City Day Trip Options

 

Moscow

 

Vodka Museum

It is quite symbolic that the museum is now situated in Moscow, which is the historical centre this famous drink originates from, 15th century being the starting point of its history. The museum appeared within the precincts of the Kremlin in Izmailovo, which is a unique historical and architectural complex, for tourists and locals.

1 person price £60pp • 2 people or more £35pp

Duration 3 hrs. Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.


Stalin’s Bunker

The secret underground control-room from which Stalin planned to run the USSR in the event of nuclear war. Please note this is not open to the general public and is strictly a private tour, and the price they charge reflects the exclusive nature of this VIP trip.

1 person price £170pp • 2 people or more £85pp

Duration 3.5hrs. Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.

 

1 person price £105pp • 2 people or more £65pp

Duration 4hrs. Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.

 

1 person price £60pp • 2 people or more £45pp Duration 3hrs. Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.

 

St. Petersburg

Tea in a Russian Home

Russians are at their happiest when sitting and drinking tea, eating cake and having a natter. There’s even a verb in Russian, chaigonyat, to describe drinking a lot of tea like this! Enter the private world of Russian home home life for a short while.

1 person price £75pp • 2 or more people £40pp

Duration 3hrs. Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.

Museum Of The Political Police

Russia’s secrect police are legendry, but they weren’t merely a soviet-era invention... they date back to the oprichniks (the deadly secrect agents ofthe Russian Tsars from the C17th onwards) and beyond. Even famous Russian authors like Dostoyevsky (who wrote “Crime and Punishment” here in St Petersburg) fell foul of the terrifying “midnight doorknock”. This museum offers an unglossed history.

1 person price £70pp • 2 people or more £40pp

Duration 3hrs. Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.

Yusupov Palace & Rasputin Chambers

The Yusupov family were the wealthiest family in Russia-wealthier even than the Tsars themselves, and their influence ran everywhere. So when young Felix Yusupov and his university friends decided Rasputin’s influence had become too great, they decided to “deal with him” privately, by inviting him to a poisoned supper at their magnificent palace...

1 person price £85pp 2 people or more £55pp

Duration 2.5hrs.  Includes travelling time. No transportation costs included.

Russian Cookery Lesson with a family

Learn how to cook traditional Russian dishes under the watchful eye of a master of the genre! You’ll have to eat the results of your efforts later, so make sure you pay attention! All the ingredients, tuition and a shot of something to wash it down with are included.

1 person price £85pp • 2 people or more £50pp

Duration of the lesson 3 hours.  No transportation costs are included.

 

Vladivostok

 

City Sightseeing Tour (Panoramic)

Three hours, transport & English-speaking guide included
Get the inside track on the “Ruler Of The East” - which is what “Vladivostok” means in Russian. Russia's principal city on the Pacific Coast has a long maritime history going well back into the Tsarist years, and seafaring and exploration are constant themes as we tour the city! We'll visit the Arseniev Museum (small admission fee payable locally) to see the rich vegetation and wildlife of the Russian Pacific, along with the city's rich history as a defensive, fishing and trading port – and the easternmost terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. A more recent example of Vladivostok's naval history is the Red Navy S-56 submarine, now standing ashore on Marine Embankment (small optional admission charge if you want to glance inside). The excursion also tours many of the city's architectual landmarks and attractive panoramic views.

1 person price £85pp • 2 people or more £50pp

 

Visit to a Russian Dacha

Three hours; lunch, transport & English-speaking guide included
Simple wooden summerhouses – called dachas – are a deeply-embedded element in Russian culture. Most Russians live in pokey high-rise city housing, and the chance to escape the city, plant carrots and beetroots, take a country walk or just read a book in the garden is something few can resist during the warm summer weather. Many who don't have full-time jobs in summer (pensioners, mothers with young children, etc) might spend the whole summer there. Russian authors such as Gogol and Chekhov have often set their stories at the dacha – for example Chekhov's famous play “The Seagull” - it's an essential element of Russian life.  Our trip includes round-trip transfers, guiding throughout, and a traditional Russian lunch with your dacha hosts.

1 person price £105pp • 2 people or more £70pp

 

Full-day ferry trip to Russky Island

Eight hours (10am-6pm); lunch, transport, ferry-ticket, admission tickets to places of interest & English-speaking guide included
Russky Island is a natural island situated off the Vladivostok coast. During the Soviet era it was a top-secret naval base where warships were fitted and serviced – it has a natural concealed harbour within the island, shielding activities there from view.  Today Russky Island is open to the public, and even served by a public ferry – which we'll take in order to get there.  Most locals take the ferry to use the island's beaches (as Vladivostok itself has only a tiny and rather grubby public beach).  By all means bring your swimming togs along, but the main attraction during our trip is the Voroshilovskaya Battery – the former secret military base on the island. We have an excursion around the base, and you get to see what kind of activities went on there, how all the extensive machinery and equipment functioned, and what the rationale for the base was. There's a picnic lunch included in a picturesque spot with wonderful sea views, and free time to wander or relax by yourselves.

2 people (min) or more £160pp

Siberian Tiger-Watching Trip

Ten hours (10am-6pm); lunch, transport, ferry-ticket, admission tickets to places of interest & English-speaking guide included
“Tyger! Tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
For many years the Siberian Tiger has been an endangered species in Russia – and the chance to see tigers in their natural habitat in Siberia has been something only for intrepid wildlife enthusiasts with weeks of time to devote to it, with no guarantee of success.  This unique excursion visits a Tiger Reserve 250km from Vladivostok, where you have a high chance of being able to frame the tiger's fearful symmetry in your viewfinder – without putting yourself at risk in the process!  Although known as the “Siberian Tiger” (panthera tigris altaica) this is something of a misnomer – the Far East of Russia isn't Siberia, and the tiger is found only here... and across the border in northern China. This trip is a unique chance not only to see the tigers of Far-Eastern Russia – but to help with their continued survival, since a proportion of the fee from this excursion goes towards the work of the tiger reserve. With proper government support, and the eradication of poaching, tiger numbers are slowly rising once again in Far Eastern Russia.

1 person price £500pp • 2 people or more £270pp