If you’re entering from Europe (Estonia, for example), you’ll certainly get a lot of questions, plus the whole immigration process is very slow.

If entering via Moscow International Airport, the chances of being questioned are also high, as travel reports suggest.

Nevertheless, be aware that all this questioning is mere procedure, and that nobody I know has been denied their entry into Russia, as long as they were traveling on a valid tourist visa.

I personally entered from Kazakhstan by train. I did get asked a few questions but they were mostly about the 2 visas for Afghanistan stamped on my passport, no big deal.

They also made me fill in and sign a form with Ukraine-related questions, just to make sure that you had no interest in getting involved in their politics.

💰 Money and budget in Russia

In Russia, they use the Russian Ruble and approximately:

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there’s been a massive inflation and currency fluctuation, but they’ve managed to stabilise it.

Can you use foreign bank cards when backpacking in Russia?

No, absolutely not.

Because of the sanctions, international credit and debit cards can’t be used anywhere in Russia.

Where can you exchange money?

You can exchange your foreign currency at pretty much any bank, easy.

How much does it cost to travel in Russia?

Overall, Russia is cheap as per European standards but it really depends on what you do.

Budget backpackers will be happy to hear that all towns and cities in Russia have an abundance of budget hostels, and that meals are inexpensive.

Long distance trains aren’t super cheap, but you can cover a lot of terrain, plus you save nights in a hotel.

Here are the prices of the most typical things:

Backpacking budget for traveling in Russia: from 40 USD a day

⛅ Best time to visit Russia

Russia can be visited all year around, even during the freezing winter.

Traveling to Russia in winter

Everyone knows that winter in Russia can be cold but it can be adventurous as well.

You would not be the first person to visit the coldest city in the world (Yakutsk) during the month of January or travel across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian.

Visit Russia in summer
Northern Siberia can get pretty cold even during sunny summer days

Traveling to Russia in summer

This can be a great time to visit Russia, especially if you plan to visit the Arctic, Lake Baikal or the Caucasus and Altay regions.

Please be aware that many areas of Russia, and that includes Moscow, have a continental climate with very cold winters, but very hot summers.

Best time to visit Russia
Summer is a great time to visit Russia if you travel to the Caucasus region

Traveling to Russia in spring and autumn

It’s hard to give an accurate answer on this, it depends on where you go and how early or late in autumn or spring you visit Russia.

🛺 How to get around Russia

How to travel around Russia by train

One of the best experiences when traveling in Russia is boarding a Soviet train. It’s a great way to meet local people and also the only way to comprehend the vast size of this country.

You can go by train to pretty much everywhere in the country.

Find train schedules on tutu.travel.

You won’t be able to book train tickets with a foreign bank card, but the site will help you plan your trip.

How to book a train ticket at the station

Once you know your train schedule, head to the train station and before paying for the ticket, make sure to choose your preferred class:

travel by train in Russia
This is platzkart class

How to travel around by taxi

When traveling around Russia, you will have to download Yandex GO, the Russian version of Uber.

You can order a taxi using Yandex GO from virtually anywhere in Russia, even in small towns in the extreme north of Russia, such as Salekhard.

Top Russia travel tip: You can only use Yandex GO with a Russian SIM card, so get one of these upon arrival in Russia.

How to travel around by plane

Domestic flights are a good option for travelers with little time who are interested in visiting different regions of Russia.

You can check flight schedules on Aviasales and book them using a foreign bank card.

How to navigate around Russia

In Russia, Google Maps works fine but Yandex Maps is more detailed and accurate.

In fact, I realized that many businesses such as restaurants were not listed on Google Maps but they were on Yandex.

By the way, due to the war in Ukraine, geolocation isn’t working properly in the center of Moscow.

🏨 Where to stay in Russia: accommodation

Russia is packed with hotels of all types.

From budget hostels to expensive 5-star chains, you will never have any issues trying to find a hotel in Russia.

The problem is more about how to book a hotel in Russia, since popular search engines such as booking.com or hostelworld.com are no longer operating in the country.

Instead, you can search and book hotels through ostrovok.ru, and even book and pay with your foreign card. It is 100% reliable.

💻 Internet in Russia

Wi-Fi and internet speed in Russia

From an internet perspective, Russia is a highly developed country.

There will be good reception pretty much anywhere you go.

Getting a SIM card in Russia

Internet data is ridiculously cheap in Russia.

I paid less than 7 USD for a package that included a SIM card with 50GB of data and unlimited calls.

I bought it at the official store in a mall and all they required was my passport.

You can also get yourself one upon arrival at the airport.

Getting an eSIM for Russia

Some eSIM providers such as HolaFly, GoMoWorld or Alosim offer eSIM for Russia but they are way too expensive compared to the local plans, plus you can’t get a local number, which is absolutely vital to be able to use Yandex GO.

Just get a local SIM instead, it’s super simple.

Restricted websites and apps in Russia

Some restricted websites, services and apps include:

You will be able to access them with a VPN.

How to get a VPN for Russia

I’ve been using ExpressVPN for years but to my surprise, it wasn’t working in Russia.

NordVPN is my back up VPN, but it also didn’t work.

Instead, I used OpenVPN and it worked well. Some Russians told me they use Planet VPN.

Download and configure your VPN before traveling to Russia because their websites are often blocked as well.

Getting hacked in Russia

It is said that the best hackers in the world are Russian, and that getting hacked is not uncommon here.

I am extremely paranoid about the internet, so my advice is to be very careful about the public Wi-Fi networks you connect to.

Always connect using a VPN and if possible, only connect through your mobile data.

Since data packages are so cheap, I always connected my laptop via my mobile hotspot.

🕌 The people, culture and language in Russia

Cultural diversity in Russia

People tend to think of Russia as one massive Slavic nation but you’ll be amazed to know that Russia is home to 190 recognized ethnic groups, making it one of the most diverse countries in the world.

People in Russia
Caucasian people in Chechenya

While it’s true that many of those ethnicities refer to people from former Soviet countries (like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine or Armenia) who for whatever reason moved to the Russian Federation in the past, there are many minorities who are indigenous to a specific region in Russia, such as Tatars, Chechens or Kumyks.

Trip to Russia
A man in from the Republic of Dagestan

In fact, there are 21 official republics in Russia that are home to a specific minority.

I have personally been to the republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and the autonomous region of Yamalia.

Traveling in the different republics of Russia feels like visiting a different country. They have their own rules, religion, habits, food, and culture, and they refer to actual Slavic Russians as if they were from a separate country.

From a traveling perspective, this is Russia’s best asset and the one thing that makes you realize that most travelers have only scratched a tiny bit of the surface of Russia.

Visiting Russia
Nenet woman, north Siberia

Language in Russia

Russian is the most widely spoken language in Russia, but there are 25 other official languages and over 100 minority languages, all proof of the broad cultural diversity in Russia.

English in Russia

There is a massive language barrier when backpacking in Russia since very few Russians can speak English.

In fact, most people outside of Moscow don’t even understand very basic English words and sentences, such as numbers.

While it’s true that Google Translate and Google Lens have made our life much easier, traveling in Russia is a bit challenging if you don’t know any Russian, so I strongly recommend learning a few basic words.

Also, learn how to read the alphabet. It’s very easy. It took me one day to learn it back in 2018, when I was traveling in Kyrgyzstan.

When it comes to reading food menus, understanding the alphabet is particularly handy.

🍲 Food and drinks in Russia

I don’t want to go into too much detail in this section.

Russia is a developed country so even in small, remote towns, you’ll be able to find decent food options and nice cafés.

Even in the Arctic town of Salekhard – a very small city which until 2021 was impossible to reach by road – there was a sushi restaurant and a German-style bar with a large selection of beers on tap.

Russian cuisine
Russian caviar. If you want to learn about caviar when you travel in Russia, I recommend going to Astrakahan

You’ll also find modern Russian restaurants all over the country.

Russian cuisine is, of course, very meat-based but all menus will feature different types of soup and salads.

Borscht (beetroot soup), pelmeni (meat dumplings), or varenniki (potato dumplings) are some of the most common dishes.

For breakfast, I really like sirniki, small but thick pancakes made of cottage cheese, usually served with sour cream.

Additionally, there is a vibrant coffee culture in Russia, so you won’t have any problem finding decent coffee anywhere you go.

❗ More helpful information to visit Russia

📢 In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.

All guides and articles for traveling in Russia destination

Travel guides to former Soviet countries

Backpacking in Russia

15 comments

I do not care about travelling to Russia anytime soon. I also think it can be quite dangerous, especially for Europeans. Not even gonna write about moral dilemma… I’m not gonna travel to a country that is in the process of invading my neighbour. As your long time reader im disappointed. I know you probably don’t care, but I felt that I have to write that

H Chris, it’s not that I don’t care about it, but I find it extremely boring, you are not saying anything new to me, and just repeating an overused comment that has been said for many countries with controversial regimes and leaders. We are backpackers, not political activists and we travel to learn without censorship. I have met wonderful people across Russia, just like I did in pretty much all the countries I visited, and just like I did in countries with dodgy international politics such as the United States, and even Israel. Please stop blaming ordinary citizens for their Government’s actions.

Hello Chris, I understand your view, although I don’t share the same opinion.

But what I don’t understand is you saying this sort of statements while mentioning you are a long term reader. For many years, Joan has shown and tried to taught us to separate travels from politics, so your comment seems out of place now. Maybe it’s because you have a specific issue with Russia, but you don’t have it with Syria, Israel, Saudi or Venezuela?

I’d interested in knowing your reasoning.

Thank you

I’ve been in Russia for about 5 weeks so far and still not seen another westerner. I’m English and have only had positive reactions from people when I’ve told them where I’m from.
The main problem I’ve had is that no one really talks in hostels and unlike my favourite countries you really can’t say hello to strangers in the street. Even in hostels I’ve been completely ignored by some people when I’ve said hello in Russian. Some have been friendly and open however. A Russian friend put me in touch with people she knew in some places and they were incredibly hospitable and I had some great experiences. Hence I’d suggest getting to know some Russians online at least before going.
Re practical stuff, Trip.com works for flights with western cards and I’ve booked all my hostels with Zen Hotels using my UK credit card with no problem.

Hi Joan,
Thanks for these useful tips. I look forward to seeing St Petersburg and Red square in Moscow, which I am told are beautiful.
I will make up my own mind whether I will visit Russia and not be influenced by propaganda by governments with ulterior motives. I did this when travelling to Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, etc etc and was rewarded by amazing scenery, friendly people and a fascinating culture .
In my experience If it smells like BS, it usually is!

As a Russian living in Russia, I confirm that this is indeed a very helpful and accurate report 🙂

I’d like to add one thing that might be useful in terms of money – recently the system of banking cards for tourists has been launched (kind of resembling the one that works in Iran, for instance). Basically, you can order the card a few days before going to Russia, pick it up at the airport upon arrival and then use the card for payments while being able to top it up at the ATM of Sberbank (our largest bank, who are in charge of this card). It’s also free to issue, so I guess it’s more convenient than bringing lots of cash everywhere 🙂
Here is the link with more info – https://promo.yoomoney.ru/travelcard_en

Thx for your report which is quite interesting. I have read it. However having visited 142 countries, I have been in the past quite a few times in Russia. Actually it is the last country i would travel to nowadays. I have visited many strange countries including North Korea but Russia is a country which gives me a big hang over to stay polite. Safe travels and more imporatant keep safe

Thanks for your detailed guide. I just traveled over Russia for 3 months last winter. Stopping in 34 towns 22 train trips and enjoyed everyday. I only know 5 Russian words Google Translate works great. New Years in Oymyakon -57c was my dream and not unbearable as you might think.

I don’t think geo location has ever been accurate in central Moscow. I was there in 2017 and my photos in the Kremlin/Red Square area were geo-located to Vnukovo Airport!!

Hello, i visited Moscow and St Petersburg last June 2024, and to my surprise i felt terribly safe everywhere I go (as compared to other European cities). As a Malaysian muslim, I also found it easy to go around especially when it comes to halal foods. Halal restaurants run by local and immigrants from Central Asia are everywhere and supercheap and tasty.

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