Travel All Russia Omdömen 

My husband and I took the Volga Dream cruise with an extra night in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Helsinki extension. Everything was perfect - we could not think of anything we would have done differently. A major advantage of the Volga Dream is that on either end of the cruise you are in hotels in the center of Moscow and St. Petersburg, rather than staying on the ship as is true for most Volga cruises. This means you have much easier access to the city and have a better feeling for what the city is like, as well as being able to see much more, spend the evenings doing whatever you want (going to the Bolshoi, for instance, or having a leisurely dinner) without worrying about getting back to the ship.

The Volga Dream itself is a 5 star experience. The accommodations, the food, and the staff are all excellent. The on-board Russian history lectures were a high point, delivered by a professor of history who was not afraid to share her opinions of Russia today. And of course, there is the beauty of the cruise itself, as well as the various small towns at which the ship docked.

The guides were all excellent, extremely knowledgeable, and spoke impeccable English. We had opted for the platinum level, which meant that our group was very small. In addition to having a better tour experience, we were able to spend time with the guides having extensive conversations about their own lives and experiences.

All of the logistical arrangements made by Firebird/Travel All Russia worked perfectly, and made the entire trip seamless and easy. We would recommend them to anyone.

Connie Chamberlin

Travel All Russia did a brilliant job and I would rate is 4.5 if the option was available. Why not 5 stars: a few things they need to improve on 1) the computerized itinerary - the program didn't work properly and the dates and days were all mixed up and I guess someone didn't check it before it was sent out. 2) Initial pick up from airport - if the Travel All Russia sign is more visible ( it is a bright red and would be) it will save time searching for the driver in a sea of people. Generally was happy with the choice of hotels other than one. Overall very good job and I would recommend them as they know Russia!

Trip of a life-time. Would not change a thing. Met all our expectations! Went to Moscow and St. Petersberg

We have just returned from an amazing and educational private UNESCO tour of Russia. The hotels were excellent quality, the guides were punctual and had very good English and were very knowledgeable about the history of the towns we visited and the current and past social structure of the country. The drivers were very professional with good quality and impeccably clean cars. We had very good value for money and had good service from Travel All Russia during the preparation stage of the trip.

I had such a fantastic experience with Travel All Russia. I worked directly with Kate from the very beginning. She was always responsive, patiently answered all of my questions, and suggested reading to do beforehand so that I would understand sights and experiences in their context. The trip itself was a dream come true for me. I would highly recommend using Travel All Russia if you ever decide to do one of their many itineraries to Russia. I cannot wait for my next opportunity to visit Russia.

This was an excellent planned and executed trip and I highly recommend it to anybody that would really like to appreciate the western part of Russia.

Moscow tour guide very knowledgeable but a bit rigid in regards to having adequate breaks for our group of 15 and flexibility in sightseeing. For example, due to a festival, access to the Red Square and St Basil was restricted. We ended up seeing it in the rain the next day. We felt there should have been better planning to have re-arranged the schedule to ensure we saw this main attraction in good weather when we could have (in the am instead of pm). Because of this, a 4 star rating instead of 5.

St Petersberg guide Anne Gilman was excellent! Anticipated our needs, planned well, gave excellent restaurant/shopping recommendations, helped us get to the Fabrege museum and back (not part of our tour), got 6 of us 3rd row seats for Swan Lake and hand delivered them to our hotel, navigated us skillfully thru museum efficiently, joined in our group camaraderie, answered all our questions patiently, gave good tips/hints on a number of topics, read us the Bronze Horseman by Pushkin, and gave us some insight of daily life in Russia. She has a great upbeat personality and we all felt so fortunate to have her as our guide.

Overall, except for the glitch in Moscow, the hotels, included meals, boat tour, and included tours were excellent. I came away very impressed with the wealth of the former imperial family/palaces, and how far these 2 cities have come since the destruction of WWII and fall of the Soviet Union. Did not expect to see so many skyscrapers in Moscow or how modern and capitalisitic cthe 2 cities were. Would definitely recommend Travel All Russia!

HI Ben, I wanted to write to you to tell you WHAT A DREAM the trip was.
This was my 15th European country (more trips to Europe). I loved Olga and Michael, so patient, so much fun and so kind. We learned so much. The hotels were fabulous I especially loved the St. Regis but both were beautiful. Also, you getting us the VISA was a majorly plus or All Russia. Thank you for your kindness and cool headedness with all our questions. Now we can tell others to tour Firebird and All Russia. Gorgeous. Regards, Karen Palmiotti.....Sharon loved it too and probably will write.

This trip was more than I imagined. First, the hotels (5-star) were amazing. We had excellent guides in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The agenda was just right - we saw the highlights and had some time to explore on our own. If you're planning a trip to Russia, I highly recommend traveling with Travel All Russia.

I can't recommend enough, Travel all Russia , Firebird tours. From the initial encounter to the last day, all was expert, easy, helpful and 1st class. The hotels in St Petersburg and Moscow were 5 star and perfect. the Boat tour from St Petersburg to Moscow was beyond our dreams. The food, the staff, the tours, the guides, the music surprises, were so wonderful. I want to go back but only with Travel all Russia.

great trip.Knowledgeble tour guides both cities.Guide in st. Pete. went out
of her way to obtain tickets for evening events,delivering tickets to hotel.

One of the best tours I have been on. Went on small tour with 14 friends/family. Everything Travel All Russia planned for us went smoothly. The hotels, big buses were excellent. The included lunch/dinner were quality. The tour guides were extremely knowledgeable. Anna Gilman was a great tour guide in St Petersburg. She was extremely knowledgeable, accommodating, resourceful.

Would highly recommend Travel All Russia to others.

I would recommend you highly, everything that was promised was given. Our drivers and tour guides were excellent. Nothing was to much for them. I truly enjoyed this trip. Our tour guides were well informed I learned so much about the history of Russia. This was my second trip to Russia and I was very impressed with all the changes. People were friendly and the food was excellent.

The travel guides were excellent! They shared so much history and knowledge of the art galleries and museums. It made such a great difference in the trip. We did have a couple of issues with scheduled tours due to events being held in Moscow that the guide/Travel All Russia did not know about. If not for that it would have been 5 stars.

Our trip to Russia was outstanding! Having previously traveled to Paris and Vienna, we were a little prepared for St Petersburg. However, it was Moscow that completely surprised us - the people were friendly, the city impeccably clean, and the subways were like palaces - they even had chandeliers. Our guides were excellent and very knowledgeable. My wife and I continue to rave about the trip and heartily recommend it to others.

We took the Trans-Scandinavian Rail Tour and absolutely loved it. What we especially liked was the customizability of this tour. If we wanted a different hotel, no problem. If we wanted to upgrade an especially long train ride to first class, no problem. If we wanted to fly between cities instead of taking the train (which we did between Stockholm and Oslo), no problem. Of course, some things would then cost us more, but it was very well explained and presented. The trains were clean, on time, and easy to figure out. Our drivers showed up on time and with really nice vehicles (Mercedes, BMW!)--didn't expect that. Our tour guides also showed up on time and were very knowledgeable and personable. You had plenty of time to continue exploring on your own, which we highly recommend, especially for those museums, palaces, etc., that were only shown to you from the exterior. If you do your homework beforehand, you can make the most of your time and still have time to relax. We would recommend this tour to independent, experienced travelers who are used to getting around on their own (including in some cases taking trams within the cities to get around more easily), but want that extra help from a tour company to make sure the logistics work out and the local history and sites are explained by an experienced guide. We also suggest traveling light since in most cases you'll be lugging your bags around between the train stations and nearby hotels, and on and off the trains. Also, be prepared to walk a lot...not for the faint of heart, but well worth it!

Absolutely amazing time in St Petersburg thanks to Vitaly (our sweet and earnest driver) and Mikhail (a senior guide who's a history professor and the most thoughtful person ever). Vitaly (former professional basketball player) met us at the arrivals hall of St Petersburg airport (you can't miss him - he's more than 2 meters tall and holding a bright red sign with your name), drove us everywhere in such a way that you barely notice the drive, is trustworthy (we just left our bags / coats etc in the car under his watch), is genuinely interested in your wellbeing, and speaks English in a very bashful manner. Mikhail (our guide) speaks perfect English, has a great sense of humor, and knows EVERYTHING (fun history facts, all the little details about every painting in the Hermitage Museum, info about every mosaic in every palace / church, etc) and EVERYONE (other guides, the staff at all the landmarks, etc). Thanks to his experience and connections, Mikhail knows all the shortcuts (don't fret when the queues are long - Mikhail knows a way in without needing to Q), how to get last minute tickets to the last ballet of the season, etc. But more than that Mikhail treats you as a kindly uncle would his favorite nephews / nieces: he walks you to your seat in the ballet theatre, carries your bags all the way in to your train carriage (when we were departing for Moscow), frets over you & your happiness constantly, gives the BEST recommendations for food / currency exchange / shopping, personally hunts down the items and snacks you want, jumps out of his seat as soon as you casually mention something like "oh more butter would be nice", and is SO patient (we were always late). We had the most spectacular introduction to Russia thanks to Vitaly and Mikhail, and will definitely be back in St Petersburg (with these two gentlemen as our driver and guide)!

In Moscow we had Yuri as our driver from the train station to the hotel, and then for the first day of our tour. He doesn't speak English, and has a very serious mien, but you can count on Yuri to always be there when you need him, to get you through the insane Moscow traffic to wherever you want to go, and to do it all professionally and without you noticing the drive (all his gadgets are pretty cool too - e.g. he used a tablet to greet us at the platform right outside our train carriage - the backlighting was very useful in the dark of night). The driver we had on our second day of touring (and for airport transfer to DME) was Vassily (who also doesn't speak English) - less technologically adept than Yuri, we had to wait a long time for the pick up near the Kremlin, and the drive was less smooth (and quite scary at some points given high speeds and sudden braking). Our Moscow guide was Milla - a kindly lady who is knowledgeable and accommodating (and who helps you bargain at the stores).

Side note: Several bottles of water are provided in every car every day, for those who worry about finding drinking water while on tour. And the guides know where to find the clean (and free) bathrooms in each city.

Caution: we were dropped off at DME right in front of a porter with a luggage cart, who instantly grabbed our bags once the trunk was opened and loaded them up (while Vassily, our driver, simply drove off without a word and without attempting to intervene on our behalf with the porter). The porter doesn't speak English, and will try his best to spirit your bags away for an unknown fee - we had to liberate our bags while he stood there glaring, sulking and muttering. Within DME (after yet more metal detectors at the entrances), there will be strange men randomly approaching you and speaking in Russian - no clue what they want, but they definitely aren't Girl Scouts. Keep watch over all your belongings and don't follow anyone you don't know. You're on your own once TAR's driver deposits you at the DME driveway.

One issue we had with the TAR itinerary: We were taken from the St Petersburg airport to the hotel and then an hour later to Tsar's Village (which is near the airport) - resulting in 40-50 minute journeys each way that could have been done without if we'd gone from the airport to Tsar's Village before heading to the hotel. Uncertain if this was because TAR thought we really wanted to check in and freshen up first, or if it was just poor planning. We weren't aware of Tsar's Village's proximity to the airport, and we didn't check or query beforehand as we figured TAR knew better than we did.

Our regret: not spending more time in St Petersburg and Moscow. There's so much to see and do - we had to rush through museums and skip palaces thanks to our short stay. We'll definitely be back for more, as well as the Golden Cities Tour (historical cities older than Moscow) and the Trans Siberian.

All in all, Travel All Russia is definitely worth the fees thanks to its guides (who bring Russia past & present to life) and drivers (who greet you at the airport / train station to prevent you getting lost, and who get you everywhere you need to go). Can't stress enough how brilliant Mikhail (our St Petersburg guide) is - he knows so much (well, he IS a history professor and has been a guide for 26 years), can get anything done, and is genuinely kind and caring. Thanks for the fantastic intro to Russia, TAR!

Excellent Service. Hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow were truely 5 stars. I highly recommend this Company.
Greta Bogocionkaite was great.

Our Volga Dream trip exceeded our expectations. Staying in beautiful, very convenient hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg made it possible to enjoy the late night dining and activities in the heart of the cities. The Volga Dream boat was the perfect.....small, excellent condition, outstanding friendly staff, fabulous food every meal, nicely appointed cabins (& baths), library and good wifi. Each day there were casual activities, informative lectures or tours of the galley, engine room and captain's command which were so amazing. This wonderful trip and visas were arranged by Firebird.
From the booking, payment and final documentation, the trip was handled in an exceptionally professional way. Volga Dream exceeded our expectations and we hope to go with them on future trips. Many thanks to everyone whom made this so enjoyable and memorable!

Excellent service in all areas
Programs on the ship were very interesting - Russian Politics/History/Cultural lectures, Cooking Classes, learning a few words of Russian, documentaries, visits at the various ports
Hotels in St Petersburg and Moscow were truely 5-star; city tours were excellent