Express to Russia Reviews 166

Great company. Everything was just right. Great guide. Will use them again.

The river cruise was a fantastic experience, the crew and the guides were first class, the food was great and everything went exactly as planned.

I found Express to Russia online while searching for a more authentic Russian cruise than on the more well-known western "longships".
My experience booking was excellent: no question too small; response time was within hours; and visa advice for Canadians was spot on.
My transfers were good from/to the two airports, although I had to wait for my driver in Moscow because I came through passport control and customs in less than 20 minutes.
The cruise on the Zasima Shashkov was good but slightly hampered by all the passengers who came with organized tours, except five of us . Those of us who booked independently were not included by the ship's crew. We did not receive the daily schedule, we were not assigned to a bus for the tours, etc. Our tables in the dining room were not with the others but to one side near the entrance.
I fixed it, not with help from the ship's staff, but by talking to one of the tour company leaders who adopted us. If Tanya hadn't, we wouldn't have had any idea of the day's events or been able to join the shore excursions. Tanya should be complimented for including us in everything, every day.
The shore tours were superb and we had excellent local guides.
Meals on board were average by western standards, the food was plentiful and well prepared, but nothing special.
My cabin steward was a star and took care of me every day with a cheerful smile, but no English!
I doubt I will return to Russia, not because I don't want to, but because I have other countries to visit first.

Congratulations on a superb tourism product. Every moment on the cruise Moscow-St Petersburg aboard Leo Tolstoy was nothing but pleasant. Transfer from-to airports impeccable.
Our hostess-guide Maria spoke excellent English, she was caring and available to offer information and advice. Guides at various localities were knowledgeable and able to maintain interest. The food on board was amazing, I would be keen to purchase a cookbook if the company were to release one with the items on the menu we choose from each day. Stewards on board friendly and skilful. Musician-photographers utterly professional.
My husband and I consider ourselves lucky that we found "Express to Russia".

We travelled in September 2017 on a 4D3N Golden Ring excursion. Our driver was very responsible and respectful
Most of our itineraries listed were as planned.
We did miss some of the sights listed. For example the Assumption Cathedral was closed on Monday and we were not able to see the interior as listed on the itinerary.
On our excursion to Bogolyubovo, our guide decided that the 15 minute trek to Church of Intersession on the Nerl was not worth the effort so we only visited the Complex of the Bogoliubovo Monastery exteriors.
On our drive to Sergei Posad, we were supposed to have a photo stop over at Pereslavl Zalessky to see the Red Square and Transfiguration Cathedral, but our guide claims it was not listed on her itinerary.
Overall we did enjoy the trip.

We booked a river cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow through Express to Russia as well as a transfer from the airport to the port in St Petersburg. Express to Russia proved to be completely trustworthy. The transfer pick up worked smoothly with driver waiting for us on arrival and everything to do with the cruise went well. They had even included some of the 'optional' excursions in our package that other people had to pay additional amounts for. Bottom line is they are real, you can book through them and have peace of mind.
Note: we booked on the Lev Tolstoy - much cheaper than Viking and it was excellent.

Perfect 4 day Golden Ring Tour. Booking was easy and Express to Russia was very responsive and made sure that we get the tour we wanted. The tour was very interesting and well planed, also our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I would always use Express to Russia for further trips to Russia.

I was traveling 6 weeks by Train. And booked all my routes (Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod-Yekaterinburg-Omsk-Novosibirsk-Krasnoyarsk-Irkutsk-Ulan Ude-Wladiwostok) on the Website "Express to Russia" on one day. I have got the confirmation/ ticket number very quickly by mail. They always wrote a personal message such as "Have a good trip"/ "Hope you are enjoying Russia".
Just one hint what they could do better:
Clearly infroming the passenger about the timezones and that the trains are departing and arriving after Moscow and not local time.
It was written somewhere on the ticket, but sometimes passenger are busy and don´t read it carefuly. :)

Express to Russia booked for us a cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow, arranged a trip to the Golden Ring towns, a stay in Irkutsk and a trip to Lake Baikal. Everything went very well indeed and was most enjoyable. Anna. Canberra, Australia.

Great experience using them from the US. Zero problems. Everything worked exactly as advertised. Would happily use them again.

Our entire journey with Express to Russia was excellent, from the planning phase, to the various excursions, the river trip, the food, the entertainment - - - on and on, The guides and the crew were professional, friendly, knowledgeable and always helpful; the boat comfortable. And what a price! A great bargain. A great experience.

From starting to plan last year through the culmination of our trip last week, everything was terrific. The 7-day cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg was on a lovely boat and the staff was so friendly and helpful. Our excursions were well-managed and exactly as advertised. The two-day tours we did before around Moscow and at the end around St. Petersburg were fabulous. All of our guides were outstanding and we will treasure the time we spent in Russia. They expedited the visa process and transfers to and from the airports.

We had a great time on our recent trip to Russia. We did a 7-day cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg and it was terrific. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly and the local guides were very knowledgeable. Express to Russia also booked several tours for us in and around Moscow and St. Petersburg and we enjoyed them all very much. Express to Russia was also very helpful in the process of obtaining visas. We would like to especially thank Galina and Elena for all of their efforts on our behalf.

We could not be happier with our experience with Express to Russia. Everything was planned to perfection; we hit all the major attractions, plus several surprise stops specifically tailored to our interests (including Tolstoy's home and the home of the Rostov's from War and Peace). Our tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable, dynamic, and fun (Nadia took us to her favorite lunch spot in St. Petersburg, which is one of our best memories from the trip; Lena was like a human encyclopedia of Russian politics, history, and culture--the ideal guide for Moscow). The structure of the program is also very flexible--everyone at Express will go out of their way to accommodate all of your needs (like last minute tickets to the Bolshoi ballet, for example).

In short, we could not recommend Express to Russia more strongly, and have already recommended it to friends and family who are busily planning their own Russia trips after hearing of our wonderful experience!

- Sean and Erin

I used Express to Russia to get a voucher for my visa. The voucher was the cheapeast I found, and the service was quick and efficient!

I used Express to Russia to help organise a recent trip on the Trans-Siberian railway with my wife. I am in my late 60s, so wanted the trip to be as hassle-free as possible. I needed help with the train bookings, because I found the timetable confusing - the timing of most of the trains by Moscow clocks left me feeling less than confident of some of my connections. I compared Express to Russia's information with details from another site, and found Express to Russia's rates cheaper in most cases. I found their information easy to follow. In the case of one leg of the journey, I was unable to purchase first class tickets from either agency. I booked our accommodation through Booking.com, so cannot comment on either agency's ability to help there. All the questions I asked were answered promptly and helpfully, in perfectly good English - necessarily, as my Russian is very elementary. I recommend Express to Russia unreservedly for assistance in arranging travel in Russia. They may be the best there is.

Big big thumbs up to Express to Russia! I booked my Trans-Siberian Railway tickets through them and got a brilliant travel agent (Anastasia) who patiently kept answering the eight or nine mails I sent with questions and details I needed clarified. Felt safe the entire way, and even though I could not get tickets right away because I was early out, they sent me confirmation vouchers for all the tickets so that I could apply for visas. I also got my visa invitation through them – they sent it very quickly after I booked, and when the visa centre then told me I needed an extra detail before it would be accepted, Express to Russia added it without trouble.
Ticket pickup went smoothly as well, they sent nice little maps with the vouchers showing you their office locations.
All in all awesome experience, many thanks to Express to Russia!

My experience with the staff at Express to Russia was excellent. Communication was clear, any questions I had were answered efficiently. The actual holiday went smoothly with no problems.

So far, I've used the Express to Russia service twice. I am very satisfied with them. I received a letter of invitation the day after the application was submitted. The agency is reliable and I will definitely choose it for the next trip to Russia.

Very enjoyable trip from Leningrad to Helsinki.
Thanks so much.
Goran, Brisbane, Australia