Complete Russia Guide
Russia spans eleven time zones and reveals itself in fragments. From our local agency, we build itineraries that embrace this scale: choosing two or three regions rather than skimming everything. Moscow and St. Petersburg concentrate imperial and Soviet heritage, with the Kremlin, the Hermitage, and Izmaïlovo markets where you lunch on pelmeni for 400 rubles. It's the classic entry to the country, in four to six days with the Sapsan overnight train.
Further east, the Golden Ring connects Suzdal, Yaroslavl, and Rostov, towns of wooden structures and white monasteries set on the Volga. Beyond the Urals, Siberia changes everything: Lake Baikal frozen solid in winter over two meters thick, larch forests in autumn, Buryat villages around Olkhon. The Trans-Siberian remains the logical thread to traverse, seven days from Moscow to Vladivostok if you keep the pace, or shorter segments toward Kazan and Yekaterinburg.
Russian Caucasus, around Elbrus and Dagestan, offers another face: perched villages, Georgian and Balkar cuisine, high-altitude hiking from June to September. Our team guides you based on season and available time, favoring two complementary regions over superficial coverage.
The regions of Russia
Each region has its own personality: climate, landscapes, pace of life and ways of traveling. Our local team helps you choose the combination that suits you.
Moscow and surroundings
Moscow condenses a thousand years of history within a few square kilometers around Red Square. Plan three to four days for the Kremlin, the Tretyakov Gallery, and the circular metro line stations, veritable underground salons. An hour by train away, Sergiyev Posad and its Trinity Lavra open onto the Golden Ring. In summer, temperatures reach 25 degrees and Gorky and Zaryadye parks come alive until midnight. In winter, expect around minus fifteen on average, pack boots and a shapka, but the city under snow has a particular character. We accommodate our travelers around Kitay-Gorod to stay within walking distance of everything.
Saint Petersburg
Built by Peter the Great on the Neva, Saint Petersburg lines its baroque palaces along canals reminiscent of Amsterdam. The Hermitage deserves two visits to be properly explored, and Peterhof 30 km away warrants a full day for its fountains. From late May to mid-July, white nights illuminate the city until 2 am, with bridges lifting around 1:30 am on the Neva. Winter is harsh, minus ten to minus twenty degrees, but Nevsky Prospect under snow is worth the journey. We often combine Saint Petersburg with Veliki Novgorod, Russia's oldest city, three hours away by car.
Golden Ring
The Golden Ring encompasses eight ancient towns northeast of Moscow, spanning a 700 km loop. Suzdal remains our favorite with its 200 churches for 9,000 inhabitants, its wooden isbas and the Saint-Euthymius Monastery. Yaroslavl, a UNESCO World Heritage site, borders the Volga and features remarkably preserved 17th-century frescoes. Plan four to five days to drive through Vladimir, Suzdal, Kostroma and Yaroslavl by private car, a more flexible option than the train. The ideal season runs from May to September, with a golden peak in late September when birch trees turn yellow. In winter, roads are passable but daylight hours are very short.
Lake Baikal and Siberia
Lake Baikal holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water and plunges to 1,642 meters. From Irkutsk, you reach Olkhon Island in five hours by road and ferry, an ideal base for four to five days of Buryat shamanic hikes and banya baths. In February and March, the lake freezes to two meters thick and you drive on transparent ice: this is our peak season for photography. In summer, July and August, the water reaches 18 degrees on the surface, enough for a brief swim. Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk serve as Trans-Siberian stopovers, with the rocky pillars of Stolby to discover on a hike.
Kazan and Volga
Kazan, capital of Tatarstan, brings together Islam and Orthodoxy on the same esplanade: the Kul Sharif Mosque and the Annunciation Cathedral face each other in the Unesco-listed Kremlin. Tatar cuisine, featuring echpochmak and chak-chak, adds a gourmet dimension. A Volga River cruise connects Kazan to Astrakhan in seven to ten days, passing through Samara, Volgograd and its 85-meter-high Motherland statue. The navigation season runs from May to September. We also offer shorter stopovers by overnight train from Moscow, twelve hours, a more economical way to discover this often-overlooked Muslim and Tatar Russia.
Russian Caucasus
The Russian Caucasus covers Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia and Dagestan. Around Elbrus, Europe's highest peak at 5,642 meters, hiking takes place between 2,500 and 3,800 meters from June to September, with daytime temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees. The Balkar villages of Verkhnaya Balkariya and Ingush stone towers tell a little-known mountain story. In Dagestan, Derbent is home to Russia's oldest fortress and the perched village of Gunib offers views over 1,500 meters of elevation gain. We work with English-speaking local guides and arrange the specific authorizations required in certain border areas.
Explore by theme
Unique experiences tailored to every traveler.
Culture & Heritage
Temples, musées, sites historiques
Nature & Landscapes
Parcs nationaux, montagnes, forêts
Sea & Beaches
Littoral, îles, sports nautiques
Wildlife & Biodiversity
Observation animale, sanctuaires, réserves
Activities & Adventure
Trek, kayak, escalade, sports outdoor
Gastronomy
Cuisine locale, marchés, cours de cuisine
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