“You wouldn’t travel alone in Russia, are you?”

After I had got off the bus from AC (July 8, 2016), I was late for my friend’s gatherings. I was very excited for my friend’s upcoming Russian trip one month from today, which he will travel with guided tours. I had not been to Russia, but anyways, I am considering my options to visit with some of my church friends and families in the future because travel alone there makes me very difficult to get around and to enter the country legally. I don’t want to travel to Russia alone because I don’t know what to expect when getting stuck in case of emergency and don’t know how to get around. The language barrier in Russia is a traveler’s major issue that should deal with. As stated in the article, it says that “…you… need an “invitation” from a hotel or tour company to even apply for a visa…” (8 places, 2012) for the tourist trip as Daniel discussed in our conversation. See the challenge of getting into the country? Then you will need to travel with tour guides because the purpose of the visit to Russia had been limited only to specific hotel permission to visit requested and is not only fill out the immigration forms (arrival card) generally. You can’t say “hotel” or “St. Petersberg” on a place of stay on the arrival card because the immigration office may check or stop you for any suspicious behaviors including espionage or acting recklessly not relating to visiting or touring of specific reasons.

Police may stop you and show who is going with and the purpose of the trip. Also, police officers may ask you to show your current passport and a visa.

Please, carry your passport with you.

It would be a stupid thing for a person to travel alone in Russia even though he or she knew Russian proficiently and [people] got detained in the state run immigration office because he or she did not fill out [the form] legitimately of a purpose of the visit. If traveling to Russia, have someone guide you when you are at immigration area because it might take longer than another country to enter there legally.

I was so concerned when one of the depressing stories about a young women traveled alone in Russia got arrested for bribery, got in trouble for deceitfully fill out the arrival card, and got sent home to home country banning to travel to Russia until furthermore. It’s pretty darn sad when you won’t be able to travel to Russia if you are expelled from Russia from immigration violations to espionage.

Important: You can’t lie or deceive on your arrival card either. That is why you will get detained and/or deportation. 

Close to bedtime at my church’s friends’ home, we had a conversation with Candice and Daniel.

The Transcript:

Me: My friend Iris Liang told me that Daniel, his wife Helen, and their children are going to Russia and St. Petersberg last Thursday and he said that it’s so difficult to get around in Russia because they don’t know their local language very well, especially cities. She told me they will go on a guided tours. 

Candice: Tell me more about Russia.

Daniel: I have not been to Russia, and it is once-in-a-lifetime travel experience. Likewise, we already arranged visas for all four of us, going together on a 10-day trip. Additionally, we are very excited to visit there for the very first time and to take pictures.

Me: Good. Are you finally ready to go?

Daniel: Yes, we are ready to go.

Me: Sounds good. Besides seeing those cities in Moscow, Russia, what are you going to see there?

Daniel: We will going to see tons of landmarks and kind of interesting landmarks that Helen and I will share when we came back from Russia.

Candice: Facebook and sharing time. (Laughed)

I laughed as well.

She continued, “If traveling to Russia, how will you going to meet a group of people since you are going with guide tours?”

Daniel: Well, we are going to meet the tour guides and a group of 15 people at JFK. We will greet new people at JFK International airport. In Russia, we will go on a tour by bus companies provided by the travel agency.

Me: Sounds like I want to meet new people around in an airport. (Laughed)

Candice: Who is going with besides the group of people traveling with you?

Daniel: We will go with our family of four with my wife and two children together as a family vacation.

Me: Sounds like an excellent trip – Dream comes true. I wish MileagePlus members/friends will travel with me. Hehe!!!

Candice and I laughed at Daniel.

Daniel: Yep. Our journey will be an exciting event we haven’t encountered in the last five years. It will go to be the best family vacation ever.

Me: What airline are you taking to Russia?

Daniel: We will take Delta Airlines from JFK to St. Petersberg with my wife and other tour groups. My kids will fly directly from Canada to St. Petersberg, Russia to meet us and will join a tour group.

Candice: Wow! Sounds like I want to travel to Russia but I prefer to go with my church friends. Besides any free days, are you willing to go without our tour guides based on how to get around in Russia?

Daniel: No. Not really want to go alone in Russia, and we can’t speak Russian especially English is sometimes spoken around somewhere. We are concerned that we might get lost if we don’t know what to do in case of emergency. To prevent this, we generally prefer traveling with tour guides there as a safety precaution.

Me: Wow! Sounds like I am willing to write another travel tips in Russia because you told us that Russia can be a complicated country to visit especially Russian native.

Daniel: Sounds good. Helen and I will share our trip with us when we return. 

As mention above from the skit between Daniel and Candice, we took some advice on why you should not travel alone in Russia or get around without a buddy guiding you. Here are the reasons you should not fly or go solo to Russia, including metropolitan areas:

• Russia has a tough language barrier ranging from greetings to body language that some nonverbal languages are very offensive. Be careful what you signal with your body language to Russians. 
• As mention adapted from I-Powers: All About Solo Travel: General Guidelines article I wrote, Russia is printed in orange, which generally required to travel with a partner.
• Visas complications and immigration issues are frequency relating to specific reasons and the purpose of the visit (8 places, 2012). 

See my article at https://ipowerstips.travel.blog/2016/03/01/all-about-solo-travel-general-guidelines/ and scroll down to “Top countries that are dangerous/uneasy to travel solo” and the “color coded countries” for general guidelines.

This recommendation should be helpful if you follow my advice based on how to travel to Russia successfully and enjoyably.

How to plan a successful trip to Russia? By planning a successful trip to Russia, you will need special permission from local agencies and from the hotel to be considered a tourist visa. A successful Russian Trip requires traveling with someone such as tour guide or a buddy to accompany you everywhere you go out. 

‎Счастливого путешествия!

References:

8 places where you shouldn’t travel alone. (2012, December 3). Fox News Travel. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/12/03/8-places-where-shouldnt-travel-alone.html