Back in April. I wrote a post about choosing my next value travel destination by using the “Big Mac Index”. One of the selections that appeared on this year’s index was Russia.
Russia can be a challenging vacation destination for most travelers for the following reasons:
- Getting the dreaded and complicated visa (requiring invitation letters, employment, travel, & housing history, etc.). The minimum cost for a 3-year visa is $160, and more if you use a visa processing service.
- Language and cryllic alphabet issues
- The tourist infrastructure in general
- Reputation of the locals being unfriendly to tourists
Hopefully I can show you how my wife and I conquered this 9-day trip on our own. We were able to overcome the four issues and had a great cheap vacation experience.
The trip was inspired after we booked a cheap fare on LOT Airlines for $376 each, round-trip in economy. During our research, we were happy to discover that Club Carlson had a lot of great properties in Russia. This gave us one last chance to burn Club Carlson points using the “BOGO award redemption benefit that was once part of the Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature® Card. Like Angelina & others, I really loved the BOGO award night benefit and am sad to see it go.
We ended up choosing the following hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg because of the good reviews, and since they are close to public transportation. We made sure we printed Google maps for directions.
Dad Tip:Â Download the Moscow metro app – it’s a lifesaver. You can plan your itinerary and cross reference the Russian station name to the English name. And best of all, no wifi connection is needed.
Dad tip: Make sure you bring cash in case your ATM or credit cards do not work. We had this issue, and had to call AmEx and Visa to resolve.
Moscow Hotels:
Park Inn Sadu Moscow: For 44,000 Club Carlson points, we spent 2 nights here (price reflects the BOGO points benefit). We This hotel was clean and walking-distance to most attractions  English was spoken at the front desk, and there was a free breakfast with a large selection.
Getting there: From SVO airport, we took the airport express train to Beloruskaya, and then switched to metro line (green line) and took it two stops. Then we switched to the gray line for 3 stops to Polyanka. When you exit the station, turn right, and cross the street. In about 500 yards, you will see the Park Inn.
Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow. For 50,000 points total, we spent our next two nights at this awesome hotel. This is one of Stalin’s 7 sisters iconic symbols, a 5-star property, with an incredible olympic-sized swimming pool, saunas, spa’s, the works. Â The breakfast was comparable to a 5-star U.S. breakfast for $35 a person
Getting there: To get to this hotel from the Park Inn Sadu, we took the grey line 1 stop to Boriskavaya, and switched to the blue line to Kievaskaya. Then you exit the station, cross the big street, look for “Plaza Europe”, continue 2 blocks, and then you will see this iconic hotel. The only issue we had at this hotel was the spotty wifi, which made FaceTime with the grandkids impossible.
After 4 days in Moscow, it was time to visit St. Petersburg. We burned 9,000 Avios for both of us to fly from DME to LED (St. Petersburg). To get back to the airport from the Radisson Royal Hotel, we took the metro 4-stops to Pavelstaskaya to catch the express train to airport.
We found St. Petersburg a lot easier to navigate for English speakers, and the metro stations show both Russian and English names.
St. Petersburg Hotels
Park inn Nevsky: For 38,000 points, we stayed two nights here. This hotel was clean, but had smaller rooms, and was close to the metro.
Getting there: To reach the hotel from the airport, we took bus 39 to Moskovskaya metro station, which was about a 20-minute ride. Then did took the blue line for 5 stops, then switched to the red line at technology institute, and then continued 3-stops to Ploshad Vosstana. Look for Nevsky exit, and you should be able to see the Park Inn.
Radisson Royal Hotel St. Petersburg: Our last two nights in St. Petersburg were spent here for 70,000 points. This property is about 7 blocks from Park Inn Nevsky, and it was a nice boutique hotel. Rooms were a good size and it was walking-distance to most sights.
Overall I feel like I was able to get a ton of value out of my Club Carlson points right before the BOGO award changes took place, and to put a spin on the devaluation news, it really did inspire me to take this trip.
In my next post, I will share all of the activities and tourist attractions we did.
Happy Travels,
The Dad.
Hi Dad.
I always enjoy reading your reports, even when it’s to a place we haven’t been to (yet). I don’t suppose you have Alaska on your radar screen? We do, but not until spring. Love me those Alaska miles. They allow a stopover on reward tickets. Hmm. Maybe we’ll stop in to re-visit Seattle.
Oh, and just between us, I joined the grandparent club a year ago. Ain’t life grand!!
Dan
Hi Dan-
First, happy Rosh hashanah to your family. Hope the new year brings the best to you.
Glad you like my trip reports. I try to show how it is possible to travel cheaply and still have a good time.
I would do Alaska as part of a cruise. I am going to Israel in March, for my birthday booked a flight for $484 rt. Looking forward to this trip If any readers has good recommendations please let me know. Welcome to the grandparent club! The grand kids show what is important in life. Enjoy and happy travels.
Hi Dad-
Three trains to get to your hotel and then walk 3/8 mile. My wife would be a widow if I tried that!
Joe
Hi odojoe,
Thanks for your comment. The traffic in Moscow is pretty bad. By taking the train, we probably got to our destination faster and a lot cheaper w/o being scammed. Very little English is spoken in Moscow. The airport train is express, and other two trains are about 15 minutes,, the Park inn was about 500 yards from station.
Dad,
How long will you be in Israel? Jerusalem is old and historic. Tel Aviv is more like a big city in the states. Lots of fun. You could easily spend a week between those 2 places.
Try to do a day trip to Haifa. Also, Mazada and the Dead Sea can be done in a day.
Your daughter can access my Facebook pictures from our 2012 trip. Let me know if I can answer any questions. I’ll respond tomorrow.
Dan-sorry for the delay in responding. I am at a work conference in Chicago. It is even 90degrees here. We will be in Israel for 7 days. We plan to the the usual, old tow Jerusalem Masada, Dead Sea and debating 2 nights in Petra. Do you recommend renting a car. To visit Dead Sea and Masada or bus? Or tour?
Dad said – We will be in Israel for 7 days. We plan to the the usual, old town Jerusalem Masada, Dead Sea and debating 2 nights in Petra. Do you recommend renting a car. To visit Dead Sea and Masada or bus? Or tour?
We used a private guide on our first trip. On our trip in 2012, we did a day trip to Haifa using one of the tour companies that have brochures in the hotel lobby. It seemed as if there was only one company running all those tours!
DeadSea/ Masada is a day trip. You can hike up Masada, or do as we did and take the cable car. No need wasting time trying to prove how young you are. ;)
On our second trip, we spent 2 days and a night down south in Eilat. Most tourist visit Petra from Eilat. Many do it as a day trip, but it’s a long long day. We decided to do Petra as an overnight. Less rushing, and you get to see more. On the way, we stopped at Wadi Rum. Google it. It’s an impressive place as you can see by the pictures. From there, we headed tp Petra.
We went to Petra at night. They have an evening tour. Bring a flashlight and good walking shoes. It’s a 30 minute or so walk. When we went back the next day, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Google Petra and see the pictures… or friend me on facebook. I have a few albums for you to look at. It looks totally different at night. Plan to spend some time there. Lots of places that sell snacks. If I recall, there was a restaurant all the way in.
When you visit Petra, if you leave from Israel, you’ll have an Israeli guide, then a Jordanian guide. It’s all set up as one tour. I know some people head to Amman, then book Petra.
Let me know if you have any questions. March is a good time to go since it’s not killer hot.
Thanks for the great suggestions. Unfortunately Azerbajain airlines cancelled all flights for our departure date. Plus, my sisters were getting nervous with the current violence in the area. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise We will just have to wait for the next mistake fare. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving. Take care,
Joe
Hi dad – in follow-up to Angelina’s post about Club Carlson the other day, were you able to successfully get your free night as a credit cardholder by calling USBank, or did you work directly with Club Carlson?
Hi Colleen! Sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I had to wait until they got home to ask, LOL! He said he called US Bank directly.
@ Colleen, I called the number in the back of Carlson card. I guess U.S. bank.When I called the agent said someone will call me back in two to three days. At that point, I did not believe I would get call back. About a week later, I received the call with the good news.