Americans travelling to Russia -- Visa question

Hello everyone! I am a long time 'watcher' of FW... and now finally gotten around to posting!

Anyway, I am wondering about Visas for Americans visiting Russia as tourists. I have lots of experience traveling, but something about Russia makes me want to prepare a bit more than usual. So does anyone know which websites actually give a real Russian visa (a lot of them look shady), how much they should cost for a single entry, and what requirement there usually are for registering in the cities we travel to (will probably only be in Moscow though).

I was in China this past summer and had no issues registering at the police station or anything, is Moscow similar to Beijing for registering and things?

Thanks =)

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html

Ooh, and if you fail to follow the rules... expect to REALLY pay!

I have been going to Russia for the past 20 years. Most of those years I have used gotorussia.net out of Atlanta to obtain my visa. These guys are professionals, they are mostly Russians or East Europeans, and I have never once had a problem with them. Everything has been in order. I highly recommend them.

They will take care of the official invite you will need, and then getting the visa from the Russian consulate for you, returning the visa along with your passport to you in the time promised, and assist you with registering your visa in Russia, if needed. However, you can get your visa registered at the hotel you stay at, usually for a fee, sometimes though it is free. You need to verify the hotel will do this before you leave. However if you do not plan to stay at a hotel, or the hotel will not do it for you, gotorussia.net will provide a visa registration service in Moscow or St Petersburg for you to use. See website for more details about all of this. If you have any questions whatsoever, telephone them. This company knows their stuff. They make getting a visa very simple.

Pay for the 'Full Visa Services' they offer, not just the 'Visa Support Only' service. It is well worth paying them to do it all, letting them handle everything. A single entry, 8 business day lead time, is only $209. Additional fee you will pay is the return shipping fee sent to you, depending on which shipping method you choose.

I strongly agree that St Petersburg is the 'must place' to see when visiting Russia. Moscow was fine for just one visit to mainly see the Kremlin. But, now I have no desire at all to go back to Moscow, but love to visit St Petersburg, at any time of the year. It is a very beautiful city, with all the waterway canals. It is called 'Venice of the North', because Peter the Great loved the waterways of Venice,Italy. Architecturally, it is one of the world's most beautiful cities. And the historical places are amazing. And do not forget the ballets. Amazing.

Any other questions, you can PM me.

OP didn't mention visiting another CIS country and that is the only exception for multiple entry.

I am referring to a tourist visa. You have to leave the country for a new visa. 30 and out. Where have you found extensions?

BTW, I travel to Russia frequently. Actually would have to look to passports to get an actual number. One time, I had to bolt from Lake Bakal to Vladivostok in hyper speed to avoid an over-stay.

GeorgiaBulldawg said:   minimissing said:    BTW, you only get a 1 entry and there is NO way to extend your stay past 30 days.

Not true on both accounts.

I went to Russia back in 2008. I did not need a visa as I have dual Cuban and American citizenships. Check out waytorussia.net lots of good info there. Beware of the police they will always come up with a lame excuse to make you pay them something. The hotel will register you with the police, Always go out with passport and police registration.

www.cibt.com

Used them many times for business travel -- they are reliable and trustworthy.

scrapycoco said:   Don't bother with Russia if possible. Fly out to Kiev,Ukraine. No visa needed and it looks just like Russia.,same people anyway.
Alternatively, you can fly to Finland and take a train to St.Petersburg to see the sights. If you take a certain high speed train ( do Google search yourself), you will be issued a 72 hour visa on the train for free. That's more than enough to see the city.
Another possibility is to take a cruise boat from Finland again,explore the city with a guided tour for less money than the visa cost and no hassles.

-Ukraine and Russia are like USA and Canada.
-You mean same race.
-Mariinskiy Theatre, Nevskiy Prospekt, Church on Spilled Blood, St. Isaacs Cathedral, The Hermitage Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Peterhof palace Also 2 towns called Pushkin and Pavlovsk. So 72 hour visa is a joke to see sights

unnamedny said:   http://www.russianembassy.net/iservice.nsf/namerica

And if are not going to visit St. Petersburg aka Leningrad you are pretty much going to miss 70% of good things to see.

Second that. If you have to pick one city, it has to be St. Petersburg. It has a very European feeling, lots of cultural events. Amazing architecture. And if you are going soon, early summer is the best time to visit it - White Nights

GeorgiaBulldawg said:   
... but love to visit St Petersburg, at any time of the year. It is a very beautiful city, with all the waterway canals. It is called 'Venice of the North', because Peter the Great loved the waterways of Venice,Italy. Architecturally, it is one of the world's most beautiful cities. And the historical places are amazing. And do not forget the ballets. Amazing.

About the same as to say G. Washington loved Egypt, that's why there is an obelisk in DC. Peter the Great's passion was Holland.

Otherwise, correct observations.

In the early 90's I was in the "mission control" room at the Russian space program. I had a friend and his father was a senior programmer. The museum might have improved, but might be exactly the same-Russia for ya.

It is an amazing country. Lots of changes since the 90's. Visit Belarus if you want to experience the Russia of years past.

Russian Railroads proposes 72-hour visa-free period for Allegro train passengers

13.12.2010 (15:10)
The Russian Railroads company has proposed a 72-hour visa-free period for foreign tourists arriving in St. Petersburg by Allegro speed trains.

There is a similar regime for tourists arriving in St. Petersburg by sea, Russian Railroads President Vladimir Yakunin said on Sunday. He noted he had signed a related letter to the government.

People traveling by Allegro train complete border and customs formalities en-route, he said.

http://www.itar-tass.com

I am not sure what is the official word on visa, I've heard you can get one but I couldn't find any official info.

alamo11 said:   minimissing said:   In the early 90's I was in the "mission control" room at the Russian space program. I had a friend and his father was a senior programmer. The museum might have improved, but might be exactly the same-Russia for ya.

It is an amazing country. Lots of changes since the 90's. Visit Belarus if you want to experience the Russia of years past.

Don't listen to this idiot, belarus is HELL!!! If you want to be trapped for several years with no escape, belarus is for you.I believe it is you, sir, who is the idiot. Have you ever been to either Russia or Belarus?