Russia Travel Guide (2026) - Against The Compass

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It’s incredible to see how quickly things have changed when traveling in Russia.

From booking accommodation to accessing the internet or just getting into the country, traveling to Russia is very different from what it used to be like pre-2022.

Russia is a massive country, not only in terms of land, but also in its diversity and complexity. It would be impossible to write down a compelling travel guide in just 3500 words.

However, rather than serving as the ultimate guide to traveling across each region, this Russia travel blog contains all the relevant updated info and recent changes that will help plan your trip to Russia, including how to look for hotels, how to get your visa, how to book domestic flights, and much more.

In this travel guide to Russia you will find:

🇷🇺 What it’s like to travel to Russia today

Until 2022, Russia was a popular destination for travelers, and nobody was ever criticized for traveling there.

Moscow International Airport had connections with pretty much everywhere in the West, embassies across Europe were always packed with travelers trying to secure their visas, and the main language heard in the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg was definitely English.

You can still see Asian tourists (mainly groups from China, Malaysia and Iran) in Moscow’s Red Square but the total number of Western tourists I saw after 1 month of traveling across Russia was zero, not a single one.

This made things particularly interesting, especially when meeting English-speaking Russians, who always had plenty of questions on my country’s opinion of Russia.

What do Russians think about the Ukraine war?

The conflict with Ukraine was on the top of my mind but engaging in local politics with Russian people wasn’t really my objective, since I had traveled to Russia to learn about the country and its cultural diversity.

Obviously, I did speak about the current conflict with a few Russians, but the only thing I’ll say is that most people around the world dislike war.

From Syria to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, I’ve always been criticised when traveling to certain countries with controversial regimes, and Russia was no exception.

In fact, I don’t think there is any other country in the world which inspires as much rejection as Russia these days.

It’s important to remember that we are travelers, not activists, and that local people can never be blamed for their Government’s actions, whatever those actions might be.

🪪 How to get a visa for Russia

Surprisingly, getting a tourist visa for Russia is much easier than it used to be before the war with Ukraine.

In fact, Russian authorities recently introduced the option of applying for an e-visa for visits no longer than 16 days.

Also, most embassies and consulates around the world no longer require an appointment, probably because they aren’t as busy as they used to be.

How to apply for an e-visa for Russia

For single-entry visits of up to 1 month (30 days), you can apply for a Russian e-visa.

Which countries are eligible for a 30-day Russian e-visa?

All EU and Schengen countries, as well as Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam.

How long does it take to get approval?

How much does the Russian e-visa cost?

What’s the e-visa validity?

Can I use the e-visa at any entry point?

You can enter Russia via any international airport but with the e-visa, land border crossings are limited.

How to get a Russian visa via the embassy

When should you get an ordinary visa instead of an e-visa?

Visa requirements for Russia

Russia travel tip: I can’t speak for all Russian embassies and consulates, but I do have recent experience of getting one at the Consulate of Barcelona and, from what I heard, all offer a similar experience. Just check your nearest embassy’s website for specific requirements.

How much does the visa for Russia cost?

How long does approval take?

In my case, a non-urgent visa took around 2 weeks, while an urgent one takes 2-3 days.

✍️ How to sign up for a tour in Russia

Traveling with a group and an expert local guide will make things much easier, and more fun!

🚑 Travel Insurance for Russia

Remember that having valid travel insurance for travel in Russia is a must requirement for getting your visa at the embassy.

Our preferred travel insurance company (IATI Travel Insurance) isn’t covering travel in Russia any longer.

⚠️ Is it safe to travel to Russia?

Many people believe that due to the war with Ukraine, Russia has become an unsafe country.

In fact, if we look at the FCDO advice, the largest country in the world is today considered one giant red zone, meaning that even places like Vladivostok, which are nearly 10,000km from Ukraine, are also unsafe for travel due to the Ukraine war.

They also talk about arbitrary detentions and a lack of available flights to return to Europe.

It’s more than obvious that the different foreign ministries don’t want their citizens traveling to Russia, but I’d also like to give my perspective based on my last visit.

Is Russia safe to visit given the war with Ukraine?

As of today, the war with Ukraine is mainly limited to the border areas, up to the region of Kursk.

Outside of those areas, life in Russia is completely normal, just as usual, and the reason is that Russia is just too big for other parts to be affected by it, from a security perspective.

In September 2024, Ukraine launched a bunch of long-distance missiles that hit some buildings in the suburbs of Moscow, which resulted in the death of one civilian.

Although I’ve never said that the rest of Russia was 100% safe, but I do want to mention that I was in Moscow when that incident happened, and I only found out about it from the Spanish news.

The authorities closed the airport for a few hours but other than that, life went on as always. You also need to remember that there are more than 13 million people living in Moscow.

No country in the world is free of risk, so it’s up to each traveler to assess how much risk they choose to be exposed to when traveling to a certain region or country.

Are arbitrary detentions a risk in Russia?

Arbitrary detentions don’t affect foreign tourists traveling on a valid tourist visa who stick to tourist sites and don’t get involved in politics.

Lack of flights

You can’t fly out direct to Europe, but you can fly to Baku, Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo and many other places around the world.

🛫 How to get in Russia

How to fly to Russia

Because of the sanctions, there are no flights operating between Russia and any Western countries, but you can still fly from many cities around the Middle East and Central Asia.

Can you fly to Russia with Aeroflot, Ural Airlines, S7 or any other Russian airline?

However, because of the sanctions, you can’t book flights through their website using a foreign card, although it can be done through Aviasales.com, a search engine for flights that allows international card payments.

How to travel to Russia by land border

Russia has endless border crossings with 14 different countries, so it’s impossible to provide up-to-date information on each and every one of them.

However, we can give you a rough idea of what the situation is like in each of the countries that borders Russia:

Do you get a lot of questions when entering Russia?

If you’re entering from Europe (Estonia, for example), you’ll certainly get a lot of questions, plus the whole immigration process is very slow.

If entering via Moscow International Airport, the chances of being questioned are also high, as travel reports suggest.

Nevertheless, be aware that all this questioning is mere procedure, and that nobody I know has been denied their entry into Russia, as long as they were traveling on a valid tourist visa.

I personally entered from Kazakhstan by train. I did get asked a few questions but they were mostly about the 2 visas for Afghanistan stamped on my passport, no big deal.

They also made me fill in and sign a form with Ukraine-related questions, just to make sure that you had no interest in getting involved in their politics.

💰 Money and budget in Russia

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there’s been a massive inflation and currency fluctuation, but they’ve managed to stabilise it.

Can you use foreign bank cards when backpacking in Russia?

Because of the sanctions, international credit and debit cards can’t be used anywhere in Russia.

Where can you exchange money?

How much does it cost to travel in Russia?

Overall, Russia is cheap as per European standards but it really depends on what you do.

Budget backpackers will be happy to hear that all towns and cities in Russia have an abundance of budget hostels, and that meals are inexpensive.

Long distance trains aren’t super cheap, but you can cover a lot of terrain, plus you save nights in a hotel.

⛅ Best time to visit Russia

Traveling to Russia in winter

Everyone knows that winter in Russia can be cold but it can be adventurous as well.

You would not be the first person to visit the coldest city in the world (Yakutsk) during the month of January or travel across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian.

Traveling to Russia in summer

This can be a great time to visit Russia, especially if you plan to visit the Arctic, Lake Baikal or the Caucasus and Altay regions.

Please be aware that many areas of Russia, and that includes Moscow, have a continental climate with very cold winters, but very hot summers.

Traveling to Russia in spring and autumn

It’s hard to give an accurate answer on this, it depends on where you go and how early or late in autumn or spring you visit Russia.

🛺 How to get around Russia

How to travel around Russia by train

One of the best experiences when traveling in Russia is boarding a Soviet train. It’s a great way to meet local people and also the only way to comprehend the vast size of this country.

You won’t be able to book train tickets with a foreign bank card, but the site will help you plan your trip.

Once you know your train schedule, head to the train station and before paying for the ticket, make sure to choose your preferred class:

How to travel around by taxi

When traveling around Russia, you will have to download Yandex GO, the Russian version of Uber.

You can order a taxi using Yandex GO from virtually anywhere in Russia, even in small towns in the extreme north of Russia, such as Salekhard.

Top Russia travel tip: You can only sign up for Yandex GO with a local number, unless you already have an account created in a country where they also use Yandex, such as Kazakhstan.

How to travel around by plane

Domestic flights are a good option for travelers with little time who are interested in visiting different regions of Russia.

You can check flight schedules on Aviasales and book them using a foreign bank card.

How to navigate around Russia

In Russia, Google Maps works fine but Yandex Maps is more detailed and accurate.

In fact, I realized that many businesses such as restaurants were not listed on Google Maps but they were on Yandex.

By the way, due to the war in Ukraine, geolocation isn’t working properly in the center of Moscow.

🏨 Where to stay in Russia: accommodation

From budget hostels to expensive 5-star chains, you will never have any issues trying to find a hotel in Russia.

The problem is more about how to book a hotel in Russia, since popular search engines such as booking.com or hostelworld.com are no longer operating in the country.

Instead, you can search and book hotels through ostrovok.ru, and even book and pay with your foreign card. It is 100% reliable.

💻 Internet in Russia

Wi-Fi and internet speed in Russia

Getting a SIM card in Russia

I paid less than 7 USD for a package that included a SIM card with 50GB of data and unlimited calls.

I bought it at the official store in a mall and all they required was my passport.

Update June 2025: Obtaining a SIM Card in Russia is becoming increasingly complicated for foreigners, except at the airport. Therefore, I strongly recommend obtaining your SIM card upon arrival in either Moscow or Saint Petersburg.

Getting an eSIM for Russia

Restricted websites and apps in Russia

How to get a VPN for Russia

A VPN is necessary for traveling in Russia, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi networks.

Download and configure your VPN before traveling to Russia because their websites are often blocked as well.

Getting hacked in Russia

It is said that the best hackers in the world are Russian, and that getting hacked is not uncommon here.

I am extremely paranoid about the internet, so my advice is to be very careful about the public Wi-Fi networks you connect to.

Always connect using a VPN and if possible, only connect through your mobile data.

Since data packages are so cheap, I always connected my laptop via my mobile hotspot.

🕌 The people, culture and language in Russia

Cultural diversity in Russia

People tend to think of Russia as one massive Slavic nation but you’ll be amazed to know that Russia is home to 190 recognized ethnic groups, making it one of the most diverse countries in the world.

While it’s true that many of those ethnicities refer to people from former Soviet countries (like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine or Armenia) who for whatever reason moved to the Russian Federation in the past, there are many minorities who are indigenous to a specific region in Russia, such as Tatars, Chechens or Kumyks.

I have personally been to the republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and the autonomous region of Yamalia.

Traveling in the different republics of Russia feels like visiting a different country. They have their own rules, religion, habits, food, and culture, and they refer to actual Slavic Russians as if they were from a separate country.

From a traveling perspective, this is Russia’s best asset and the one thing that makes you realize that most travelers have only scratched a tiny bit of the surface of Russia.

Language in Russia

Russian is the most widely spoken language in Russia, but there are 25 other official languages and over 100 minority languages, all proof of the broad cultural diversity in Russia.

English in Russia

There is a massive language barrier when backpacking in Russia since very few Russians can speak English.

In fact, most people outside of Moscow don’t even understand very basic English words and sentences, such as numbers.

While it’s true that Google Translate and Google Lens have made our life much easier, traveling in Russia is a bit challenging if you don’t know any Russian, so I strongly recommend learning a few basic words.

Also, learn how to read the alphabet. It’s very easy. It took me one day to learn it back in 2018, when I was traveling in Kyrgyzstan.

When it comes to reading food menus, understanding the alphabet is particularly handy.

🍲 Food and drinks in Russia

Russia is a developed country so even in small, remote towns, you’ll be able to find decent food options and nice cafés.

Even in the Arctic town of Salekhard – a very small city which until 2021 was impossible to reach by road – there was a sushi restaurant and a German-style bar with a large selection of beers on tap.

Russian cuisine is, of course, very meat-based but all menus will feature different types of soup and salads.

Borscht (beetroot soup), pelmeni (meat dumplings), or varenniki (potato dumplings) are some of the most common dishes.

For breakfast, I really like sirniki, small but thick pancakes made of cottage cheese, usually served with sour cream.

Additionally, there is a vibrant coffee culture in Russia, so you won’t have any problem finding decent coffee anywhere you go.

❗ More helpful information to visit Russia

📢 In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.

Russia Travel Guide (2026) – Against the Compass