S. Petersburg, Moscow and Golden Ring ... With 1,000 Euros you can!

Glittering domes silhouetted against the blue sky, fairytale palaces where you can feel the magnificent atmosphere of tsars, huge squares that have lived the horrors of Russian history and splendor, beautifully decorated churches, glorious Kremlin from which the country has been governed largest in the world. A little piece of Russia is perhaps not enough to know a nation so great and so ambiguous, but a trip in his undisputed symbols, St. Petersburg, Moscow and the Ring of Gold, you will discover a place that for centuries has remained isolated and which only in recent years is opening to the world. With the pros and cons ...
I do not know why, but the Red Square, for me, has always been an essential place to visit (along with many others ...). Now that I've seen I know the reason: the vast, solemn, spectacular, unique and certainly the most memorable place in all of Russia!

95% of the tourists who come together in Russia, traveling with an organized group: the remaining 5% (including us), it is not always easy to disentangle the maze of rules and bureaucracy, and in the metropolitan attractions with signs in Cyrillic only, in request information from a population that mostly does not chew a single word of English.
For this reason, the country is not at all organized by the tourist point of view, especially for what you do-it-yourself.
However, except for a few moments of despair turned to looking for a blank entry to any church or museum, or to exit the subway in the right direction, a journey of self-experience in Russia is undoubtedly fascinating, and not as complicated as it may sound.
Certainly, St. Petersburg is much easier than in Moscow, chaotic and disorganized. Between the two, however, Moscow is the one I liked best.

 

S. Petersburg, Moscow and Golden Ring ... $ 1,000 you can!

Of course, with 3 conditions:

1) move in advance and plan your route in detail, familiar with the places you will visit and how to reach
2) have a little 'luck in finding a good offer for the flight, continually seek the best deals for hotels, travel by public transport
3) move independently in Russia requires a little 'patience when you have any questions, you will not get any satisfactory answer (if not in hotels).

We recommend a travel experience just before facing Russia in an autonomous and a little 'spirit of adaptation.

WHERE TO BEGIN

Flight: looking well ahead you can find very attractive offers, such as Lufthansa.

Read: The cheapest way is to go directly to the Russian Consulate (Milan) or Embassy (Rome). But first, you'll need invite tourism and insurance recognized in Russia. On balance, it may be cheaper, in terms of time, rely on some agency. The cheapest I found is www.vistoperlarussia.com offering complete practice for 99 euros per person (call, insurance, and 10 days visa). Reliable and fast (PHONE 02-45071475).

Things to look for updated information on the Internet you can find many places to visit, hours, days of closure, the cost of entry, the means to achieve them. The sites of the major attractions are also in English, many in Russian only, but google translate is not impossible.

Trains: the Internet is in English few sites that offers the possibility of booking, unfortunately the prices are much higher than official rates. The only way to save is to do everything through the official website of the Russian railways .... Only in Russia:
www.rzd.ru
It 'must first create an account by registering, then you can book. Again, it is possible to unravel with the help of Google, are a very useful site, in English, that translates what you will find page after page during the booking process, with instructions.
http://www.valigiapronta.altervista.org/scheda.php?lang=eng&page=Login_in_RZD.html
Not all credit cards are accepted (Visa with I had no problems).
You'll get an electronic ticket that you will not even change the ticket: just occur on the train, where, before boarding, verify your reservation with your passport.

Hotels deals on the best looking sites (help yourself with trivago.it), erasable book fares, so that, if you happen somewhere Offerton later, you can easily cancel and proceed with a new reservation.

My program, of:

Lufhansa Flight from Milan to St. Petersburg by Monaco, returned from Moscow to Milan via Dusseldorf.
4 nights in St. Petersburg, Vladimir train ride (2 nights), visit of Vladimir and Suzdal (Golden Ring), travel by train to Moscow (3 nights) and a visit to Sergiev Posad (Golden Ring) by train from Moscow.

I left out the remaining places of the Golden Ring, more complicated to achieve and that offer similar attractions to those of previously visited locations. The two cities have missed the Golden Ring Sergiev Posad and Suzdal, Vladimir and offers little but is well connected by trains, so it is a convenient starting point.

costs:
Here are the costs for a family of 3 persons:

Lufthansa flight € 435 (€ 145 to Offerton missed ... / ra person)
Watched € 237
Train St. Petersburg - Vladimir € 270
Train Vladimir - Moscow € 65
5th Corner Hotel St. Petersburg € 90 to 3 stars, triple with breakfast
Vladimir Hotel € 85 to 3 stars, triple with breakfast
Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya € 152 to 5 stars, triple with breakfast
Entrances to all attractions and local transport: € 400
10 meals: € 430 (plus a quick lunch in the kiosk)