Russia
For more general FAQ's try the FAQ's page on my European Discovery tour.
Optionals Safety Accommodations Bathrooms Water Food $$$
Carlsberg Brewery: Maybe – It’s a self guided tour of the Brewery, it has some interesting things in it. You get two free beers. Everyone had a nice time doing this, but there are other things to do in Copenhagen too.
Russian Experience Package: Yes – I think this is a must for the average Contiki traveler and a maybe for more independent travelers. I suggest that everyone budgets for this optional, better to have the extra money and not do it then not budget for it and then decide to do this, as happened to some people on my tour. Overall it made the experience in Russia much easier, everyone on my tour did this optional and was glad they did.
My package included tickets to the ballet, circus, and folklore show; dinner on the nights we didn’t have an included dinner; tours of all the museums, most of which are in cyrillic and therefore difficult to do on your own. The dinners were pretty good (I’m not a huge fan of Russian food), the tours of the museums were long but informative and the shows were all good. The ballet is very good but an acquired taste, the circus is animals and people doing stupid things – but the Moscow Circus is famous. The folklore show was surprising very good and entertaining.
If you do this optional, but want to do some things on your own, you can still do that (some people get the idea that they have to stay with the group – you don’t), just find out where to meet up with the group from the Tour Manager or local guide. The biggest downside of this optional is that it doesn’t leave much free time in the cities.
Chopin’s Music Piano Recital: Maybe – I enjoyed this as did everyone who went. It’s a nice relaxing hour of pretty music in a palace. But you probably wont feel like you missed something if you don’t go.
Berlin Historical Walking Tour: Yes – I thought this was a very good tour and the guide was very good and really knew what he was talking about – he was a history student at one of the Universities. They did have this tour for free from the hostel, but our TM told us that the free guides don’t have much if any experience, which makes sense.
Berlin Dinner & Nightlife Tour: Maybe – I didn’t think this was much of a value. We had a beautiful evening and ate in a downstairs restaurant in an area with sidewalk cafes all around. The food was good, but the location was lacking. The Nightlife Tour consisted of a couple free shots, 3 quiet bars and a club that’s best described as a bar with a dance floor. I was there during World Cup and we had a MUCH better time the night before. The people who didn’t go seemed to have a better time and got to go to the Reichstag. You’re better off getting a group of people together, find your own restaurant and bar and have more time to sightsee.
Rosie McGee’s Pub Dinner: Maybe – No one on my tour did this since it’s expensive, but it’s the last night of tour so if everyone had done it I would have done it too. I think this optional depends on what everyone else on tour is doing.
Optionals Safety Accommodations Bathrooms Water Food $$$
Generally, yes. If you use common sense and don’t go too far off the beaten track you should be fine. No one on my tour had any trouble. Your local guide will talk to you about safety. I honestly never felt uncomfortable in St. Petersburg, it’s a nice city, but if you notice that the buildings around you are crumbling down, you’ve gone too far. Moscow wasn’t as nice. It generally seemed a bit dodgier and the police have been known to stop tourists and try to shake them down for some money. The Russian Mafia are also prevalent in Moscow, but as long as you don’t bother them, they wont bother you. Again, the local guide will give you some tips on staying out of trouble and tell you what to do if you do end up in trouble, which rarely happens. There are also some con games going on in the cities, so watch out for them. The worst thing that will happen to you is you’ll lose some money, listen to the advice of the local guide, use some common sense and have fun. This is a travelogue of someone doing the Russia and Scandi tour, who actually had a bit of trouble in Russia - everything turned out ok in the end.
You do not need a sleeping bag for this tour, it says so in the Contiki brochure. The only place that you might want one for is the Stockholm Campsite, but your TM should order sheets for you, so it’s not worth bringing one just for that stop.
The hostel in Copenhagen was nice, but I would not recommend it if you’re staying extra nights, you can find just as good of a hostel in the city for the same price (or so I’m told), it’s just too far outside the city and they don’t have a very secure way of holding your bags. The Stockholm campsite is ok, 4 to a very small room and communal showers. It’s about 20 or 30 minutes outside the city, you could take a cab back, I think there is also a train in the area.
The ones in Russia were hit or miss. St. Petersburg was old and not in a very good location (you’re on a different island from the main part of the city so if you’re out late, you’re stuck out till around 5 in the morning when they open the bridges again). Novgorod was really nice. In Moscow the rooms were a bit out of date, but the hotel complex was very good, it is also on the Metro line so you could get around fairly easily if you want to. Yartsevo was the worst, but some people did get there own bedrooms. The showers weren’t in good condition, but the water was bad anyway. In Minsk the hotel was average. The hotel in Warsaw was fantastic. The Generator was ok, I believe all rooms had an en-suite bathroom and there were a lot of services. It was also right on the tram line.
Optionals Safety Accommodations Bathrooms Water Food $$$
How were the bathrooms in Russia?
For the most part they were ok. There did seem to be an issue with smelly bathrooms, and some were bad. But most were decent or nice. In Belarus squatter toilets are common.
The only place water is considered safe in Russia is in Moscow, and with a track record like that I didn’t trust it in Moscow either. You have to use bottled water for drinking and brushing your teeth, keep your mouth closed in the shower. One of the guys had an infection in his throat – they think he had a cut or sore in his throat and he brushed his teeth with the tap water in St. Petersburg (which is so bad it smells) and got bacteria in the cut causing the infection.
Optionals Safety Accommodations Bathrooms Water Food $$$
Generally the food was ok. Most breakfasts included a hot meal, eggs or pancakes usually. They also, toast or bread, yogurt, cereals, and juices. The breakfasts in the hostels were usually just juice, bread, and cereal. Dinners were ok, the food in Russia in general was kinda greasy though. Salads were tomato and cucumber with oil on them. In Berlin we were given 10 euros for dinner and sent on our way (this worked out well for us, though my group all spent more then 10 euros each on there dinner). Many dinners included some sort of dessert and a salad or soup.
It can defiantly be cheap, though most people saved there shopping for Russia and therefore spent a lot of money there. Some sample prices throughout the tour:
Russia
10 Euro for groceries (water and fruit)
74 Euro for souvenirs from Dodgie Serg (T-shirt, 2 books, postcards,
USSR Hockey Jersey, Russian Hat)
20 Euro cent for bathroom
250 Rubles for scarf
12 Euro for matrioshka doll
50 Rubles for magnet
60 Euro cent (or 40 Rubles) for bathroom
122 Rubles for lunch at Subway (small sub, cookie and drink)
150 Rubles for ballet program
103 Rubles lunch at KFC
20 euro for a matrioshka doll
12 Rubles for candy at a communist store
103 Rubles for lunch at McDonalds (burger, fries and soda)
100 Rubles for 50 minutes on the internet
120 Rubles for pizza, soda and salad
30 Rubles for ice cream bar
89 Rubles for pizza, fruit and soda
90 Rubles for gourmet ice cream
10 Rubles for an apple
30 Rubles for 2 bananas, rolls and water
49 Rubles for large fry and ketchup at McDonalds
32 USD for 2 t-shirts and small matrioshka doll
40 Rubles for a bottle of Sprite
399 Rubles for a long sleeved shirt
Fabrege Eggs start around 30 or 40 and go to well over 100 USD
Poland
3 Zloty for 30 minutes internet
6 Zloty for pastry
80 Zloty for 2 t-shirts
8 Zloty at Subway for dinner
8 Zloty for lunch, 5 Zloty for ice cream, 4 Zloty for iced tea at
McDonalds
Germany
6.80 Euro for World Cup pin
18 Euro for dinner
5.50 Euro to get into Checkpoint Charlie Museum
5 Euro for lunch at Subway
3 Euro for magnet
7.70 Euro for keychain with piece of Berlin Wall
Denmark
88 Nkr for all you can eat pizza and soda
11 Euro for lunch on boat
