By the way, did you know that in winter you can ride along the Moscow River on a comfortable heated motor ship? These run from the Moscow City pier, for example.
How much do tours to Moscow cost
You can buy sightseeing tours about Moscow from tour operators without a flight, as well as package tours with flights from various Russian cities (for example, PEGAS Touristik, FUN&SUN, ALEAN and other companies have such tours).
At the end of January, a week-long city tour to Moscow (3* or 4* hotel + airfare) from Orenburg with a choice of excursions for an additional fee costs 35 thousand rubles.
Tours to Moscow without a flight for 4 days with an included set of excursions cost at the end of January from 12 thousand rubles for 1 person (24 thousand for two with a hotel and excursions).
Tour operators also have combined tours Moscow + Golden Ring for 3 or 6 nights.
KALININGRAD
The mild climate, proximity to the sea, European architecture and an abundance of attractions – the westernmost city in Russia is worth a visit. Postcard Zelenogradsk with its cat houses or foggy Baltiysk with an ancient lighthouse, military cruisers and screaming swans scurrying between them – this will always remain in the memory.
Where to go and what to try in Kaliningrad
Anex experts recommend taking a walk through the pre-war part of the former Konigsberg, wander through the wet sand of Filinskaya Bay and sit in a cozy cafe in Svetlogorsk.
Tips for tourists planning a trip to Kaliningrad from PEGAS Touristik:
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Listen to an organ concert in The Cathedral
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See the old German villas in the Amalienau area
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Learn to distinguish between different types of amber and find exactly your souvenir
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Visit the oldest zoo in Russia
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See Russia’s largest ocean museum
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Walk along the Curonian Spit
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Try stroganina from pelamis or smoked eel, and for sweet lovers – Konigsberg marzipan
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Make postcard photos in the Fishing Village
What to bring as a gift from Kaliningrad
Of the interesting things that can be captured as a gift from Kaliningrad We noted cosmetics based on succinic acid, antiques, homlins, smoked eel, sea buckthorn products, marzipan, cognac, beer, chocolate from Europe and handicrafts.
How much do tours to Kaliningrad cost:
City tours to Kaliningrad (plane + hotel) with flight from Moscow at the end of January can be found for 48 thousand rubles for two for 7 nights, with 3* hotel accommodation. Sightseeing tours in February for 4 nights with accommodation in a 4* hotel cost from 71 thousand. pub. for two with a flight.
KAZAN
Kazan is a special place on the map of Russia. Tatarstan attracts tourists with its national flavor, history and legendary cuisine.
Where to go and what to try in Kazan
Anex recommends starting exploring the city from the Kazan Kremlin, and then moving towards Kazan University, Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda, Sukonnaya Sloboda, visit the Kul Sharif Mosque, Bolgar, Ak Mosque and, if possible, go to the city-Sviyazhsk Island.
Interesting facts about Kazan:
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Kazan is older than Moscow – in 2005 the city celebrated its millennial anniversary
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The Kazan Kremlin is under the protection of UNESCO
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There is a metro in Kazan
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Kazan has a registered brand “The Third Capital of Russia” and the status of the gastronomic capital of Russia
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Kazan is the largest city by population located on the Volga
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the sights of the city center can be bypassed by double–decker sightseeing buses of the worldwide City Sightseeing network
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in Kazan, Zilantcon is held annually – Russia’s largest international festival of fans of fiction, tolkienistics and role-playing games
The best sights of Kazan according to PEGAS Touristik:
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The Kazan Kremlin includes several historical and architectural complexes spread over an area of 1,500 square meters, including several symbols of Kazan – leaning tower Syuyumbike and Mosque Kul-Sharif
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Kazan Arbat – Bauman Street
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The Palace of Farmers is a building in an unusual style, built in 2010 for the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic.
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The Kremlin Embankment is a walking area for pedestrians and cyclists. A pleasant place where you can sit in a cafe or take part in a master class, festivals are held here, the schedule of which should be found out in advance.
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Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda is the historical part of the city, founded after the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, when all Muslim Tatars were evicted here.
What to bring from Kazan
FUN&SUN experts advise you to bring souvenirs from Kazan depicting local attractions, Tatar colorful dishes, tea, horse sausage – kazylyk or kazy, sweet honey dessert chak-chak, baursaks, honey, embroidered skullcaps – kalfaks, light boots ichigi. At the camel farm in Bolgar, you can buy sleep accessories, slippers made of camel hair; camel milk; soap and shampoo based on this healthy drink.
How much do tours to Kazan cost:
Sightseeing tours to Kazan for 4 nights with an Aeroflot flight at the end of January from Moscow can be found from 70 thousand pub. for two, for 5 nights – from 77 thousand rubles for two. “Flight + hotel” tours to Bulgaria for a week cost from 31.4 thousand rubles for two.
TYUMEN
What else to do in the bitter cold if not to bask in the thermal pool outdoors? Tyumen offers tourists such an unusual entertainment.
The oldest Russian city in Siberia surprises not only with its warm mineral springs. The main exhibit of the City Duma Museum in Tyumen is considered to be the largest woolly mammoth skeleton in Russia, the museum staff call it “Ivanich”. The historical center is well preserved in the city itself, and there you can still find unique monuments of wooden architecture.
In the Tyumen region there is another important city for the history of Russia – Tobolsk. The former “Gate of Asia” is now an open-air museum city 245 km from Tyumen. The Tobolsk Kremlin is the only white–stone kremlin beyond the Urals.
The film “Tobol” was shot in the city, thanks to which tourists can visit the wooden “Settlement of Siberian old-timers”.
What is worth trying in Tyumen
The North of Russia is a special gastronomic world. Here you can try unusual dishes that do not reach the cities of central Russia.
In the Tyumen region, dumplings are made with a wide variety of fillings – with hare, with pelage in champagne, with muksun and venison. We remember the brand of the region – black gold – and try “fish soup from oil“. The rich black color of the dish can be given by high-purity oil or cuttlefish ink.
We wrote about what to try in different regions of Russia in our article about gastronourism.
What to bring from Tyumen
In the north, you can buy amazing edible souvenirs: venison chips, stewed meat and game sausages. Sticks of smoked sausage from roe deer, deer, bear, and beaver meat are usually brought as a gift. A more exotic option is chipsor carpaccio. Deer meat, by the way, is considered dietary, so the gift will not only be tasty, but also useful.
How much do tours to Tyumen cost:
A tour (airfare + hotel) to Tyumen from Moscow for 8 days with departure at the end of January can be bought from 46.6 thousand RUB for two. When booking a tour to Tyumen, it is possible and necessary to book excursions in advance.
DAGESTAN
Dagestan means “country of mountains” in Turkic. The southernmost region of Russia is known for its unique attractions. It is home to the oldest city in Russia, the deepest gorge in Europe, and one of the largest sand mountains in the world.
TOP attractions of Dagestan from PEGAS Touristik:
1. Sulak canyon is one of the business cards of the republic
2. The ancient fortress Naryn-kala and the oldest city in Russia Derbent
3. Devil’s Lake is the purest mountain lake
4. The Caspian Sea is for those who like to relax on the coast
6. Tourist routes in the Caucasus mountains
7. Barkhan Sary-Kum is a unique natural monument of Dagestan, which is officially recognized by geologists as the second largest in the world.
What to try in Dagestan
In the republic, you definitely need to try real Dagestan kebabs, khinkal (dough pieces boiled in meat broth, served with broth, boiled meat and sauce), lentils, adjika, kutabs, shurpa, as well as chudu with various fillings.
What can be brought from Dagestan
An unforgettable souvenir from Dagestan can be artistic carpets, silverware, clay dishes and national dolls. Tourists take with them nutritious and delicious nut paste – urbech (it contains magnesium, iron, phosphorus, copper, a wide range of vitamins).
How much do tours to Dagestan cost
Tours to Dagestan (Makhachkala, flight + hotel) with departure at the end of January from Moscow can be found at a price of 46 thousand rubles for two.
BAIKAL
Bright sun, endless icy expanses and real Siberian frost – winter Baikal leaves impressions for a lifetime.
In late January and early February, the smooth ice of the lake is extremely beautiful: transparent, with frozen bubbles, and incredible depth under it. On this natural ice rink, you can skate, ski, snowmobile, dog sledding or on the hivus – an air cushion vessel.
Go on an expedition cruise around Lake Baikal on a Biryusa hovercraft Vodohod company is available in February. We wrote the details here.
By the way, if you make a guess and come to Lake Baikal through Buryatia, then on February 10, you can once again celebrate the New Year there according to the Buryat lunar and solar calendar Sagaalgan.
On the eastern side of the sacred lake, tourists can visit Ivolginsky datsan, a place of power – “Palace of the Goddess Yanzhimy“ and Suva Saxony in the Barguzin Valley, Ininsky rock garden and Old Believers village Tarbagatai.
What to bring from Lake Baikal
On Lake Baikal, tourists enjoy remembering the local delicacy – omul, which lives only here. Among other edible souvenirs, you can list: honey, taiga tea, medicinal herbs, pine nuts, we especially recommend cedar grill.
And also – shamanic charms against the evil eye, jade, lapis lazuli, charoite jewelry, birch bark products, a soft white seal toy and other souvenirs with national symbols are recommended in FUN&SUN.
How much do tours to Lake Baikal cost
The price range is very large – it all depends on the content and duration of the program. The simplest sightseeing tour to Lake Baikal (without flight) for 3 nights in February can be purchased from 43,800 rubles for two, longer (for 7 nights) – from 68 thousand rubles for two (also without flight). Premium class tours are much more expensive – from 340 thousand for two .
Gastronomy on Lake Baikal and in Buryatia is excellent, but those who want to admire the beauties of winter nature and discover new tastes can also be recommended to go on a gastronomic trip to Karelia, Murmansk, Sakhalin or Kamchatka this winter.
KARELIA
In Karelia, you can visit the Kivach Nature Reserve, the Ruskeala Mountain Park, and the Marcial Waters balneological resort. The gastronomic component of the trip is culinary workshops on cooking Karelian national dishes: lohikato (ear on cream) and red fish on a log.
Another interesting place is the museum–restaurant “Karelia Is!” designed as an art space: there are paintings by Karelian artists, an exposition of minerals, its own “cave” with petroglyphs. The menu features an author’s interpretation of traditional dishes. Only local products are used in the preparation. Also, the restaurants “Fregat”, “Yagel”, “Karelskaya Gornitsa” are recommended to gastrotourists.
In addition to lohikeito soup, travelers try sulchins (pancakes made of rye flour with porridge), kalitiki (open pies made of rye dough), herbal tea, second courses of game and fish.
From a gastro tour of Karelia you can bring fish (for example, trout from the local farm), famous Karelian jam, cosmetics made of shungite, products made of birch and birch bark.
How much do food tours cost in Karelia
Winter tour “TOP 5 in Karelia and gastronomy from Petrozavodsk (October – April)”, 4 days – from 47,100 rubles for 2 people (without flight cost).
MURMANSK
In Murmansk, it is worth trying Arctic cuisine and seafood dishes, venison, bear meat with lingonberry and cloudberry sauces. Try desserts with the addition of yagel or treat yourself to candied yagel. Murmansk is also famous for seafood – Kamchatka crab (it is bred here, and not only on Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Primorye), sea urchins, fish, scallops.
Delicious gifts are being brought from Murmansk: wild berry jam (cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries), wild berry sauce, cold-pressed crow juice, herbal healing tea, venison sausages, fish in various forms (ruff, pike, smelt, sea bass, catfish, trout in salted, smoked or dried form, figurines made of wood, horns, bones or leather, venison shoes (boots, slippers, fur mittens).
How much do tours to Murmansk cost
Combined tours “For the Kola beauty” (5 nights) with master classes of Arctic cuisine cost from 50 thousand rubles per person (without flight).
Short sightseeing tours for 2 nights “Weekend in Lapland” with a gastronomic program – from 32.3 thousand rubles per person (without flight).
KAMCHATKA AND SAKHALIN
In Kamchatka, it is worth trying scallops, red caviar, Kamchatka crab soup: a rich and fragrant soup made from local crabs, and also yukola – dried tender fatty fish (chir, muksun, whitefish).
There is an interesting excursion from FUN&SUN on Sakhalin – Busse Lagoon. Here, guests will have a gastronomic adventure – they collect seafood themselves, which they will taste. The lagoon is home to various shellfish, oysters and sea urchins. They actually “lie under your feet”, they can be collected, and then the attendants will prepare them.
On Sakhalin, you can try Kamchatka crab, and you can organize a picnic on the seashore by buying a crab on the way to Tikhaya Bay. Sakhalin is also famous for the syrup from the krasnika berry, which is also called “klopovka”. It is added to tea instead of Sugar, and is also used to make desserts.
How much are tours to Sakhalin
Tours in February for 6 nights to Sakhalin with an excursion program and gastroelements (without flight) cost from 86,208 RUB. per person. For two nights – from 49 thousand rubles.
Anna Popova
