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Moscow -information on arrival & gettig into Moscow


McChouffe

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I’m guessing now that ticket sales are open to those with nae points, you will all have managed to get a ticket if you want one. As I have lived in Moscow for almost four years now, I thought I’d impart some of the knowledge I’ve picked up here. None of it is really earth shattering but hopefully you will find a snippet or two useful. I’ll start with arriving & getting into town, and touch on cash, after that, and for another time, if there’s interest I’ll talk about bars & restaurants.

This will be focused on flying into Moscow. First things first you will most likely arrive at Sheremetyevo (SVO) or Domodedevo (DME). There is a third airport, Vnukovo (VKO) which you may pass through if you travel by one of the more esoteric routes. If you are yet to book your flight, just go for the one that offers you the best time/price combination. Each have their pros & cons. I prefer DME, but it is the slightly further out of the two. Whichever airport you fly into, you will have to go through immigration. No documents to fill, but it may take 3-5 minutes for them to check your passport. Don't get worried, they do this to everyone. They'll look you up and down a few times, look at the passport and visa with a magnifying glass, look at you again, copy your passport, flick through every page, and sometimes flick through again. I also go to the shortest queue, whatever it says above the counter. Never been told to go to another queue. I even use the diplomats queue sometimes. Doesn't mean it wont happen to you, but I've never ahd a problem.

All three airports are served by the AeroExpress. Trains run every half hour, except VKO which is hourly. It is 500 Rub (£6.25) one way, 850 (£10.50) return. Journey time is 35 mins SVO, 45 mins DME and 40 mins VKO (all give or take a minute or two). This is the cheapest way into town if you are on your own, but if there are two or more of you, a taxi is the best bet. However, word of warning, DO NOT USE the taxi desks or take a ride from anyone who approaches you, even if they have a taxi driver’s badge. They will charge you whatever they think they can get away with, starting at 3000 Rub all the way up to 20,000 (£250.00). I kid you not. Use one of the taxi apps instead. Yandex or Gett Taxi are the two I use. Install both before you arrive. I lean more to Yandex these days, Gett are Getting (sorry) more expensive lately. You can put your address/hotel name in as the destination. If you’ve added your credit card details, you don’t even need to worry about cash. Do check that the app states the correct terminal, it sometimes gets mixed up at SVO between D & E terminals. Depending on the airport, actually finding your taxi once booked can be a chore, but I have never not found my driver yet. You get sent the make, model, colour & license plate. Either way the cheapest option usually starts at around 1000 RUB, while the Comfort option is about 1500 into town. Better to use this one if you have quite a bit of luggage. Most drivers do not speak English.

If you take the Aero Express you will arrive at Belorusskaya Station if coming from SVO, Paveletskaya if DME and Kievskaya if VKO. All three are connected to the metro system which is fabulous. You can buy individual metro trips for 55 RUB or a Troyka Card (similar to an Oyster Card) for 50 RUB, then top it up. I usually do 500 RUB at a time which is good for 13 trips as they then only cost 38 RUB each (less than 50p). There are kiosks selling tickets or machines. The machines are usually dual language, the ladies behind the kiosks only occasionally.

The metro is frequent, clean, safe, spacious and recommended. It runs till about 1am and starts long before most of you will be out of your beds. Most of it is now signed in English, making life much easier. You have the World Cup to thank for that. Announcements on the trains are also made in Russian & English on most of the lines. If you are heading towards the centre of town, they are male, if heading out of town centre, female. You may have to put bags through a scanner when entering some metro stations, in many you don’t. While on the subject of scanners, many shopping centres have metal detectors when you go in. They will expect you to put your phone in the little tray to the right before you go through, and maybe ask you to prove that it works. The same applies when you take the Aeroexpress back to the airport, and when you enter the airport.

You will want to get some cash soon after you arrive, so a word of warning about the ATMs. There are plenty of them, so no worries on that front, but some will only give out limited cash in one go. I’ve seen as low as 5,000 RUB (£62.50) as the max you can get out, other times only 8,000. Another thing, if you take out 10,000 or 15,000 you will often get 3 x 5,000 notes which can be a bugger to change. Go for 9,000 or 14,000 instead. Many shops & bars struggle with giving change. If you have big notes try change them at a busier/fancier place. Another thing that should go without saying, if it offers to debit your bank in RUB or GBP, always take the RUB. Your bank will almost always give you a better rate than the ATM will. There are plenty places in town you can change money, their rates look good, but there may be a hefty commission charge on top which is not advertised. I have never actually used one here, so can’t really offer any further advice on that front.

I will post this here and maybe on or two other places. Feel free to share further. Oh, and have fun. Moscow is a great city, I love it here. The locals are mostly friendly once you talk to them, although they can appear a bit soor faced at first.

Any questions, feel free to ask, I can’t promise an immediate response, or even one at all, but I’ll try my best.

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On 9/27/2019 at 8:01 PM, AndyMcC1 said:

Excellent insight and advice.  Do you know if you can buy a mobile sim card at the airport on arrival (SVO)?  

Ditto, been advised that this is the cheapest way to have the mobile working and able to access roaming internet access. 

 

Edited by Bzzzz
silly grammar mistake
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On ‎9‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 3:47 PM, McChouffe said:

I’m guessing now that ticket sales are open to those with nae points, you will all have managed to get a ticket if you want one. As I have lived in Moscow for almost four years now, I thought I’d impart some of the knowledge I’ve picked up here. None of it is really earth shattering but hopefully you will find a snippet or two useful. I’ll start with arriving & getting into town, and touch on cash, after that, and for another time, if there’s interest I’ll talk about bars & restaurants.

This will be focused on flying into Moscow. First things first you will most likely arrive at Sheremetyevo (SVO) or Domodedevo (DME). There is a third airport, Vnukovo (VKO) which you may pass through if you travel by one of the more esoteric routes. If you are yet to book your flight, just go for the one that offers you the best time/price combination. Each have their pros & cons. I prefer DME, but it is the slightly further out of the two. Whichever airport you fly into, you will have to go through immigration. No documents to fill, but it may take 3-5 minutes for them to check your passport. Don't get worried, they do this to everyone. They'll look you up and down a few times, look at the passport and visa with a magnifying glass, look at you again, copy your passport, flick through every page, and sometimes flick through again. I also go to the shortest queue, whatever it says above the counter. Never been told to go to another queue. I even use the diplomats queue sometimes. Doesn't mean it wont happen to you, but I've never ahd a problem.

All three airports are served by the AeroExpress. Trains run every half hour, except VKO which is hourly. It is 500 Rub (£6.25) one way, 850 (£10.50) return. Journey time is 35 mins SVO, 45 mins DME and 40 mins VKO (all give or take a minute or two). This is the cheapest way into town if you are on your own, but if there are two or more of you, a taxi is the best bet. However, word of warning, DO NOT USE the taxi desks or take a ride from anyone who approaches you, even if they have a taxi driver’s badge. They will charge you whatever they think they can get away with, starting at 3000 Rub all the way up to 20,000 (£250.00). I kid you not. Use one of the taxi apps instead. Yandex or Gett Taxi are the two I use. Install both before you arrive. I lean more to Yandex these days, Gett are Getting (sorry) more expensive lately. You can put your address/hotel name in as the destination. If you’ve added your credit card details, you don’t even need to worry about cash. Do check that the app states the correct terminal, it sometimes gets mixed up at SVO between D & E terminals. Depending on the airport, actually finding your taxi once booked can be a chore, but I have never not found my driver yet. You get sent the make, model, colour & license plate. Either way the cheapest option usually starts at around 1000 RUB, while the Comfort option is about 1500 into town. Better to use this one if you have quite a bit of luggage. Most drivers do not speak English.

If you take the Aero Express you will arrive at Belorusskaya Station if coming from SVO, Paveletskaya if DME and Kievskaya if VKO. All three are connected to the metro system which is fabulous. You can buy individual metro trips for 55 RUB or a Troyka Card (similar to an Oyster Card) for 50 RUB, then top it up. I usually do 500 RUB at a time which is good for 13 trips as they then only cost 38 RUB each (less than 50p). There are kiosks selling tickets or machines. The machines are usually dual language, the ladies behind the kiosks only occasionally.

The metro is frequent, clean, safe, spacious and recommended. It runs till about 1am and starts long before most of you will be out of your beds. Most of it is now signed in English, making life much easier. You have the World Cup to thank for that. Announcements on the trains are also made in Russian & English on most of the lines. If you are heading towards the centre of town, they are male, if heading out of town centre, female. You may have to put bags through a scanner when entering some metro stations, in many you don’t. While on the subject of scanners, many shopping centres have metal detectors when you go in. They will expect you to put your phone in the little tray to the right before you go through, and maybe ask you to prove that it works. The same applies when you take the Aeroexpress back to the airport, and when you enter the airport.

You will want to get some cash soon after you arrive, so a word of warning about the ATMs. There are plenty of them, so no worries on that front, but some will only give out limited cash in one go. I’ve seen as low as 5,000 RUB (£62.50) as the max you can get out, other times only 8,000. Another thing, if you take out 10,000 or 15,000 you will often get 3 x 5,000 notes which can be a bugger to change. Go for 9,000 or 14,000 instead. Many shops & bars struggle with giving change. If you have big notes try change them at a busier/fancier place. Another thing that should go without saying, if it offers to debit your bank in RUB or GBP, always take the RUB. Your bank will almost always give you a better rate than the ATM will. There are plenty places in town you can change money, their rates look good, but there may be a hefty commission charge on top which is not advertised. I have never actually used one here, so can’t really offer any further advice on that front.

I will post this here and maybe on or two other places. Feel free to share further. Oh, and have fun. Moscow is a great city, I love it here. The locals are mostly friendly once you talk to them, although they can appear a bit soor faced at first.

Any questions, feel free to ask, I can’t promise an immediate response, or even one at all, but I’ll try my best.

Thanks for the advice seriously! The only question I did have was at the immigration desk whether they insisted you have stuff like travel insurance/accommodation details etc on hand? I don't have either handy and my accommodation was changed so now does not reflect the one listed on the visa. So from what you wrote I take it they don't dig that deep once you're at the counter with a valid visa? You gonna be about during the week? I would imagine some folk will be due you a pint!

Great tip on the Yandex app - already downloaded as it was massive in Kazakhstan. Happy to cab share with anyone on the Luton-VKO flight getting on around midday on Monday 7th.

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On 9/27/2019 at 12:31 PM, KENTTA said:

Great info McChouffe.  I'm staying in Red October area. Any tips on good pubs/restaurants.

Cheers

 

If you like Craft Beer, go to Howard Likes Craft. For a larger bar experience just along a bit is Rolling Stone Bar. There is another bar/restaurant called Strelka on the other side of the island that has a balcony view towards what I call the big Churchy thing, but more formally known as Christ The Savious Cathedral. Restaurants change regukarly, don't think I've eaten the same place twice there, but for some reason, we don't go there very often. bit too trendy for auld geezer like me.

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On 9/27/2019 at 3:13 PM, EwanH69 said:

Great peice there, can I ask the average price in the local pubs for a pint of lager 😉

See my recent post. however in a craft bar it starts at 220 RUB these days (140 RUB a couple of years ago) and goes up to 600 RUB

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On 10/1/2019 at 1:47 PM, N4Footsoldier said:

Thanks for the advice seriously! The only question I did have was at the immigration desk whether they insisted you have stuff like travel insurance/accommodation details etc on hand? I don't have either handy and my accommodation was changed so now does not reflect the one listed on the visa. So from what you wrote I take it they don't dig that deep once you're at the counter with a valid visa? You gonna be about during the week? I would imagine some folk will be due you a pint!

Great tip on the Yandex app - already downloaded as it was massive in Kazakhstan. Happy to cab share with anyone on the Luton-VKO flight getting on around midday on Monday 7th.

About the only question I ever get asked is where have I just flown from, so you shouldn't have a problem on that front. I get invites for my friends which state they are goig to be staying at a hotel, they stay with me and it's never been a problem.

I'll be around all week in various bars

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On 9/30/2019 at 3:04 PM, Bzzzz said:

Ditto, been advised that this is the cheapest way to have the mobile working and able to access roaming internet access. 

 

I've seen them at DME, i'm sure they have them at SVO. there are three international terminals, so I am almost certain they do.

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On 9/30/2019 at 3:16 PM, Bzzzz said:

Any advice on Tattooists? 
I've been told Banana Tattoo is guid. 

Most of the bar staff have tattoos. Ask one whose work you like is probably the best advice I can give. Tattoos are way better quality here than when I lived in Denver, there almost everyone looked like it had been done by a blind 7 year old limbless child.

 

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On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 7:53 PM, Craig_Mc said:

Do you think the island with Rolling Stone Bar on it is best for TA hangout before the game and not one of the other walking streets?

Personally I think people would be better off on one of the other streets. No metro stations on the island for one.

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Arrived this morning early and no trouble at passport control or at nothing to declare desk. Was waved right through. It was a beautiful morning when l arrived and I decided to walk from Belasusskaya Station to Red Square. That was bad idea as the heavens opened and I got a right soaking. 

Oh l noted that we get a better rate of exchange in the centre of Moscow than we do at airport, way better in fact. 

Oh and I arrived at Shermetyevo at 4.00 in the morning from Amsterdam. I had a bit of a wait for the aero express at that time but ticket machines were easy to use.

I have a view of Luzhniki from my hotel room. Figured out red meter line already. Found one friendly soul who helped a wee bit but generally found it a unfriendly place so far. Hotel staff though have been helpful. 

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13 minutes ago, IainMore said:

Arrived this morning early and no trouble at passport control or at nothing to declare desk. Was waved right through. It was a beautiful morning when l arrived and I decided to walk from Belasusskaya Station to Red Square. That was bad idea as the heavens opened and I got a right soaking. 

Oh l noted that we get a better rate of exchange in the centre of Moscow than we do at airport, way better in fact. 

Oh and I arrived at Shermetyevo at 4.00 in the morning from Amsterdam. I had a bit of a wait for the aero express at that time but ticket machines were easy to use.

I have a view of Luzhniki from my hotel room. Figured out red meter line already. Found one friendly soul who helped a wee bit but generally found it a unfriendly place so far. Hotel staff though have been helpful. 

Yunost?

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7 minutes ago, IainMore said:

Aye. The bed is tiny though and I am 6ft 3.

Cool, we arrive Tues night, I'm 6ft 1, hopefully the bar will negate the bed problem! lol

 

Edited by Bzzzz
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