Riga(Latvia) to Moscow on a Bus - HELP!!!

pbright

Want to go to Moscow

As i can get to Riga for £20rtn i wish to go on from there. Flights from Riga to Moscow at the beginning of November are around £150 which is too much ££, heard i can get a bus there for cheaper and back but cant seem to find much about it and how to book. The dates im looking for are a bus from Riga in the very early hours of Thursday the 2nd of Novemeber and a Bus Returning from Moscow in time to get a 10.30pm flight back from Riga to the UK on Wednesday the 8th, November. Im 22 and dont mind the uncomfortable journey but do mind the price. Any help with links and bus info would be fantastic.

Thanks.

PS: Info on how to get a VISA for Russia as cheap as possibile would also be greatly appreciated.

robin123_2

I am not sure about getting a bus, but you can get the train. Check out http://www.seat61.com

To get your visa you need a letter of invitiation from someone in Russia. If you book a hostel or a hotel in Moscow they should be able to get you a letter of invitation. Then when you have this you send it to the Russian Embassy with you passport and fee and they issue you with your visa.

budgetflyer

post the question on the ardvark travel forum.There may be a russia specialist who can help.

This site may be of interest, paying attention to "route5" bus is 20euro.
visa can be sorted here too

Chris_Jobless

Get your visa invite from https://www.waytorussia.net It is where I always get mine. Then just follow the instructions on the Russian embassy website. It all seems complicated but isn't really.

Get the Eurolines bus from Riga to St.Petersburg (about £10 I think?), then get a train to Moscow. Thats what I would do.

Make sure to register your visa within 3 days!

pbright

how long does the bus take or the train take,. can i get to moscow from riga in 14hours?? Is there any links where i can look at times and book?? Thanks for the visa advice too...what way would you say is the best! As its soon i dont fancy sending my passport off. Thanks again

Chris_Jobless

If you are going in November, I think you have enough time to get the visa the cheapest way. Buy the invite - then print it off (don't need the original if you are UK citizen applying in the UK), fill out the application and have all the photos etc. You can send it by post and it takes 8 working days. I have never had a problem.

If you need it quicker - use an agency, but they will cost more.

I don't know the times of the buses. I know the train from St.P to Moscow takes 8 hours, although there are faster (more expensive) trains that do it in 5.

This is all from memory. Have a look at waytorussia.net and they have lots of travel advice and links.

You can buy tickets from the UK, but as cost is a factor it is best to buy in Russia. Need someone who speaks Russian though otherwise it can be a bit of an adventure...

I would think you could do it in 14 hours - but it will be tight. Maybe there are other ways. Internal Russian flights can be cheap - so maybe check them out. Pulkovo have good fares St.P to Moscow IIRC.

budgetflyer

If you were to read the link I posted it tells you how long

Route 5: "London to Moscow through Riga"
(Available from 25 November 2004)
Way there: London (UK) -> Riga (Latvia) -> Moscow (Russia)
1) RyanAir flight departing London Stansted daily at 14.40, arriving to Riga airport at 19.15. Journey time: 2h35m, Price: from 50 EUR with taxes.
2) Russian railways train #002 departing Riga train station daily at 16.15, arriving to Moscow Rizhsky station at 09.41 Jorney time: 16h26m, Price: 35 EUR (3rd class) or 55 EUR (2nd class). There is also a Eurolines bus departing Riga daily at 15.30, arriving at 8.30 to Moscow, price: 20 EUR
Total journey time: 18 hours 6 minutes, Total price: from 85 EUR (from 70 EUR when going by bus from Riga to Moscow).

Way back: Moscow (Russia) -> Riga (Latvia) -> London (UK)
1) Russian railways train #003 departing Moscow Rizhsky station daily at 21.02, arriving to Riga at 12.40 the next day. Journey time: 16h38m, Price: 35 EUR (3rd class) or 55 EUR (2nd class). There is also a Eurolines bus departing Moscow daily at 18.30 arriving to Riga at 9.00, price: 20 EUR
2) RyanAir flight departing Riga airport daily at 22.50 arriving to London Stansted at 23.25. Journey time: 2h35m, Price: from 50 EUR with taxes.
Total journey time: 18 hours 23 minutes, Total price: from 85 EUR (from 70 EUR when going by bus from Moscow to Riga).

climbgirl

We used an agency to get our visas to Russia because it was convenient and when you factored in the price of getting an invite from a hotel (you can't get a russian visa without an invite to the country, hotels do it but charge for the privilege, usually around $25), and the time off work to go and queue at the embassy, the agency fee of £45 didn't seem so bad....

The cheapest way is to get the visa yourself - by which I mean, fill in all the necessary forms (on the embassy website), get the invite and go down there and queue. You will need to go early (and I mean early!). THey open for a few hours each morning (except Weds I think) and if you don't make it in before the closing time, tough. My friend went down 3 mornings before getting up at 4am one day to queue!

Also, the more time you have to get your visa, the cheaper it will be. I think the cheapest is about a 2 or 3 week wait. Any quicker and the price goes up.

Check out their website, the details are all there.

pbright

budgetflyer wrote:

If you were to read the link I posted it tells you how long

Thanks budgetflyer. I would be flying from Glasgow Prestwick on ryanair on the 1st of November and returning from riga on the 8th. Do you know if or how i can find out if there are train or bus departure times that coincide with the riga flight arrival time fromprestwich which i think is later and do you know how i could book this.


Thanks for your help....its good to know that someone knows how to find the info. :-)

budgetflyer

I used this secret technique:rolleyes:, I typed into this new search engine called google,the magic words " Riga to Moscow" and then picked the very first result;):p