DOCUMENTS FOR ENTRY: In order to enter into Russia is necessary to have a valid individual passport in which is applied, before departure, the entry visa, issued in the country where you live. For all details regarding the procedures for obtaining a visa you should contact the Russian Consulate nearest to the place of residence. We can provide you the invitation for tourism or business visa. For more details see our page for visa invitation.
HEALTH ISSUES: No vaccinations are required. In Moscow and St. Petersburg are many pharmacies provided enough, but the marks of the drugs may be different from those that are sold in your country. It is advisable to provide medicines for personal use. Flu and painkillers can be bought locally.
LANGUAGE: The official language is Russian and the Cyrillic alphabet is used. In recent years, in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, you begin to see signs in Latin characters. English is spoken only in hotels and international restaurants.
CLIMATE AND CLOTHING: In Moscow the typical continental climate provides a hot summer and a cold winter, quite hard, with temperatures that can reach up to -25 ° C. It follows that it is essential, in winter, warm clothing and practical. In St. Petersburg the climate is more humid, thunderstorms are frequent and sudden, it is recommended to bring: umbrella, raincoat and rain boots in every season. From the middle of June, for a period of about a month, in St. Petersburg it is the most obvious phenomenon of the White Nights, where the sun never sets almost never.
FOOD: The main condiments are made with sour cream (sour cream) and butter, and that is not expected to use olive oil, but the limit oil sunflower seed, and that salads broadleaf are rarer compared to salad Olivie (Russian salad with mayonnaise). It 'important to note that the Russians have a diet inversely proportional to the Mediterranean habits: we find abundant breakfast buffet as evidenced by the hotels, meals consist of a starter (predominantly a plate of vegetables available at that latitude as cucumbers, potatoes , beetroot, sauerkraut), a first (usually red beet soup or cabbage / beef broth or chicken) and a second of meat or fish with vegetables, while dinners are generally lighter than the lunch menu as constituite from 2 course.
CURRENCY: The national currency is the ruble (divided into 100 kopecks). The provisions made in foreign currencies are constantly updated. At present the limit of import is the amount of $ 10,000 USD; if you travel with lesser amounts there is no obligation to declare the amount of currency. Russian customs have set up green corridors without customs control (green channels) for those who enter Russia with amounts less than the value of $ 10,000 USD. For imports of higher sums must fill in the form available at airports of arrival (and at the frontier), indicating the exact currency, as are to be given the goods and valuables (jewelery, photo equipment-professional video .. .) in tow. The form must be delivered to the stamp Russian customs officers who stop in the "red channel", a separate declaration of the goods subject to customs checks. The module currency, duly stamped, must be carefully preserved and presented to the authorities of the Russian border through the country, on specific request. The visitor leaving the ports with Russia if amounts larger than those reported on arrival must provide documented evidence of the origin of the excess amount. Definitely bring Euros, commonly convertible, or USD dollars in small denominations. The cuts 50 and $ 100 USD must be back to 1991, otherwise will not be accepted. In the larger hotels you can pay with major credit cards; this is not always guaranteed in hotels in small towns and in stores that do not have international management. The exchange can be made at banks or offices authorized. They're also spreading the international cash machine, where you can take in rubles, dollars or Euros. Remember, it is illegal to import and export of rubles.
SHOPPING: Typical, readily available everywhere, are handicraft products like Matrjoshka, porcelain Gzhel with the typical white and blue decorations and boxes lacquered papier-mache school Palekh, masterpieces of miniature paintings. Are handmade cloths of linen, wool and cotton, shawls, tablecloths, lace of elegant workmanship and affordable; very expensive but really very beautiful amber jewelry. For gourmets there is the excellent caviar, tea and especially vodka. The purchase of valuable items (including caviar) triggers the issuance of a receipt, to preserve and display the output of the country. The export of valuables (icons or other) is subject to prior authorization required by the Ministry of Culture; without the requisite authorization it is liable to seizure good, and you may run into further consequences (fine, arrest, detention, trial). Some goods are therefore subject to a limited export including works of art and antiques (unless permission of the Ministry of Culture and upon payment of a fee); precious metals and furs (except those articles, declared on arrival, are owned by the visitor); caviar (it can carry up to 250 grams of caviar with invoice). The shops are generally open from 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 19:00.
ELECTRICITY: The voltage is 120/220 volt with common European plug sockets (mainly German type Schuko), always two holes.
HOTEL CLASSIFICATION: The official classification of hotels is awarded by the Russian authorities on the basis of parameters that may be different from those in your country. Therefore not all the hotels of the same Russian official classification have the same quality standards or services than those in your country. It can even happen that hotels of the same category in the same town offering quality services completely different (sometimes due to the year of construction of the building, its location...). The operator is not liable for any unavailability of services in accommodation.
ACCOMMODATION: The occupancy rooms and/or apartments, including cribs and added, can never exceed the number of beds provided; also apartments and rooms can not be occupied by the number of people higher than that indicated at the time of booking, children and babies included. These conditions are mandatory; failure to observe them can affect the entry into possession of the apartment or room and legitimize the request on site for a supplement.
DOUBLE ROOMS: They are almost two separate beds (twin rooms), on request, in case you want a double bed, we can make a report at the time of booking to hotel. This signal is a preference information of the client, but does not a guarantee.
SINGLE ROOMS: They are always equipped with 1 single small bed. If you prefer, you can request and confirm the double room for single use. Price for the double single use is usually higher than single rooml. The double for single use can not be occupied by two persons, in this case will be booked and confirmed a double room. The single room can be smaller than the double room.
TRIPLE ROOM: The third bed is smaller than the 2 main beds, in any case affect the living space of the room; It is therefore recommended only for children up to 12 years. We prefer to call this room "double with one extra bed".
MEALS: The treatment provided for each tour is always indicated. Half board in hotels provides breakfast and dinner. If not mentioned drinks are always excluded and payable locally. Meals provided especially in group travel are often "at buffet" and almost never "a la carte", any request for meals other than those offered are to be paid separately. it is still important to know the habits of the local culinary destination choice and not be disappointed.
INFANT: Children who have not yet reached two years of age, are not entitled to place on the plane, take advantage of a tariff only paying insurance on the flight. Hotel is often free when infant shares bed with parents. In case you require a crib for the baby, hotel can request a supplement to pay at reception.
CHILD: It means children aged between 2 and 12 years old (unless otherwise indicated). Benefit from reductions when sharing room with two adults, or if they occupy a third bed.
AIRLINE TICKETS - REGULAR FLIGHTS: All air fares communicated are always subject to penalties for cancellation, which depend exclusively by the airline, once the ticket was issued. The fares we communicate are always subject to availability; book on our systems (Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo) usually lasts 24 hours, we can proceed to issue the air ticket only when we received the pre-payment. Airfares include checked baggage (usually 20 kg) and airport taxes.
BAGGAGE: On scheduled flights are allowed to transport 1 baggage up to a maximum weight of 20 kg per person occupying the seat. In the event of excess baggage, you will be required upon boarding paying kg surplus. Besides the transport of checked baggage is allowed on board a hand luggage labeled for max 5 kg. Special baggage such as skis, bicycles, diving equipment, animals in the cabin, etc., must be reported at time of booking and boarding is always subject to acceptance by the airline, while the final approval rests with the commander. The cost of such transport is defined by individual carriers and is payable only at the airport upon check-in unless otherwise specified by the airline. The commander reserves the right not to embark special baggage if you are having any issues of storage of luggage. B2B Time Rus is not responsible for theft, loss or damage to baggage or personal effects delivered to the crew or airport or hotel, therefore advise the customer to make the reporting of lost, damaged or stolen directly from the office LOST & FOUND airport where that event is detected or at the police station of the city of residence. In some cases, it is possible that your bags are delivered late or even not be delivered to its destination. B2B Time Rus is not responsible in any way for such failures and recommends its customers to make the necessary representations on the spot to the offices of the airline concerned.
RAILWAY TICKETS: Prices given are always subject to penalties for cancellation, which depend only of Russian railways, once the ticket was issued. Rates train are always subject to availability; We can proceed to issue the ticket only when we have received the pre-payment.
PULLMAN: Bus could be without toilets or air conditioning. Seats can not be pre-assigned nor reserved.
EXCURSIONS: We are not liable for any services / transfers / excursions purchased outside our organization, regarding outages or damage to persons and/or things.
ASSISTANCE: In the travel documentation is the indication of the address and the phone number of our office that can offer assistance if you require it. To all our customers we are available our telephone support service 24 hours 24 in English and Italian. We ask all customers to not use the phone number for calls that do not affect service or emergency situations especially at night.
OVERBOOKING: This term means the sale by the air carrier of places higher than their actual availability, so also by the accommodation of more rooms to availability, to make up for any cancellations or changes to bookings made through systems telematics. This practice was considered an obvious choice from the authorities that enables carriers and hoteliers to optimize costs and occupancy rates. It is a problem not predictable by us. In these cases, carriers are required to re-routes passengers to their intended destination with their next flight or with waiting list priority or with another carrier, and in any case to pay any costs of transfer and / or accommodation. The hotelier is obliged instead to re-protect the client in a facility of equal or higher category. it is possible that due to technical or overbooked visits may vary from those published, without altering the content and the hotels may be different from those included in the program without affecting the quality.
COMPLAINTS: In case of disservices or differences, it is obliged to act as follows: write a complaint to the service provider concerned and present the same complaint to us. We remind you that the problems, if dealt with promptly on site, can be resolved; finished the holiday is no longer possible to intervene.
NOT SUBJECT OF A CLAIM: If you choose to spend holidays in places where the habitat is still intact, you can encounter in creatures such as insects, squirrels, birds etc. this does not make justifiable infestations of insects or similar, but just give due consideration to the natural environment where you spend the holiday.