How Many Days in Moscow Post-Cruise?

[MalibuCA]

My husband and I are cruising the Mediterranean for next April, beginning in London and ending in Venice. We would like to fly to Moscow post-cruise. We have been on a Baltic cruise (and we are taking another one this summer) that took us to St. Petersburg. We did not take the "Moscow" day trip option on our first cruise because we wanted to concentrate all three days in St. Petersburg. We are not taking that option this time either because it is offered only on a Thursday - the day that the Kremlin is closed each week. Therefore, we would like to fly to Moscow in April 2014, when we disembark the ship in Venice and spend some days there post-cruise. That's the background . . . here is the question:

 

HOW MANY DAYS SHOULD WE PLAN TO SPEND IN MOSCOW IN ORDER TO REALLY SEE IT RIGHT? We are retired, so it's not a question of rushing home to return to work. We really want to allow enough time so that we can see all of the major sights completely. Yet, at the same time, we are not looking to spend extra days needlessly. Please share with me your experiences - how many days????

 

Thanks,

Shelley:confused:

[DipBrat]

My husband and I are cruising the Mediterranean for next April, beginning in London and ending in Venice. We would like to fly to Moscow post-cruise. We have been on a Baltic cruise (and we are taking another one this summer) that took us to St. Petersburg. We did not take the "Moscow" day trip option on our first cruise because we wanted to concentrate all three days in St. Petersburg. We are not taking that option this time either because it is offered only on a Thursday - the day that the Kremlin is closed each week. Therefore, we would like to fly to Moscow in April 2014, when we disembark the ship in Venice and spend some days there post-cruise. That's the background . . . here is the question:

 

HOW MANY DAYS SHOULD WE PLAN TO SPEND IN MOSCOW IN ORDER TO REALLY SEE IT RIGHT? We are retired, so it's not a question of rushing home to return to work. We really want to allow enough time so that we can see all of the major sights completely. Yet, at the same time, we are not looking to spend extra days needlessly. Please share with me your experiences - how many days????

 

Thanks,

Shelley:confused:

 

Always a tough question to answer. Moscow is a Mega City like London or Paris so you won't see "everything even in a month. You should be aware that the city is also a lot less acessible to tourists than St. Petersburg. I would say that 3 or 4 days should allow you to see all the highlights and also do a few things of more personal interest.

 

Depending on your interests a plan could be something like a full day for Kremlin Red Square and area. A day for other Museums (which ones will depend on your interests). A day to explore a few neighborhoods by Subway.

 

You will also want to allow time to see a few shows. The Bolshoi usually topping most lists, but many other good possibilities.

 

A river tour is also a nice break from the traffic and gives you another view of the city

[Alaskanb]

Don't forget that you will need to apply for a visa

[MalibuCA]

Thanks, we've already applied for a multi-entry visa that we will use this summer in St. Petersburg, and it will still be good when we visit Moscow.

 

Thanks,

Shelley

[shoshona2]

Hi Shelley,

 

I agree that three or four full days are needed to see Moscow. We were there two years ago. Re your Russian Visa, unless they changed things, the Visa has to have EXACT days you will be in Russia. Since you won't be on a ship's Visa, you might need a letter of invitation from the hotel you will be using in Moscow. You can also check out tripadvisor, Fodors or Frommers for names of private guides.

 

Have a great time traveling!

 

Sheila

[MalibuCA]

Hi, Sheila -

 

Thanks for the info. I passed it onto Rick, and he said that he is getting a multi-entry multi-year visa for our trip to St. Petersburg this summer, and that is will be all that we need for Moscow in 2014. I will keep your "invitation from the hotel" suggestion in mind, however, if we need anything further.

 

Thanks,

Shelley

[DipBrat]

Hi, Sheila -

 

Thanks for the info. I passed it onto Rick, and he said that he is getting a multi-entry multi-year visa for our trip to St. Petersburg this summer, and that is will be all that we need for Moscow in 2014. I will keep your "invitation from the hotel" suggestion in mind, however, if we need anything further.

 

Thanks,

Shelley

 

You are correct that Americans are now granted multi-entry visas and therefore don't need to list the days they will be in the country. (not the case for most other western passports)

 

Since you will have a visa you should consider doing St. Petersburg on your own. Lots of posts here about how to do this and what to see.

[shoshona2]

Hi again Shelley,

 

Wow! Two years ago they changed the Visas while we were in the midst of obtaining one. We had to have our Visa Service redo the Visa we had already filled out. So happy that they now have a multi-year visa without specific dates. We had some friends who were in line in NYC for hours at a time to obtain their Visas in 95 degrees.

 

Have a great time on your travels. We just booked Crystal's 2015 trip to Burma and Asia. It had all new ports for us.

 

Sheila