Russian Blog
This is a blog by JustRussian about learning Russian. You will find useful tips for learning Russian, Russian courses available in London, information about Russian culture and links to websites with information for students of Russian.
21 Travel Tips for Moscow
By Vlada 15 January 07
1. Learn the Cyrillic alphabet
If you’re planning to get around on your own, your life will be much easier if you learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Most street signs and signs in the metro are not translated into English.
2. Time zones
There are ten time zones in Russia. Moscow and St. Petersburg are three hours ahead of London. Russia also has summer time, when the clocks go forward. Summer time starts in April and finishes at the end of October.
3. Get a visa
Every westerner traveling to Russia needs a visa. Visit the website of the Russian Embassy in the UK.
4. Customs declaration
When you arrive in Russia, you have to fill in a customs declaration stating how much money in cash you have on you. Keep this declaration throughout you visit, because it may be checked on the way out. Theoretically, you cannot take out of the country more money in cash than you brought in.
5. Have somewhere to stay
When you arrive in Russia, you will also need to fill in an immigration card, stating where you are going to stay, for how long.
6. Carry your passport
Carry your passport with you at all times.
7. Currency
Which currency to take? The best bet is to take American dollars or Euros in cash. You will find small bureaux de change everywhere in big cities where you can exchange dollars or Euros into roubles and vice versa. In big cities you will also find cash machines that accept all major credit and debit cards. The plusher kind of restaurant and supermarkets will accept credit cards, but small local ones won’t. British sterling is quite a rare currency, and you can only exchange it in big banks. Ditto with travelers’ cheques.
8. Taxis
Official Moscow taxies look like New York ones, but they are quite expensive. Muscovites do not use them. You just put up your hand in the street and private cars will stop to collect you. Sounds crazy but it’s a popular way for Russian drivers to make some extra money. You set the price before getting into the car. The driver usually asks how much you are prepared to pay. Needless to say, anyone using this service should be very careful and only get into someone’s car if the driver looks trustworthy!
9. Minicabs
You can call and book an official minicab in Moscow by dialing 232 11 11. (but they speak Russian only!).
10. The metro
The best way to get around Moscow is by metro. It’s big, fast, reliable and cheap. The price of one journey is 17 roubles (1 pound sterling is 50 roubles). You can buy tickets for 1, 2, 5, 10 or 20 journeys. It’s a bit cheaper to buy a card for several journeys in advance. The price does not depend on your destination. But avoid the rush hours (8.30 till 9.30 am and 5.30 till 7.00 pm) because some lines are very crowded.
11. Crowded trains and buses
Russians do not have a comfort zone like the Brits or Americans do. So people will get very close to you on a crowded train or bus. Don’t take it personally! But if you do mind being pressed against someone’s chest or back, avoid taking public transport in rush hour.
12. Traffic jams
Traffic jams can be horrendous in the centre of Moscow at any time of the day. You have been warned.
13. Museum tickets
Museum tickets are much more expensive for foreigners than for Russian people, and it’s official (unfortunately). No one checks your documents though, so you can pass for a Russian if you have a good accent and do not look too foreign!
14. Buy a street map of Moscow
You can buy a street map of Moscow in pretty much any newsagent/bookshop. It won’t be in English, but that probably won’t matter.
15. Don’t miss the metro
The Moscow metro doesn’t work quite like others you may be familiar with. Instead of having stations that have platforms serving several different train lines, every platform on the Russian metro is regarded as a station in itself. Thus when you transfer from one line to another, you’ll find yourself following signs not for another train line, but for another station! Don’t worry: this may sound confusing, but it’s actually very logical and you’ll get the hang of it. If you do get lost, try to enjoy it – the Moscow metro is one of the great engineering marvels of the world and is extremely beautiful. The system opens at 6 am and closes at 1 am.
16. Pedestrians officially do NOT have right of way
Muscovites, like Parisians, drive like lunatics. Worse yet, pedestrians officially do NOT have right of way on city streets and motorists do. So be very careful crossing roads.
17. Beware of pickpockets and beggars
Like any big city, Moscow has its dangers for visitors – particularly late at night. Beware of pickpockets and beggars, who have a reputation for being aggressive. In the city centre, it’s generally safe for tourists whatever the hour.
18. Moscow between November and April
If you’re visiting Moscow between November and April, bring appropriate clothing – it can be very cold! Importantly, make sure you bring waterproof footwear: occasional thaws can make the streets very dirty and slushy. Be very careful with flights of steps: many of these are made of granite, which is astonishingly slippery in the frost.
19. Everything is available
Moscow has changed dramatically in the last ten years. You don’t need to worry about not being able to buy cosmetics, drugs or special items that you deem essential: everything is available to buy in situ.
20. Plugs
Russia has the same electricity system as Western Europe, i.e. two-prong round-pin plugs.
21. A word about car hire
A word about car hire: it may be possible, but don’t be tempted. Russian notions of insurance are, er, primitive. Roads are a bit agricultural. And people drive, as noted above, like lunatics. Spare yourself the pain!