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Traveling to Russia

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  • 1. Visa
    • 1.1. Visa to Russia
      • How to obtain a Russian Visa in an easy and cost-effective way in 2018
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      • Registration in Russia: What it is and how it is done
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  • 2. Transport
    • 2.1. Arriving by plane
      • Russian airports: immigration card and customs formalities
      • How to go from the airport to the center of Moscow or the Red Square
      • How to find the cheapest flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg
      • How to go from Pulkovo Airport to St. Petersburg
    • 2.2. Russian trains
      • Travelling between Moscow and St. Petersburg: Which is the best way?
      • Trains in Russia: How to buy tickets on-line without the middle-man
      • Train stations in Russia: luggage storage, Wi-Fi and other services
    • 2.3. Metro, bus and taxi
      • How to use the Moscow Metro and what stations to visit
      • How to catch a taxi in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, or in other Russian cities
      • Moscow’s Troika Card: paying all public transport costs with a card
      • St. Petersburg’s Public transport: the Podorozhnik card
      • Traveling by bus through Russia (and how to buy tickets online)
    • 2.4. Car rental
      • Is it worth to rent a car in Russia? Recommendations and requirements
  • 3. Sleep and eat
    • 3.1. Accommodation in Russia
      • Accommodations in Russia: How to choose and where to make a reservation cheaply
      • Ostrovok: the best alternative to Booking.com
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      • Where to eat in Moscow: from Teremok to Café Pushkin
      • How to book a restaurant in Moscow, St. Petersburg or other Russian cities
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      • Where to eat in Moscow: from Teremok to Café Pushkin
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      • Moscow in Space: from the Museum of Cosmonautics to the Planetarium
      • What is a Russian banya and why you should visit it
      • The Seven Sisters of Stalin of Moscow (and their secrets)
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      • How to buy tickets for the Russian circus in Moscow and St. Petersburg
      • Russian Folklore Shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg
      • The Church of the Savior in St. Petersburg: How to buy tickets and schedules
      • Saint Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg: how to buy tickets and schedules
      • What is a Russian banya and why you should visit it
    • 4.3. Trans-Siberian
      • Organizing a Trans-Siberian Train Trip
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    • 4.4. The Golden Ring of Russia
      • The Golden Ring of Russia: from Sergiyev Posad to Suzdal
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    • 4.5. Veliky Novgorod
      • Trip to Veliky Novgorod: the birthplace of Russia
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      • The Kazan Kremlin: it will captivate you
  • 5. Practicalities
    • 5.1. Ruble exchange and prices
      • Where is it better to change pounds for rubles?
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      • Is Russia an expensive or cheap country to travel? Tips to reduce expenses
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      • Is Russia a safe country for tourists? Travel tips
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      • What is a Russian banya and why you should visit it
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      • How to buy a Russian SIM card for your smartphone
      • 5 Essential Apps for a Trip to Russia
    • 5.4. Russian products
      • Which souvenirs to buy in Russia? From Matrioskas to Cheburashka
      • 15 maps that will give you a better insight of Russia
You are here: Home / 2. Transport / 2.1. Arriving by plane / How to find the cheapest flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg

How to find the cheapest flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg

Posted on: 10.05.16 | by Irena Domingo

Traveling from UK to Russia on a direct roundtrip flight to Moscow can cost about £ 200. On the other hand, a roundtrip flight to Moscow with a layover in another European city can make it a little cheaper (about £ 150). In this post, I explain the different options available for flying from UK to Russia, as well as provide advice in order to find the most economical flight.

Flight London - Moscow - Google maps

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Connecting flights between UK and Russia
    • 2.1. Direct flights between UK and Russia
    • 2.2. Flights with layovers between UK and Russia
    • 2.3. Alternative routes: direct flights to Helsinki
  • 3. Recommendations for finding the best prices for flights to Moscow or St. Petersburg
  • 4. What does a flight from London to Moscow cost?
  • 5. Conclusions

1. Introduction

Airplane Aeroflot Russia

The increase in tourism and trade relations between UK and Russia has led to an increasing number of airlines offering direct flights between UK and Russia, particularly to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Most of direct flights operating between UK and Russia originate in major cities: London, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Dublin, etc.

Moscow has three international airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo), while St. Petersburg has the Pulkovo Airport. In this article I analyze the different companies flying from UK to these airports as well as how to find the lowest prices by comparing prices on flights through the excellent website Momondo.

2. Connecting flights between UK and Russia

2.1. Direct flights between UK and Russia

Buying flight to Russia

There are three companies that offer direct flights from UK cities to Moscow:

  • Aeroflot. This is a Russian national airline and the biggest one in the country. They offer regular flights from London to Moscow.
  • S7 Airlines. A Siberian company that offers some direct flights from UK to Russia.
  • British Airways. They offer direct flights available to Moscow and St. Petersburg from London.

2.2. Flights with layovers between UK and Russia

Another interesting option, which is sometimes cheaper than a direct flight, is to take a flight to Moscow or St. Petersburg with stops in another European city. There are several connections with one stop that fly from UK to Russia. Some examples:

  • Air Baltic via Riga.
  • Swiss Air via Zurich
  • KLM via Amsterdam
  • Eurowings via Berlin
  • Lufthansa via Frankfurt
  • Air France via París
  • Alitalia via Roma

This option is very interesting in the following cases:

  • If a direct flight is too expensive
  • If you live in a UK city with no direct flights to Russia
  • And, regardless, if the layover is not very long and does not require a change of airport

2.3. Alternative routes: direct flights to Helsinki

If you are traveling to St. Petersburg, one option for some travelers is to take a flight to Helsinki or Tallinn, cities located 5 hours by train or car from St. Petersburg.

It is a good option if it is cheaper than flying to Russia directly or in the event that you want to visit Finland or Estonia. For example, Finnair has direct flights to Helsinki from London.

3. Recommendations for finding the best prices for flights to Moscow or St. Petersburg

When you choose a flight from UK to Russia and find the best price, it is important to follow some practical recommendations:

Recommendation 1: reserve a ticket at least 2-3 months in advance

The cheapest tickets are always reserved with more than 2 or 3 months of advance notice. If you end up waiting until the last minute, prices will increase up until the final weeks before a flight. I have never found a better price reserving a flight in the final days beforehand; on the contrary, they are much more expensive.

Recommendation 2: if you can, travel outside of high season and during the week

In general, during the high season prices are higher (July and August). If you travel outside of these months, you can find lower prices. Also prices are usually better when taking flights on a weekday or on a Saturday, since on Friday or Sunday flights are usually more in demand.

Recommendation 3: do not limit yourself to direct flights

Do not limit yourself to only direct flights from your origin city to Moscow or St. Petersburg, but rather also look for offers on flights to some other European city (Amsterdam, Zurich, Warsaw, Paris, Riga, etc.). It is also interesting to look at the connections from cities close to Russian territory such as Helsinki or Tallinn.

Recommendation 4: think about selecting a multi-destination option

Many airlines allow multi-destination options: if you want to visit Moscow as well as St. Petersburg on the same trip, there is the possibility of traveling from UK to St. Petersburg and then for the return flight traveling from Moscow back to UK, so that in this manner you just have to make a round trip between St. Petersburg and Moscow (which will save you money and time).

Recommendation 5: use a website that compares flights

To know what the lowest fare available is, the best option that I have found is to use a search engine called Momondo which finds flights better than other comparison sites like Skyscanner, Kayak or eDreams.

I recently used Momondo for several reasons:

  • It makes comparisons not only between airlines but also between other flight search engines. This way, you always find the best price.
  • It displays airfares without additional fees or commissions.
  • It allows you to search for multiple destinations, which is very useful if you want to make a round trip, for example, from London to Moscow and another back from St. Petersburg to London, so that you avoid making two trips between St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Momondo is only a flight comparison tool, leaving the actual purchase of tickets to be done directly with the airline (Momondo gives you the link for the flight at no extra charge).

Flights to Moscow, Russian Federation - Compare Moscow flights – momondo 2016-05-10 21-25-51

4. What does a flight from London to Moscow cost?

Next I am going to compare the price of traveling between London and Moscow. I am doing these searches with three months in advance (May 2016), flying between August 3th and 10th, 2016 (high season).

A direct return ticket from London to Moscow with Aeroflot costs £ 222.  However, the cheapest way to fly from London to Moscow is via a round trip flight on Air Baltic Airlines with a stopover in Riga (£ 148).

London to Moscow flights - momondo

 

5. Conclusions

To fly from UK to Russia at lower prices, it is very important to book the flight more than 3 months in advance and use as a flight comparison website like Momondo to find the cheapest flight.

Aeroflot, S7 Airlines and British Airways have direct flights to Moscow, with an average price of a round trip ticket at about £ 220. If you do not care to make any stops, you can buy a flight with layovers with companies such as Air Baltic, Swiss Air, KLM, or Lufthansa and get a much better price (around £ 150 round trip ticket).

In short, the options vary depending on the needs of each person’s budget or the cities you are visiting. In any case, the flight comparison site Momondo is essential to finding the best and most economical flight.

 

What has been your experience flying from UK to Russia ? You can leave your comments below. Thanks for sharing

 

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Categories: 2.1. Arriving by plane

Plan your trip to Russia online in 10 steps in an easy way

Steps Days in advance Links
1 Plane tickets 60 days Find cheap flights with Momondo
2 Visa application 30-45 days Fill out the online application
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3 Train tickets 30-45 days Use the official website of RZD
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About the Author

Irena Domingo's avatar

Hello, my name is Irena. I was born in Russia in 1974 during the Soviet era. I worked as a Russian teacher and as a translator and interpreter for the past 15 years. One of my main hobbies is traveling. Therefore, through this blog I want to help those people who want to travel to Russia.

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Categories

  • 1. Visa
    • 1.1. Visa to Russia
    • 1.2. Registration and immigration
    • 1.3. Visa to China and post-Soviet states
  • 2. Transport
    • 2.1. Arriving by plane
    • 2.2. Russian trains
    • 2.3. Metro, bus and taxi
    • 2.4. Car rental
  • 3. Sleep and eat
    • 3.1. Accommodation in Russia
    • 3.2. Restaurants in Russia
  • 4. Destinations
    • 4.1. Moscow
    • 4.2. St Petersburg
    • 4.3. Trans-Siberian
    • 4.4. The Golden Ring of Russia
    • 4.5. Veliky Novgorod
    • 4.6. Kazan
  • 5. Practicalities
    • 5.1. Ruble exchange and prices
    • 5.2. Weather, health and safety
    • 5.3. Telephone and Internet
    • 5.4. Russian products

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