“I thought the tour was outstanding in so many ways including the tour director, Natasha. My only complaint, and this is a big one, the tour to the Golden Ring was not worth taking two days out of our twelve to see . This includes four hours on the train to Moscow and another four hours to the Golden Ring on a bus and another four hours to get back to Moscow. This really took two days out of our twelve to see this country side. The hotel there was old and the rooms smelly and musty. I would have given any thing to spend an extra day in Moscow. I would suggest you eliminate the Golden Ring in the future.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“The Classic Russia Tour was wonderful. Our guide Llena in St Pete's was very knowledgeable and full of interesting tips for our free time I would suggest you include a tour of Catherine's Palace and the Amber Room to your future itinerary. Our local guide in Suzdal was also named Lena and she was just as wonderful and knowledgeable as well. I felt a close connection to that area as my Grandfather immigrated to America from Russia in 1914 and Suzdal still has the "old Russia" feel. Our tour director Natalia Frolova was absolutely the best! She kept things moving, was so considerate to all of us, was an expert on Russian History and the city of Moscow, and the perfect ambassador for her beautiful country. My son and my daughter accompanied me on this trip and they were as satisfied as I. Our group was small and our motor coach roomy. Thank you for many beautiful memories.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“The trip to Classic Russia was a very special tour. SmarTours did a wonderful job in trip which included St. Petersburg, Moscow and two villages in the Golden Ring, Vladmir & Suzdal. The guides were excellent and the day trips very interesting and enlightening. The accomodations were good and the meals very satisfactory. I would highly recommend this tour of Russia to anyone who is interested in exploring the fascinating country. Kudos to SmarTours for an excellent job . Spasibo!”

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Posted 4 years ago

“The tour to Russia itself was very nice. The accommodations were great but the information that Smart Tours gave us was bad. It caused some people to lose a whole day of touring, lost luggage and paying for taxi cabs to get to the hotel because there was no airport transport or tour agent waiting for us at the airport, as was described in the tour brochure. We were informed by phone and email, on the day of departure, that Swiss Air had cancelled the flight and to not go to the airport. Some people who did not get the phone call or the email went to the airport and were placed in different airlines and were able to make the right connection and make it to the airport in St. Petersburg, to join the tour. Thank God some of these passengers told us to get to the airport anyway and see if Swiss Air can put us on a flight to Russia. This we did. Swiss Air said that it was wrong for our SmarTours to tell us not to go to the airport because if they cancel a flight they have an obligation to arrange for flights for us to get us to the destination. By the time we got to the airport it was so late that we were each placed in different airlines and different flights. I sent an email and left voice messages to SmarTours regarding the flight changes, but obviously the information was not conveyed to the Tour Director in Russia because no one greeted us at the airport. After waiting for a while at the airport with not a single tour director from SmarTours in sight, the 5 of us hired a taxi to the hotel. When Norah Bowler, who was the only person with enough Roubles to pay the cab driver, showed the receipt and asked for her money back from the Tour Directoir, Natalia Popova, she said that SmarTours said Norah had to apply directly from SmarTours and when she did that she was directed to file a claim with the insurance company. This part of the tour was really bad!”

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Posted 4 years ago

“This was my first experience with SmarTours and I am already looking forward to the next. The itinerary was well thought out. Our group was a little big (39) but I had the pleasure of getting to know interesting, nice and wonderful people from all walks of life in this group and that alone was well worth the trip. The hotels were comfortable and the food was great. There were so many highlights from our outstanding , competent, patient and knowledgeable guides, especially Eleana (St. Petersburg) and our Director Natasha (Moscow) to all of the beautiful sights of this wonderful country and the generous people who inhabit it. St. Petersburg for me was a beautiful enigma - an Italian city in the wrong place. The architecture is very aesthetic . After one day I was ambivalently walking the town as I learned about its history and how impactful of a country it is. There are plenty of palaces, museums if you like baroque and classicism style in art. Vladímir/Suzdal has to be a stop on any trip to Russia. I don’t have words to express how stunning and truly amazing it is to visit some of these gorgeous sights which remain honest and genuine. I was also fascinated by the Russian culture and the mystic history of the Tsars. Additionally, the Red Square is unforgettable and wonderful, the Kremlin cathedrals are very impressive. Honestly I cannot think of a way this could have been better. I definitely recommend this trip to others.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“This was my first experience with SmarTours and I am already looking forward to the next. The itinerary was well thought out. Our group was a little big (39) but I had the pleasure of getting to know interesting, nice and wonderful people from all walks of life in this group and that alone was well worth the trip. The hotels were comfortable and the food was great. There were so many highlights from our outstanding , competent, patient and knowledgeable guides, especially Eleana (St. Petersburg) and our Director Natasha (Moscow) to all of the beautiful sights of this wonderful country and the generous people who inhabit it. St. Petersburg for me was a beautiful enigma - an Italian city in the wrong place. The architecture is very aesthetic . After one day I was ambivalently walking the town as I learned about its history and how impactful of a country it is. There are plenty of palaces, museums if you like baroque and classicism style in art. Vladímir/Suzdal has to be a stop on any trip to Russia. I don’t have words to express how stunning and truly amazing it is to visit some of these gorgeous sights which remain honest and genuine. I was also fascinated by the Russian culture and the mystic history of the Tsars. Additionally, the Red Square is unforgettable and wonderful, the Kremlin cathedrals are very impressive. Honestly I cannot think of a way this could have been better. I definitely recommend this trip to others.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Grueling schedule: high speed train from St Petersburg to Moscow, then 6 hour bus ride back to Suzdal was too much travel for one day. Suggest skipping train and travel from St Petersburg direct to Suzdal, then on to Moscow after Suzdal and Vladimir visits. Additional tour guide in Moscow lost two travelers by not ensuring all were present during visit to Red Square. Visiting Kremlin and Red Square on June 1, a Russian holiday, was extremely difficult due to large crowds. This led to a hurried and frenzied walk through museums and grounds. Did we really need to see where Putin's helicopter lands? Our tour director was very knowledgeable and professional. Some political statements were informative, but could have sparked controversy. Would we recommend this trip to others? Not with its current travel schedule.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“I recently completed SmarTours maiden voyage to Classic Russia and I was very impressed. The tour was organized so well and completed smoothlessly and flawlessly. The tour leader, Natasha was wonderful and the local guides extremely knowledgeable with very good English. Visiting St. Petersburg & Moscow is a must for any visitor to Russia. When these cities are included with areas in the Golden Ring, Suzdal & Vladmir, one can be rewarded with a real taste of what Russia is like. The accommodations were really good with the meals very satisfactory. The bus transportation was good and the train ride from St. Petersburg to Moscow on the Sapsan high speed line was very comfortable. Kudos to SmarTours for putting together a first-rate tour of Classic Russia. I would highly recommend this SmarTours trip to anyone interested in visiting Russia. I don't believe that you will be disappointed.”

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Posted 4 years ago

Classic Russia: St. Petersburg, Moscow & the Golden Ring Reviews