Hugely impressive Catherine's Place in St. Petersburg, Russia. Photo via Flickr:Florstein

Religious ceremony in Staraya Russa, Russia. Photo via Flickr:Saint Petersburg Theological Academy
4/5 (2 ratings)

Three Capitals of Russia Bike Tour

Russia Bike Tours

Cycling from Moscow to St. Petersburg

  • This intriguing bike tour in Russia leads from Moscow, the modern Russian capital, to the old one, St. Petersburg, through the most ancient capital, Novgorod the Great, all UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The contrasts among these three cities reflect the contrasts that are Russia in general.

    You will be charmed by the spirit of times gone by in the age old towns of Torzhok, Ostashkov, and Staraya Russa, once powerful and prosperous cities and enjoy Russain Nature at Lake Seliger, across the forested hills of Valdai; where the mighty Volga River starts.

    Other hightlights:

    • Staraya Russa, and the Fyodor Dostoyevsky museum I
    • Novgorod, among the oldest cities of Russia
    • Ancient Kremlin, the magnificent XI-century St. Sofia Cathedral, and wonderful Russian Millennium Memorial.
    • St. Petersburg and the he grand palaces and parks built for Russian Tsars

    ​On the agenda are several visits to museums and exhibitions (some of them are little known). There is opportunity to mingle with friendly villagers and to experience authentic Russia and taste authentic Russian food that is unlike anything you’ve tasted before.

    The tour finishes in St. Petersburg with the infamous White Nights Festival, an annual international arts festival during the season of the midnight sun, consisiting of a series of classical ballet, opera and music events.

    Interested in more, please see our other bicycle tours in Russia.

  • June 15: £ 1206 $ 2,674 € 1420 $ 2139 NOK 13372 kr 12343 $ 1,605 August 24: £ 1164 $ 2,580 € 1370 $ 2064 NOK 12901 kr 11908 $ 1,548 Single supplement (can be avoided if willing to share): £ 170 $ 377 € 200 $ 301 NOK 1883 kr 1738 $ 226

    extra options

    Electric bike: £ 170 $ 377 € 200 $ 301 NOK 1883 kr 1738 $ 226 Tandem: on requst
    Extra night in Moscow and St. Petersburg: on request

    please note

    Train from St. Petersburg back to Moscow is ~€80 (2nd class) and ~€100 (1st class).

    Rates are per person based on double occupancy.

    Information to read before you book.

    We recommend purchasing bike trip insurance.

    Please see our FAQ.

  • Travel

    Fly to Moscow

    Local Travel

    Transfer from airport to first hotel. For departing, you can opt to fly out of St. Petersburg. You can also take a train back to Moscow. Moscow-St Petersburg and reverse is the most popular route in Russia. There are night trains with the most historic and best being the Krasnya Strela or Red Arrow. For day travel there is the Sapsan high-speed train with the journey time cut to as little as 3 hours 45 minutes.

    Climate

    Please check local conditions before you arrival. A good website to research regional weather including average high/low temperatures and average rainfall is weatherbase.com

    Remarks

    This tour requires a visa which begins with an invitation from our local operator as for a foreigner to receive a Russian visa, there must be a Russian sponsoring organization or individual. Usually the invitation is issued for up to 30 days because most folks want to stay longer. Tour is usually confirmed in January/February. Here is web site for information on obtaining Visa: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/russia.html. During the special tour date, you could check into a Fan ID: https://www.fan-id.ru/?locale=en

Tour Dates

2019

June 15, and August 24, 2019

If these tour dates do not work for you, and you would rather cycle during the golden autumn, then our "literary" bike tour in the Central regions of Russia , from September 7 to September 15, is the tour for you.  This area was home to  the great Russian writers Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace, Anna Karenina), Ivan Turgenev (Fathers and Sons, Sportsman's Sketches), Anton Chekhov (Three Sisters,The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull), Nikolai Leskov (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea), and others. The country estates, where they lived and created their famous works are now museums, and are featured on this route. 

Skill Level

This fully guided tour covers 220 miles (350 km) on the 9 day tour traversed at your own pace. Most roads are asphalt and lightly traveled. On the route you can cycle at your own pace. A support vehicle will await at appointed places along the route in the event you would like to quit riding. Experienced guides are available to assist.

Where You’ll Stay

Good quality 3 - 4 star hotels

What’s Included

  • Transfers airport-hotel in Moscow
  • All transfers along the route
  • Bike rental
  • English speaking cycling guide
  • Hotel accommodations for 8 nights depending on itinerary booked
  • All meals during your booked itinerary including buffet snacks during cycling days
  • Support van with luggage transfer
  • Guided excursions and museum fees as described in the program
  • T-shirt
  • Map
  • Visa invitation letter

What’s Not Included

Three Capitals of Russia Map

TourBike
TypeGuided
SkillEasy–Moderate
Length9 days
From€1420 Rates
Tour Reviews

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Day-To-Day Itinerary

Three Capitals of Russia Map

Day 1: Arrival in Moscow
Day 2: Bicycle tour of Moscow and bus to Volga, 18 mi. (30 km)
​Day 3: Volga - Torzhok, 47 mi. (75 km)
Day 4: Bus transfer to Seliger Lake (140 km), cycling to Svetlitsa, 31 mi. (50 km)
Day 5: Bus transfer to Novy Brod (150 km), cycling to Staraya Russa, 47 mi. (75 km) 
Day 6: Bus to transfer to Borki (75 km), cycling to Veliky Novgorod, 22 mi. (35 km)
Day 7: Novgorod - Selitsche, 36 mi. (58 km), bus transfer to St. Petersburg (150 km)
Day 8: St. Petersburg
Day 9: Departure from St. Petersburg or extension of stay.

Day 1: Arrival in Moscow
You will be met at the airport by a guide and taken to the hotel (no cyclind day). The hotel is located in the east part of Moscow next to one of Moscow's largest park and a 5 minute walk from underground station. It takes 15 minutes by metro to get to the Red Square. After short briefing and buffet dinner, enjoy an evening walk in the center of Moscow.

Day 2: Bicycle tour of Moscow and bus to Volga, 18 mi. (30 km)
In the morning you start with a bicycle tour of Moscow along rivers from the hotel to the Victory Park. We will pass the Kremlin, the Gorky Park, Vorob’evy hills with a view point
of Moscow. After a lunch we will take a bus to Volga (250 km) where we stay for a night in a charming resort hotel. A swimming pool and the beautiful Volga, the longest European river, are waiting for us in the evening.Then, on quiet roads you cycle to a charming resort hotel in Volga, one of the best in this area.

Day 3: Volga - Torzhok, 47 mi. (75 km)
From Volga, you continue on your way to Torzhok, around 75 km. The quiet road has little traffic and winds through nice forest which makes today's ride scenic and relaxing. On our way we will stop near house-museum of famous Russian opera singer Sergey Lemeshev. Torzhok, an old Russian town, famous for its unique architecture and folk craft of gold work embroidery. Interestingly, chicken cutlets (called Pozharskie) were invented here. The great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin used to eat them here. Perhaps you can try this famous dish for dinner. The hotel has excellent spa facilities.

Day 4: Bus transfer to Seliger Lake (140 km),  cycling to Svetlitsa, 31 mi. (50 km)
You start the day with bus transfer to Seliger lake. Here you visit the Saint Nil monastery. Overnight this everning is  in the hotel near lake Seliger. You may try a real Russian steam bath (banya).

Day 5: Bus transfer to Novy Brod (150 km) - cycling to Staraya Russa, 47 mi. (75 km) 
Early bus transfer to Novy Brod. From here you cycle to Staraya Russa, around 75 km. Staraya Russa is old provincial town famous for a balneological (spa) resort and Fedor Dostoevsky museum. (Fyodor Dostoevsky used to live in Staraya Russa from 1872 till his death in 1881. Here he wrote his novels The Brothers Karamazov and The Possessed. 

Day 6: Bus to transfer to Borki (75 km). Cycling to Veliky Novgorod, 22 mi. (35 km)
After visiting Dostoevsky museum there is short bus transfer to Borki where you cycle a scenic road along lake Ilmen to Veliky Novgorod (35 km). Veliky Novgorod is one of the oldest Russian cities supposed to be the most influential in that time which gives us grounds to call it the first capital of Russia. The center of the city including outstanding Kremlin is World Heritage Site. City-tour in Novgorod with local guides.

Day 7: Novgorod - Selitsche, 36 mi. (58 km). Transfer to St. Petersburg (150 km)
You start in Novgorod and cycle to Spasskaya Polist around 60km along the Volkhov River on a quiet road, finishing near the ruins of Arakcheev barracks. Bus transfer to St. Petersburg.  

Day 8: St Petersburg
Day to explore St. Petersburg! City tour with a local guide in St. Petersburg including Metro, Nevsky prospect, and downtown. Farewell dinner.

Day 9: Departure from St. Petersburg or extension of stay.
Departure or extend your stay with extra nights in St. Petersburg. Bus tour to Peterhof park is optional.


If you’re looking for a different flavor, check out our full list of bike tours in Europe or view all our featured bicycle tours, specials, and news.

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Tour Reviews

  • kevin k. 1 month ago     Verified Reviewer

    Sadly, the most memorable part of the trip was a crash in which one of our cyclists suffered a serious head injury. It of course had nothing to do with the quality of the tour, which was OK. Negatives included, firstly, the food. The menus at the restaurants and hotels were boring and the food itself was bland and not particularly healthy. We were given the same basic set of courses every night, and breakfasts were more like dinners than US style in that they featured pasta and meat, with little fruit or grains. Positives: our guide, Vladimir, was conscientious and personable. Most of the cycling routes were on quiet roads, though some were on busy highways. Too much time was spent in the van -- about as much as on our bikes. The spirit of the group was good, and we all seemed to get along well. Highlights included the cycle tour of Moscow and the walking tour of Novgorod. The walk in St Petersburg was not as informative. Accommodations were basically fine, though I was assigned a Read more… noisy room in Petersburg on the second floor above a heavily trafficked street and the management would not change it despite my requests.

     Reply

  • Elaine Sullivan 2 years ago     Verified Reviewer

    This tour (Jun 16 2017) which included a bicycle festival in Uglich and the White Nights festival in St Petersburg was fabulous. The guides were wonderful, knowledgeable, and helpful. Accommodations were super. We toured many small museums along the route, had an excellent city tour of St Petersburg led by an incredible tour guide. Too many great things to list.

     Reply

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