Information and Tips for Russia
This page has information on how I visited MAKS and Monino without a travel agent or organised tour as such. I arranged most of it on the internet and using the phone towards the end. The visit was not cheap but to get an organised tour with all of the things we did would have cost us an extra £1000 each and would have taken our freedom away.
THE FLIGHT
The flight was with British Airways and was booked through airmiles.co.uk as I had a load to use up. I flew from Manchester to Heathrow and met my father who was going as well at Heathrow. It lands at Domodedovo Airport near Moscow. This part of the trip was fine to organise but book early to get the best price. The plane was absolutely full with not a spare seat.
THE HOTEL (and Visa)
We stayed at the Hotel Rossija which if this link does not work is because it is due to be torn down early 2006. This is a shame as it is cheap for Moscow and opposite Red Square. Other more expensive hotels will be built in its place which could be triple the price. The hotel was fine, it is a Russian 3 Star which is not much but it did the job. Get a Kremlin view room and you also get a renovated room as well. I booked this through Intourist in Manchester as I wanted them to sort my Russian Visa as well. To get a visa you must have a letter from the hotel where you are staying. It also says on the Russian Consulate web site that you need to book with a British Russian Travel Agent?. Worried about this I ignored the slightly cheaper room prices on the internet as they were based in and around Russia ,and booked with Intourist.