15 Day Tour of Russia - Route of the Romanovs

Day 1
Welcome to Russia and the start of your holiday! Meet and Greet group arrival transfer from St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport. We register our hotel stay and check-in. Tonight, around 2000hrs, our tip-filled Welcome Meeting takes place. Rest of evening free.
Overnight - St Petersburg

Day 2: St Petersburg – breakfast
A city coach tour gives us an orientation. We’ll break the journey at a few key sights including the beautiful Church on Spilled Blood, which was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was murdered in 1881. We later enjoy a guided visit at the Hermitage. Once a royal residence of the tsars, the palace houses one of the biggest art collections on earth. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight - St Petersburg

Day 3: St Petersburg - breakfast
Free day. If you purchase the pukka pass, day 3 will include additional guided sightseeing inclusive of transport. We visit Peter and Paul Fortress - where the city began in 1703, St Isaac’s Cathedral, the Summer Gardens and stunning Grand Cascade fountains at Peterhof or Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe Selo and enjoy lunch. Built on the orders of Peter the Great, at the Peter and Paul Fortress is SS Peter and Paul Cathedral - housing the tombs of the Romanov monarchs, including the murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his family whose remains were interred here after being discovered outside Yekaterinburg.
Overnight – St Petersburg

Day 4: St Petersburg – Vladimir – breakfast
Today, is a free day for your to explore St. Petersburg as you wish.
Overnight train to Vladimir

Day 5: Vladimir – breakfast
Good Morning Vladimir! Checking into our hotel, we then travel beyond Vladimir to beautiful, rural Suzdal. We’ll explore the town mostly on foot, visiting the 11th century Kremlin, some impressive cathedrals and a wood–carving museum. Later, we’ll have a steamy experience at a Russian banya (sauna). We’ll then tuck into a vodka and Russian lunch. Back in Vladimir, we’ll explore the town founded in 1108. Later tonight, dinner at the hotel.
Lunch, dinner & overnight – Vladimir

Day 6: Vladimir – Moscow – breakfast
This morning, we drive to Moscow. Arrive around 1300hrs and hotel check-in. Riding the Metro to Red Square, we embark on a guided walk. You’ll also have the option to join us on a unique adventure to inside the KGB headquarters Cold War Museum in the heart of Moscow. See page 9 for details. Remains of day free.
Overnight – Moscow

Day 7: Moscow – breakfast
This afternoon, with our guide, we can visit Gorky and Sculpture Park. We also offer an optional excursion to Star City Cosmonaut Training Centre (see page 9). Alternatively, spend the rest of the day doing Moscow your way.
Overnight – Moscow

Day 8: Moscow – breakfast
Today, we head into Red Square where, if open, we can pay our respects for free to Lenin (the father of Communism) in his mausoleum. We continue inside the Moscow Kremlin and enjoy a guided walk through the grounds. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight - Moscow

Day 9: Moscow – Yekaterinburg - breakfast
Today is yours to enjoy as you please. Since this tour runs in conjunction with our ‘Russian Revolution’ tour (or ‘Vodka on Ice’ tour in the winter months) we bid farewell to those not continuing on to Yekaterinburg and to our tour leader who has escorted us thus far. Hotel check-out is at around 1100hrs. However, the hotel has a luggage storage facility which you can use. This afternoon we join the Trans-Siberian line east.
Overnight - Trans-Siberian train to Yekaterinburg

Day 10: Yekaterinburg
The train continues east across the Ural Mountains. Pulling in this evening, we’re met and transferred to our hotel for dinner and relaxation.
Dinner & overnight - Yekaterinburg

Days 11 - 13: Yekaterinburg - breakfast
Founded in 1723 to exploit the mineral riches of the surrounding Urals and Siberia, is Yekaterinburg. It was here in the cellar of a house, where now the beautiful Church on the Blood stands, that Tsar Nicholas Romanov II and his family were executed in 1918. Our tour on day 11 takes us to the Church where you’ll see a large sculpture dedicated to the Tsar and his family and the area of execution. Out of town, we visit Gamina Yama - the monastic complex set in Taiga forest, where the Romanov family remains were unceremoniously dumped and later discovered. Breaking for lunch, we then continue on a city tour taking in the Mineral or Railway Museum, before heading out to the famous Europe/Asia border marker where you can stand with a foot on either side of the boundary marker! A visit to a cemetery housing the remains of local Mafia warlords in curiously dedicated graves wraps up a busy day. On day 12, we drive east through picturesque countryside to Siberia and the 300-year old village of Koptelovo, which offers an insight into how the people of Siberia live. We’ll undertake a village tour, take a horse-drawn carriage or sled ride locally (at own cost), enjoy a traditional folk show where we can interact and tuck into a Siberian lunch with samovar tea tasting and a shot of Siberian vodka to get the blood racing! On day 13 - it’s outdoor action! Choose from a range of exciting options available locally (at own cost). In the summer there’s rafting and hiking, in the winter dog-sledding and ice fishing and more! Please call for further details.
Lunch and overnight (3) - Yekaterinburg

Day 14: Yekaterinburg - breakfast
Hotel checkout. End of arrangements.
This tour runs year round - during both summer and winter months. The itinerary detailed here is based on following our summer ‘Russian Revolution’ for the first 8 days. In the winter months, we follow our ‘Vodka on Ice’ itinerary. This means that we do not visit Vladimir on days 5 and 6, but Pskov instead. Please refer to the ‘Vodka on Ice’ itinerary for information on itinerary in Pskov.

What You See

St Petersburg & city area sights. View sights on a guided city coach tour * St Petersburg Hermitage at the Winter Palace * Golden ring towns of ancient Vladimir & Suzdal inc. kremlin, cathedrals and wood-carving museum * Moscow & Red Square, Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum * Moscow city area sights - Gorky & Sculpture Park * Trans-Siberian countryside aboard the Trans-Siberian * Yekaterinburg & city sights. Route of the Romanovs tour, Europe/Asia border marker, Mafioso cemetery * Koptelovo village in Siberian territory * Countryside of the Urals - outdoor action

Whats Included

Airport arrival and departure transfers * 11 nights 3 star superior tourist class hotels * 12 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 2 dinners * 3 nights train inc. St Petersburg-Vladimir and Trans-Siberian Moscow-Yekaterinburg return (4-berth sleeper cabin) inc- bed linen * Relevant transfers on tour * Guided sightseeing - St Petersburg city coach tour,Hermitage at Winter Palace, Vladimir, Suzdal, Moscow walk, Moscow Kremlin, Yekaterinburg ‘Route of the Romanovs’ tour, Koptelovo Siberian experience * Russian banya (sauna) experience * Moscow Metro travelcard * English speaking tour leader (days 1-9) and English speaking guide - Yekaterinburg * Russia A - Z guide

Airport transfers only included if flying by British Airways and travelling on the scheduled tour start/finish dates

Prices?
£849 GBP per person (single supplement £249) - BOOK NOW

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