The Russia Experience Our Alternative Travel to Russia (& Central Asia and Mongolia, and Tuva, and....)

We are not exactly a "normal" travel company - but then, we don't offer "normal" destinations! We aim to offer the very best, funniest, nicest, weirdest, genuine experiences our destinations have to offer. Having travelled in them ourselves for over 20 years, we think we know what we're talking about. Unlike other companies, we offer no other destinations than the ex-USSR, Mongolia and China - we're specialists.

Only for Individuals Other travel companies call us "crazy" - but we don't "do" groups. It also disappoints a small minority of people who might have travelled with us that way. So why not? Primarily, because our trips are about real and direct experiences of the destinations, and those simply aren't possible in groups. A lot of our accommodation is with local families, or in tents, or nomad settlements - we cannot put groups into those environments. Also, we don't have to cancel "group trips which don't fill-up", and leave you hanging wondering if enough people will book? So you can pick any start-date you choose for your trip - almost all our trips have a start-date on which all the connections will work every 14 days, and some even as often as weekly. Of course, if we "did" groups, it would mean ruling-out the very special and unusual places we include on our itineraries - the USSR failed to build hotels - for "group-size" trips - anywhere other than "mainstream". Plus, of course - they're horrible anyhow :-( And the other reason? Well, we simply think that dragging-around in a herd of foreigners is the worst possible way to see anywhere! We make some exceptions - there are a few activities which are only feasible with a group (anything involving helicopters, or a chartered boat, etc) and we sometimes have special-interest *small* group trips for this reason.	Local support - on-site. To set things up before you arrive, to make sure it all goes perfectly when you get there, and even to keep you company and introduce you to things once you are there, we have our great, hand-picked local staff. In our "easy" destinations like Moscow, Petersburg etc, they will be on-hand for your first half-day, to get your exploration off to a flying start, show you how the public transport works, and answer all your questions! Where things are way off the beaten track (see below) they are a more constant presence, interpreting, and helping, but still leaving you in charge! If, by any chance, something goes wrong, they are on-hand to help fix it. For example, last year we had to alert a passenger on a forest trek with one of our guides of the critical illness of a relative at home - we set off with torches, and she was on the first flight next morning. We hope it doesn't happen - but if it does, we're ready. All our on-site English-speaking staff are locals - they have the best understanding and knowledge of local circumstances, and it's another way that our style of tourism can contribute to the local economy.
Treading lightly - and responsibly We do everything we can to minimise the negative effects that our trips might have on the destinations. It goes without saying that we don't leave litter, and clear-up after ourselves. Our trips feature train transport, which has a much lower negative impact on the environment than many other kinds of travel. We deal with local companies and inviduals, and hotels and other services which are locally-owned. This injects much-needed foreign currency into the local economies. We only employ the services of local staffers, "buddies", drivers etc, and we also offer family-stay accommodation in local homes. In addition to a far more genuine experience of the destination, these policies also contribute to the local economies.	Info Pack v2.5   The Info you need All our passengers receive a copy of our Info-Pack. It started life as the "most essential" things to know before you left. It's grown into a 70+ page booklet with a mass of information of all kinds about our trips. How to take your money (assuming you have any); local currencies and how they work; background history on specific areas and towns; introduction to the cultures of the different regions; maps of streets, and of public transport systems; some notes about religions and beliefs - and stacks more! It's not supposed to stand-in for a guidebook, but a lot of people don't take anything else!
Expert Advice & Planning Our trips have all been researched on-the-spot by our dedicated expert staff. In addition to their work for the company, several of the staff are authors and contributors to guidebooks about our destinations and other world travel. We check everything out ourselves - for quality, for reliability, for safety. This might sound glamorous, but what you don't hear about are the options we reject - the fleapit hotels with no roof, the money-grabbing guides on the make - we've seen most kinds of scam, and eliminated all of them. We have staff experienced as lone female travellers - and also as lone male travellers, which can be more stressful than you might think!	Unique, genuine, remote Our destinations are not simple or easy. Infrastructure is often partial or faulty, and sometimes entirely absent. We could "wash our hands" of it, and just leave you to fend for yourselves. However, that way you would miss the absolutely key, central things about the destinations, and see only the incidental banalities. Which would you rather see - Lake Baikal? or some industrial suburbs in a town an hour away from it? Mongolian nomads? or a museum about Mongolian nomads? For that reason, we build-in the really unique and genuine experiences into the itinerary. We don't want you to miss them, nor are we going to try to stick you for a pricy side-trip when you get there and find that what you really wanted to see is not included. Very often, what is really wonderful and amazing about these destinations is not within easy reach - it's our job to make sure you see it anyhow.