Travel the Russian Countryside: Road tripping from Moscow to St. Petersburg
Customized tour to the Real Russia: visit traditional villages and explore the ordinary life of people
Highlights
Ecotour along the Volga River
Real Russian countryside filled with ghost towns
One day in a traditional Russian village: plowing the soil, helping with livestock, horse riding and local people
Novgorod The Great: the oldest town in Russia
Price: from 35 000 RUB / person for 5-days tour
Includes: hostels, minivan, food, museums, sauna
Tour Highlight: Staritsa town... and the Russian Countryside!
Living in Moscow and being in love with travelling, we have visited every interesting place in nearby 300 km from Moscow. However, only a few of them still live in our memory as the most attractive. And only a few of them are so magnetic to make us return again and again. And only one is so perfect that we celebrated our wedding there. This place is 700-years old Staritsa town and its beautiful surroundings, truly the place where the time stopped!
Staritsa is a small picturesque town located in the country, just 200 km north-west from Moscow. Staritsa stands on the bank of Volga River, «the mother of all Russian rivers». Many years ago, Staritsa was the favorite town and a royal residence of Ivan The Terrible, famous Russian ruler. At present, Staritsa is a small city with only 8000 citizens in the shadow of neighboring Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Only rare tourists visits this godforsaken corner of the Russian province. However, Staritsa stands out for its 700-years history, and traces of previous epoch are still evident here. The oldest monastery was found in 16th century, many churches were built in 18-19 centuries. Since 19th century, the spirit and appearance of the city has not changed: old mansions and abandoned churches bring their meditative and unhurried nature. In the high tech era, you will see Russia as it was 100 years ago – a breathtaking voyage through time, indeed.
The beauty of Staritsa is emphasized by spectacular sceneries of its surroundings with light pine forests growing at the high bank of Volga River with its clear water and swift current.
For a long time this area was famous because of its abundant limestone deposits. Since Russia was always a region of forests, not stones, the limestone was especially valuable as a material for building fortresses, churches, and royal palaces. Ramified networks of numerous abandoned underground quarries stretch along Volga River divided by canyons of small streams. Traces of previous epoch still live here. In winter, water leaks from the surface forming amazing icicles and ice stalagmites – an unforgettable experience even for sophisticated traveler. The beautiful Russian countryside as it is!
7 reasons to visit Staritsa town
• It is the real Russia, not rich and bustling Moscow!
• It is located off the beaten paths - just try to find any foreigner who was there
• It is not far from Moscow, but the nature is unspoiled like in the middle of the Siberian taiga
• The upper part of the Volga river, «the mother of all Russian rivers» is also worth a visit
• Wandering within ramified network of abandoned underground quarries is a real adventure!
• Nearby husky nursery will give a special thrill to your intense love of nature.
• Abandoned churches and monasteries make you feel nostalgic for the greatness and richness of a bygone era...
Russian countryside in winter
Is it possible to travel the countryside in winter? Sure! What can be better than enjoying snowy fields shining under the soft winter sun? Especially when you sit in the Soviet van that combines fresh air coming from every little hole in the cabin with a super powerful heating from engine.
Being so close to nature, you may also try some popular Russian winter activities – rolling down the slope, sledging behind the car, skiing along the river and walking in snowshoes through the winter forest. Moreover, in Staritsa you may have a look at husky nursery and even ride the dog team along the frozen Volga River channel. Russian bathhouse («banya») will bring the relaxation after the very active day...
About the Russian Countryside tour
There is a great difference between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Real Russia... It is not easy to understand life here when you are stuck in a traffic jam on your way to Kremlin with a coffee in your hand! The concept of this tour is to show you the real Russia with numerous small towns, pristine nature, abandoned churches and the common life of ordinary people. If you have only 1 or 2 days, we recommend you visit Vladimir and Suzdal towns. But if you ready to spend more days and experience what only rare tourist can see - you came to the right place!
Once a month we make the 5-days tour from Moscow to St. Petersburg. This tour does not include Golden Ring towns! Instead, you will see Staritsa town and Novgorod the Great, beautiful places to visit in Russia! They are not a part of the Golden Ring just because they are located to the north-west from Moscow (and Golden Ring is north-east), haha. The itinerary is perfect for those who are going to St. Petersburg. It takes only 4 hours to get there from Novgorod by a cheap local train.
Our Schedule: From Moscow to St. Petersburg
Day 1
We will drive from Moscow to Staritsa town (about 200 km). Most of the day will be spent road tripping. We will see Moscow suburbs, a lot of small villages, abandoned churches with tumbled down crosses, small countryside towns, and nice nature. Depending on your wishes, we will spend the night at the hostel or camping at the riverbank.
Day 2
This day we will visit the 700-years old Staritsa town with its beautiful old mansions, abandoned churches and a real monastery, truly the place where time stopped! You'll see the real life of a small Russian town on the banks of the Volga river.
In the afternoon, we'll have an ecotour along the Volga River to see its light evergreen forests, limestone cliffs and the crystal waters of numerous small creeks. You will learn a lot about Russian nature and life of the people here.
We will also visit the ramified network of underground quarries where people mined limestone for churches and monuments. Depending upon your adventurism, you can either wander in some easily accessible beautiful quarries or search the road back from remote parts of the most challenging kilometers-long underground network! The Russian bathhouse («banya») will bring the relaxation after the very active day.
Day 3
We will visit an elderly couple living in a traditional Russia village. They have a small farm with several horses, cows and ducks. We will help them with their daily work - plowing the land (not by tractors, but by horses), caring for the livestock and cooking food in a traditional Russian oven… And surely we will taste some real fresh milk and eggs while they will be telling us about their common life, their habits, and the households.
Day 4
We will say goodbye to friendly couple and move to Ostashkov town to have some adventures (4x4, horse riding quad, boat trip, kayak...) We will choose activity all for together one month before the trip.
Day 5
We will drive to Novgorod the Great and walk there. Novgorod is the oldest city in European Russia, famous for its history. It was a people's republic at 9-12 centuries! Oh, good times... The city is known for the variety and age of its medieval monuments. The huge fortress at the city center is even more impressive than the Moscow Kremlin!
After the day in Novgorod we will say farewell to each other at the Novgorod train station where the cheap local train well be waiting for you. Only 4 hours later you will be in St. Petersburg to wonder its architecture wandering all its small streets and river channels.
Price: from 35 000 RUB / person for 5-days tour!
Transportation: Soviet military van or VW Multivan
Included: hotels, minivan, food, museums, sauna (Russian banya), equipment
Not includes: meals in local cafe, alcohol, souvenirs, train to St. Petersburg
Experience what others only dream about... Travel Real Russia!
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Adventure tour
This is a very unique off-road Russian minivan with sturdy axles, solid frames and a robustness built into everything. This vehicle was designed in the 1950s as a support vehicle for military forces. It is still being produced today as it was sixty years ago… And, surprisingly, it looks almost like it did in 1965! Driving it on typical Russian mud road will make you feel like a real Russian!
Duration: 8-12 hours
For a second part of our adventure, you will visit a network of underground limestone caves with an experienced caver guide. Depending on your adventurism, you can either wander in some easily accessible and beautiful cavern halls or you can search the depths of remote parts and the most challenging kilometers of a lengthy underground network!
Finally, after a long day of exploring, you will have a lovely meal of our traditional food and enjoy a blazing campfire.
Duration: 8-12 hours
Golden Ring of Russia for 4-7 days
During first days we will visit all must-see place in Moscow. Whether you're looking to visit medieval monasteries, historic houses, stunning cathedrals, soviet monumental skyscrapers, wonderful parks and more, there are plenty of landmark destinations to visit when you're in Moscow.
The next 2-3 days we will see life in the typical Russian provinces visiting small towns of the famous Golden ring of Russia. It is a ring of ancient towns, which also played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church. They still preserve the memory of the most important and significant events in Russian history.
The towns are one of the best places to visit in Russia! They have been called "open-air museums" and feature unique monuments of Russian architecture of the 12th–18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches. You will also see a lot of rural Russia with its old wooden houses and traditional villages.