advice on traveling to Russia

[Tytlal]

Hello,

After a few months of e-mails, I have been invited by a woman for a face to face meeting.

[liam]

g'day...........korean airways flies to vladivostock, then i think its about 20 hours on the train. cheers.

[Vicky]

Cool way, if to go through Moscow. In SPB we call ways like this "going to Moscow through Vladivostok". You'd better find a better option to cross the Pacific than crossing the whole map via Moscow.
I'm not quite sure but i doubt the russian embassy in the US will accept e-mail invitation, at least a fax one.

[katya]

Hi!
I was find for you this information.
You can go from Moscow on train from Yaroslavskiy station, train number 044-

Hello Katya!

My friend's name who lives in the Russia Far East is Katya as well.

Thank you for the information.

I do not believe that I will travel from Moscow to her city by train. That seems like a very long time. Perhaps if we like each other (after meeting) then we can take a train ride together. Therefore, I need to fly from Moscow to Khabarovsk. She actually said that she lives in Komsomolsk but wants to meet me by train in Khabarovsk. She said that it is about an 8 hour train ride. I thought that was nice of her to meet me there (entry point) so that I will not be confused on my way to her place alone (I do not speak Russian but as soon as this trip is confirmed, I will definitely learn as much as I can.)

Should I assume that the only way from Chicago (USA) to her city is through Moscow? Just seems like I would be able to save a lot of time flying to Tokyo, etc. I must admit that cost is the main concern, not time.

My friend said that I can stay up to 30 days on a tourist visa. Is this correct?

Katya, would it be better to fly to Moscow, and if so, why? Are you saying that I could fly from Moscow to Khabarovsk, and if so, how much?

Regarding living with her brother . . . I can see your point about staying in a hotel FIRST. I do look at this trip as potentially meeting someone with whom I would build a future. However, we have both said in e-mail, that if there is no "chemistry" between us, then we will still travel Russia as an adventure. We plan to visit many places via train. Since I have never been to Russia, I also look at this as a long vacation and site-seeing adventure. Perhaps the worst case scenario is that I get to see Russia without falling in love, but have a tour guide? That's not too bad.

Regarding the visa, she said that she is "talking" to the appropriate people. I know that she has to send me an invitation . . . is there anything that I can do to accelerate the process?

You mention a tourist visa. How is this different than her invitation?

Thank you Katya, and others, who have responded. Any information is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Richard

[Rascal]

Hope you make it in and out of Russian in one piece.

[katya]

Hi!
Tourist visa you make yourself, and you can make it on 3 days at your country. Invite can be making very long time.
At different city-different time.
I don

[MartinUK]

Tytlal,
Hi, I work in the airline industry so know a few tricks of the trade.
Don't phone the airline, they will quote you the fare they feel like and not necessarily the best fare available.
Go to a travel site such as www.kelkoo.com , www.opodo.com or www.travelselect.com , and a particularly good site for US guys is www.gotorussia.com , this one is not online booking but it seems they can offer good deals.
On these sites check out the fare from your origin to your destination and if it is indeed via Moscow then check again if 2 separate fares, i.e. origin to Moscow and then Moscow to destination to see if it works out cheaper. Doble check that you do not need to change airport in Moscow, there's about 4 airports!
Also, most airlines have their own online booking websites, certainly the US airlines and Aeroflot. Check as many websites as possible to get the best price, just make sure you select for 'prices/seats' available and not just cheap fares that simply aren't available.
And .... before booking, whether it be with a travel agency or direct with the airline, register for that airline's frequent flyer programme (Aeroflot have one of these also), it costs you nothing to register and can get you discounts in the future.
Hope this helps
Martin

[MartinUK]

And .... www.gotorussia.com offer visa assistance and lots more!

[katya]

Only information.
At Russia at trains there are 3 type of carriage

Katya,

Thanks for the advice. How much will plane tickests cost me from Chicago to Khabarovsk? I realize that I will probably have to stop in London and Moscow.

Taking the train from Moscow would be fun and interesting, but time is not on my side. Perhaps the next trip http://datingtalk.info/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Any advice is welcomed!

MartinUK,

Thanks for the tip! That is a nice Web site. I did speak with a couple of people today. Unfortuantely, the lowest airfare that they can offer me from Chicago to Khabarovsk is $1665 US. I plan to leave the first week of July and be there for less than 30 days. My dates are flexible within a week or two.

I guess that I find it odd to be able to travel to other places in the world at a much cheaper cost.

Any other suggestions?

Regards,

Richard

[MartinUK]

Richard,
Did you try www.gotorussia.com ?
From what I understand they offer some good prices!
What doesn't help is the dollar is really suffering against other currencies at the moment!

Martin,

Yes. That was the price given to me by www.gotorussia.com. Very friendly people. They did mention that I could not leave until July 13th. I would like to leave on July 1st but I can be a little bit flexible.

Also, they will expedite the "invitation visa" process. Nice of them since my friend in Russia is having a difficult time with prompt service.

True about the US dollar. This could be part of the problem. And, the fact that it will be peak traveling season in Russia (a guess).

I'll let you know if I find a better price. May have to bite the bullet.