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What would I need to travel to Russia for a short hloiday ie visa etc?

I would love to see mother Russia and travel around the country but do I need any special travel visa etc and what & where would I get them

Public Comments

1. Contact the Russian embassy. They'll process your paperwork and give you your visa.
2. It depends on where you live. If you are in one of the CIS countries most probably you do not need any visa but if you live abroad you'd need a visa. You get one either by booking a toor through csome tourist agency and thus they'll take care of your visa or you need an invitation from a Russian citizen to apply for a tourist visa at Russian Embassy
3. It depends on how you want to travel in Russia. If you choose to go via a tour. The tour company will assist in getting your invitation and organising visa. If you choose to back pack via yourself, you will need to organise an invitation from a Russian citizen or get one through the embassy. Once in Russia you also need to get your visa paper done at a police station. If they are all not stamped correctly when you leave they will fine you. You will need to carry your passport at all times incase a policeman wants to see it. Just watch out for the scams. Check out some of the local Russians scam by Lonely Planet. Happy travelling
4. It was a very gut piece of advice given above, just wanted to add that if you want to do backpacking, you don't obligatory need an invitation from a Russian citizen. There are plenty of agencies (some of them based in UK, Germany or States) dealing with the visa questions for foreigners. in this case, you don't even have to contact the embasyy, they'll organise everything for you in one package. You usually will have to pay up to € 50-80 for "2 in 1" - visa + invitation, and the same agency will tell you which hotel to go in Russia to get yourself registered (you don't have to stay in this hotel, just drop there for the registration). It definitely will save your time and nerves big time, but not you money, hence costs additional € 20,00. In total, an invitation + visa + registration may cost you around € 80-130,00, depending on the agency prices. Here some examples of such angencies, but to my opinion it's always better to ask arround for the proven ones, or at least compare the prices first to get a good deal, and of course it's nice if you find an agency not so far from your place, so that you can always contact people and get informed on the matter. Anyhow, my experience with an agency of such kind was a very positive one.