Welcome on board Russian River Cruises, the Rostourism only travel company dedicated to offering you the very best in river cruising between Russia's two greatest cities. River cruising is the best way to see Russia, Moscow & St.Petersburg in all their splendour and the Russian countryside in all its rustic beauty. The combination of life on board and the wonderful places we visit en route will leave you with memories which will last a lifetime.  So follow the links on this page to start your amazing journey....

Introduction.
One of the things that you could possibly do in Russia is to make a river cruise. This kind of vacation was quite popular among Russians in the Soviet times: people used to go around small provincial towns, make short sightseeing tours, moving on, and enjoying picturesque views along the way, especially in the mornings.
Now it is not so popular, mainly because of slightly high prices for most of the cruises. But the real fans find their way. In this section we list some least expensive and most interesting (from our point of view) river cruises. We will also give you some useful internet addresses in the end of this section, so you can contact the cruise companies yourself and see their offers. But before, some useful hints about river cruising in Russia.


What River Cruises in Russia are Like?
Traditionally, there are short and long river cruises. Short cruises usually take two to five days, start in big cities (like Moscow) and cover small provincial towns along the way (the towns of Golden Ring - Uglich, Yaroslavl and Kostroma; Tver). Long cruises usually take nine to twenty days or longer and, starting in big cities (Moscow) go to some other big cities, like St. Petersburg (9 days), Astrakhan (20 days), Nizhni Novgorod etc. Usually, all cruises are return, that is, you'll come back where you started.
Generally, going on a river cruise, means that you'll board a cruise ship, have your own compartment (shared between 2 or 4 passengers), have a meal three times a day (or only once, if you want to save money), stop in the most attractive towns and places along the way, have a few hours or whole days to make a tour or walk around by your own.
The people who would make your company for the whole cruise are usually quite nice, well-educated Russians, schoolchildren or old people on vacations. If you take an expensive cruise, you might share your compartment with a foreigner.
Your main entertainment while the cruise will be observing the views along the way, making sightseeing tours in cultural and historical centers, participating in various entertainment events on the ship (which aren't always interesting).
Some recommendations are:
(a) it's better to start with short trips if you never tried river cruises before, because you might not be the kind of person who likes this kind of thing;
(b) don't take the most expensive tours, they aren't necessary the best ones;
(c) don't try to save your money on buying a tour, that includes only breakfast (and not a 3-days meal), because you won't have much time to buy food in the towns you stop and there'll be not chance to cook it;
(d) if you would like to hop off in one of the places you stop for a walking tour, ask your cruise company if they will refund you for the rest of the trip;
(e) the price for the most 'luxury' conditions with a meal 3 times a day and a private compartment is three times more expensive than the price for the cheapest compartment (shared between 4 people) and no meal included.
(f) it's better to take a compartment shared between 4 people, you'll have a chance to meet people, and it's less expensive too.
(g) ! before choosing a cruise, ask to see what kind of compartments are offered, because what is called 'luxury' in one company, may be 'economy' in the other. it's always better to go on the ship and to see the conditions yourself, especially, if you're going to spend long time in the cruise.

Some Short Cruises:
1. Moscow (River Port) - Tver - Moscow.
Route: Moscow (1st day, 17.30) - Tver (2nd day, 6.30) - Moscow (3rd day, 12.00). Length: 3 days.
2. Moscow (River Port) - Uglich (a Golden Ring town) - Moscow.
Route: Moscow (1st day, 17.30) - Uglich (2nd day, 3.00) - Moscow (3rd day, 20.00). Length: 3 days.
3. Moscow - Kostroma - Moscow.
Length: 5 days.
4. St. Petersburg - Valaam - St. Petersburg.
Length: 3 days.

SOME LONG CRUISES:
1. Moscow (River Port) - St. Petersburg.
Route: Moscow - Uglich (Golden Ring) - Yaroslavl (Golden Ring) - Goritsy - Kizhi (Karelia, famous monastery) - Svirstroi - St. Petersburg. Length: 9 days.
2. Moscow - St. Petersburg.
Route: Moscow - Uglich (Golden Ring town) - Kostroma (Golden RIng town) - Yaroslavl (Golden Ring town) - Goritsy - Kizhi - Mandrogi - St. Petersburg. Length: 8 days.
3. Moscow - St. Petersburg.
Route: Moscow - Uglich (Golden Ring town) - Kostroma (Golden RIng town) - Yaroslavl (Golden Ring town) - Goritsy - Kizhi (Karelia, famous monastery) - Svirstroi - St. Petersburg. Length: 7 days.
4. Moscow (river port) - Nizhny Novgorod - Moscow.
Route: Moscow - Uglich (a Golden Ring town) - Yaroslavl (Golden Ring) - Kostroma (Golden Ring) - Nizhny Novgorod - Murom - Kasimov - Ryazan - Konstantinovo - Moscow. Length: 10 days.
5. Moscow (river port) - Nizhny Novgorod - Moscow.
Route: Moscow - Uglich (Golden RIng town) - Yaroslavl (Golden Ring town) - Kostroma (Golden Ring town) - Plyos - Nizhni Novgorod - Pavlovo - Kasimov - Ryazan - Konstantinovo - Moscow. Length: 10 days.
6. Moscow - Astrakhan - Moscow.
Route: Moscow - Uglich - Kostroma - Plyos - Nizhni Novgorod - Kazan - Samara - Saratov - Volgograd - Astrakhan - Akhtuban - Volgograd - Saratov - Usovka - Vinnovka - Samara - Ulianovsk - Cheboksary - Yaroslavl - Tver - Moscow. Length: 20 days.