Land Tour vs River Cruise

Russia is a fascinating place to visit, but its vast size makes it difficult to see it all on one trip. There are of course two must-see places - Moscow and St. Petersburg - and you can see them both on a land tour like "Treasures of Two Capitals" (7 days for $1,900 per traveler) or a river cruise.

Alternatively, you can see both of these cities on a river cruise that will cost you about the same, but allow you to see more than just Moscow and St Petersburg, but also many ancient cities in between.

Your cruise will last 11 or 12 days depending on whether you start from Moscow or St Petersburg. In addition, unlike a land tour cruise price includes all of your meals and special entertainment program like lessons of Russian history, banquets and games.



If you are looking for a combination of a relaxing getaway and cultural experience than cruise is an ideal option for you. However, if you are looking for a young crown then you should go on a land tour. Land tour is better in that it gives you a freedom to choose what to do each day whereas cruise goes by a set itinerary.

There will be guide available in land tours and cruises, but in a land tour it will be a private guide and on a cruise it will be a group guide, which means that there is more personal attention in case of the former.

If you go on a land tour of Moscow and St Petersburg, you will need to take an overnight train from one capital to another or a flight (the first class coach is included in the price of "the Treasures of Two Capitals"). When you go on a cruise, you will unpack only once and your cruise will take you to there.

One of the major advantages of cruises is that they also take you to the ancient towns of the Golden Ring on the way from Moscow to St. Petersburg. This service, of course, can be added to your land tour as well as most of these ancient towns can be reached by car from Moscow. However, this will drive up the price of your land tour.

In short, if you are looking for a great company, prefer to see other destinations in a hassle free comfortable way, if you are interested in spending more days in Russia while not spending too much money - cruise is an ideal choice. Indeed, Russian river cruises have become one of the most popular ways to travel in Russia for western travelers. However, if you are willing to spend fewer days, but to have more freedom to explore Moscow and St. Petersburg an escorted land tour like "the Treasures of Two Capitals" is something for you.