Travel in Russia

Q: My husband and I would like to spend a couple of days in St Petersburg after a business trip in Moscow in October. Which is the best way to travel to St Petersburg from Moscow and back again – by train or by boat? How long does it take to get to St Petersburg ? - TD

A: There are a number of companies offering the famous river cruise between Moscow and St Petersburg. However, as the journeys take 7-10 days, you are unlikely to want to do the return trip by boat as well. Stolichnaya Sudokhodnaya Kompania (SSK) offers a nine-day cruise ranging from 650 US dollars in a private compartment with three meals a day to 170 US dollars for a shared compartment of four people a nd no meals. The RechFlot company offers a eight-day cruise from 480 US dollars per person for a berth in a two-bed cabin with meals to 400 US dollars per person in a four-berth cabin with meals. Finally, Tur Flot offers a seven-day trip from 2000 US dollars in a luxury comparment with meals, to 390 US dollars per person in a three-berth cabin with meals. It's a far quicker trip by train, which can take only a few hours to make the 800kms journey. However, you will probably be more interested in the overnight trains, which cost from 100 Euros on a priivately operated train. Get further details of the cruises and trains on the www.waytorussia.net website. (11 July 2010)