Nvdbroek
Traveller
4 comments
Posted 11 years ago
Hello travelers,
Gonna do a trip coming spring. It started as plans to visit friends in Copenhagen and Bucharest, then i just figured why not visit some other places in between? :D
Shortened the route a bit to fit in in the topic title, but this is the exact route i had in mind:
[b]First part:[/b] Amsterdam (i live here) - Hamburg - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Helsinki
[b]Second part:[/b] I'm not quite sure yet where to go from Helsinki. I had in mind to do Saint Petersburg - Moscow - Kiev and from there move on to Iasi, Romania. This seems doable on a map, but i'm not sure if it's worth the extra costs and also it seems like it will take quite some time.
So basically if anyone has any usefull experiences in Russia, please share :)
Also, any suggestions for different routes? I want to start the third part of the trip in Romania preferably. Don't really care which city.
[b]Third part:[/b] Iasi - Bucharest - Budapest - Prague - Berlin - Home (Amsterdam)
I plan on staying about 2 days in most cities except for Hamburg, Stockholm, Iasi and Berlin. Mostly because i have visited these cities before and they are just stops in this route because i don't want to spend too long in a train without a break.
I'm still in doubt whether to stay 22 or 28 days. Looking at my route, any tips?
Peter
Traveller
9332 comments
Hi.
An option from Finland to the South without crossing Russia is via the Baltic countries: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/baltics-train-bus-ferry/[/u]
I personally like this route very much.
Peter :)
Nvdbroek
Traveller
4 comments
i actually might scrap Hamburg and add Tallin instead (Stockholm - Tallin - Helsinki). Don't want to scrap Russia if it's in anyway doable. Would really love to see St Petersburg and Moscow. The route St Petersburg - Moscow - Kiev seems ok and affordable.
I can't seem to find info to get from Kiev to Romania though. Does anyone have experience with that part of my route (or better searching skills :D )?
Peter
Traveller
9332 comments
Hi.
For Kiev to Bucharest have a look at this train: [u]https://rail.cc/de/zug/moskau-nach-bukarest[/u]
There are already some posts in the forum about this route if I remember right.
For Russian train tickets you can check here to get an impression: [ux]https://rail.shop/realrussia[/ux]
Peter :)
Nvdbroek
Traveller
4 comments
Thanks Peter.
Do you happen to know if that Moskou - Bucharest train is a direct connection or if it makes stops along the way? So in other words: if i can get on it in Kiev and get off it somewhere in the north part of Romania (preferably Iasi)?
Edit: Oops, it's a Kiev - Bucharest train. It's early in the morning :/ Anyway will i be able to get off it before Bucharest?
Peter
Traveller
9332 comments
Yes, you can get on in Kiev and get off somewhere in Northern Romania.
But maybe there are better/cheaper options then by local trains from Ukraine to the Romanian border?!
Nvdbroek
Traveller
4 comments
Well i don't know about that, but i wouldn't mind paying a bit extra for a direct train. I would imagine it might be difficult to have to switch trains in the ukraine because of the language barrier.
Friends and family are concerned about my safety, because i plan on traveling alone. So any wise words from someone who's been to Russia? Is it safe? Area's i should avoid?
Also thx alot for the help so far! :)
nltrainer
Traveller
1345 comments
For RUSSIA you need a VISUM-which many find hard to get and very irritating with burocrazyness. InterRail is NOT valid over there-but also not in the Baltics.
Most trains stop at many points=stations on the way, and you can (net als hier) get on/off at all. BUT ALL ong-dist. trains in the old CCCP+Now Russia and around, MUST get reserved and for this they have a very, very complicated system, that often only allows REServation for parts if the train has already departed Mockba, whcih as we all know is the centre of this world and gets the highest priority for all things.
In fact the taalhindering is in UKR much less as in Russia-as they want tourists (and let them in without visa), but the system where they work with is the very same as in Rossye.