Moscow Travel tips from a local guide

Moscow Travel Tips

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

I collected some quick references, information and links to simplify your preparations before you visit Moscow . I am as a Muscovite and Moscow tour guide at the same time , so I can give you an advice about Moscow .How things work here ? Is it safe to go to Russia ? What about criminality in the city ? I will try to answer all questions . Just leave your comments below .

Before you came

Visa options check out and also you can try New electronic Visa .Here is an idea how to get to Moscow using new electronic visa which lasts for about 96 hours. So you can stay in St. Petersburg for a 3 days and then come for one big day to Moscow using Sapsan speed train early in the morning . We meet you at the railway station and bring to all iconic places of Moscow . Just in one day . And in the evening we bring you back to the train to St. Petersburg . Great idea , right ?
Skyscanner – cheapest flights and nice hotels . Find your best deal
Short-time rentals ( apartments ) to save your budget if you wish

Need Transfer from/to the airport ? Let us know!
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Staying in Moscow

Local transportation

Taxi . Do you have Uber or Gett, or Yandex taxi app installed on your phone ? If yes then you can book a taxi using it . They charge good price which is always displayed on your screen before you meet a driver so you know how much your trip can cost in advance . Be careful with prices . They charge only in Roubles and 1 Dollar is equivalent of 63 Roubles . So 630 Roubles is 10 Dollars roughly. So if you see 100 on your screen , it means Roubles not Dollars or Euros ;-). There is another option – to ask for a taxi on your reception desk. It will be a little more expensive , but safe enough . Another option is to call or text us . If there will be an option to help , we gladly do it .
Moscow metro is the cheapest and the most beautiful kind of transport in the world . One trip costs 55 Roubles .They accept all main cards types . You pay one time and go as many stations as you need . Without any zones and hidden costs . We have 223 stations . The most beautiful ones are located in the centre of the city and were designed in 1930-s, 1940-s and 1950-s . I can talk about our metro endlessly IoI Better one time to see .
And yes , they have all signs and announcements in English so you won’t get lost even being alone . Don’t forget metro map Couple of words about Moscow metro safety . We have special metro police department which looks after security and safety of people . All stations are equipped by cameras . It also very clean and beautiful .You ll be definitely pleasantly surprised to spend some time in our subway .
Aeroexpress provides rail passenger transportation services, covering routes between Moscow and airports of the Moscow Air Cluster : Vnukovo ( Kievskiy rail Terminal) , Domodedovo ( Paveletskiy Rail Terminal ), and Sheremetyevo ( Belorusskiy Terminal) . Price – 500 R ( around 9 $ )

Moscow Maps and plans

– Moscow official map to download in PDF format .

Wi-Fi , Sim cards

We have 4 main Mobile providers they are in big competition and suggest all kinds of plans . To get a SIM card , you will need a passport and about 100 Roubles ( 1,5 $) . They need documents not to let criminals do their crimes anonymously using the phone . Even logging into a public WI-FI you ll be asked to enter a code , sent to your phone in order to know who is logging in to the net . I think its a right thing . There are lots of new tourists tariff plans , but when I checked, it looked like too expensive . Better to get a standard plan for the month and to keep your new Russian SIM for the future visits . The average price is about 8 $ per month .It includes : 500 minutes to all providers , free calls to the same provider which is very handy if you travel with your friend or relative , you can call each other free of charge . Also it includes 15 GB of internet which is just great . There are many other Plans , more expensive ones depending on your needs. But I can tell you , that in all restaurants , public transportation , shopping centers we have free WI-FI. Whats Up and all messengers work fine everywhere .

Restaurants

Restaurant guide In Moscow we have all sorts of cuisines . From Italian till Vietnamese and Indian, Georgian and of course Russian . Most of restaurants have delivery which is very handy .

Theatres

Moscow Theatres city Map in PDF
How to get tickets to The Bolshoi theatre ? You should go to their official website and register . In a while , you get email with your account confirmation and can start booking tickets . Ticket prices vary from 100 Roubles which is about 1,5 $ (for students,who stand in the cue all night ) till 30000 which is about 500$ . But anyway , you should book it far in advance , to catch it and prepay on their website . You can also get tickets right in front of the theatre 5 minutes before at a very high rate from smart local businessmen , but be prepared that there are no guarantees that the ticket is real. When you start your booking , please be careful when choosing the Stage where performance take place . It the Bolshoi theatre there are three Stages : Main Historical Stage , New Stage ( built during the reconstruction of the Historical one) and small Beethoven Hall located inside the historical building is used for small day-time concerts . It is possible to take special Bolshoi theatre tour with a guide or visit Google Virtual tour .Have a look

Medical Care

Let’s be positive , but In a case of emergency – all emergency medical help is free of charge in Moscow . Ambulance comes for free and if necessary delivers to the hospital even if you are a foreigner .