Day 1: (Sat)
Welcome to Russia and the start of your holiday! Wanting more time in St Petersburg? This is the trip! Meet and greet arrival transfer from St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport. Transfer to hotel for registration and check-in. Tonight, around 2000hrs, our tip-filled Welcome Meeting takes place. Rest of evening free. Your trip leader will recommend some local bars and restaurants for you to try out. Overnight - St Petersburg

Day 2: St Petersburg – breakfast
A city coach tour gives us a run-down of St Pete’s key areas. Afterwards, we enjoy a guided visit at the Hermitage, which houses one of the biggest and best art collections on earth. The rest of the day is free for you to enjoy. Most of the city sights are dotted along and just off the main thoroughfare - Nevsky Prospekt. It’s an easy city to find your bearings and get around. St Petersburg has a spirited restaurant, bar and jazz club scene, plus some of Russia’s best beers – so why ration your passion? Overnight - St Petersburg

Day 3: St Petersburg – breakfast
Free day. If you purchase the pukka pass, day 3 will include additional guided sightseeing inclusive of transport. The timetable of events will incorporate a visit to Peter and Paul Fortress on the Petrogradskaya Side, St Isaac’s Cathedral - one of the world’s largest cathedrals, the Summer Gardens at Peterhof or Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe Selo and lunch. Peter and Paul Fortress was built on the orders of Peter the Great. At one time a gruesome prison, within the compound is SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, housing the tombs of the Romanov monarchs. Peterhof on the Gulf of Finland is Russia’s ‘Versailles’ and popular in summer. The gold fountains are to die for. Overnight - St Petersburg

Day 4: St Petersburg – Vladimir – breakfast
Free day. Stock up on wooden dolls at the souvenir market near the awesome Church on Spilled Blood, take a hike along Nevsky or opt for our revolution evolution! bolt-on. The choice is yours! Tonight, we travel to Vladimir. Overnight - train

Day 5: Vladimir – breakfast
Comrades, welcome to Vladimir! Hotel registration, then out to beautiful Suzdal. The little rural settlement of Suzdal is packed with awesome buildings and churches. We’ll explore the town mostly on foot, visiting the 11th century Kremlin, some impressive cathedrals and a wood–carving museum. Later, we’ll have a steamy experience at a Russian banya (sauna), guaranteed to bring on the laughs. We’ll then tuck into a vodka and a Russian lunch. Back in Vladimir, the city founded in 1108 that gave way to Moscow as Russia’s capital, we’ll explore the town. Here, we’ll see a couple of cathedrals and the famous Golden Gate. Later tonight, dinner at the hotel. Lunch, dinner & overnight – Vladimir

Day 6: Vladimir – Moscow – breakfast
This morning, we bid farewell to Vladimir for our drive to Moscow, the capital that spawned dozens of spy novels! Arriving around 1300hrs, we’ll check-in. Today, we’ll ride the capital’s efficient Metro to Red Square. From here, we’ll take in the jewels of Russia’s capital on a guided walk in the Kitay-Gorod and Lubyanka area that takes in sights such as the epitome of Russian power – the Kremlin where on day 8, we enjoy a guided tour. In Red Square, feast your eyes on the wildly coloured turban domed St Basil’s Cathedral - an enduring Russian symbol. Remains of day free. Overnight – Moscow

Day 7: Moscow – breakfast
This afternoon, with our guide, we can visit Gorky Park and Sculpture Park. Gorky Park is a light-hearted amusement park in summer whilst Sculpture Park houses redundant statues of Soviet notables from the days of Communism. Alternatively, spend the rest of the day doing Moscow your way. There are plenty of galleries and museums. Perhaps thrash out a plan for a night on the tiles. Moscow’s nightlife is hedonistic. Overnight – Moscow

Bolt-on star city - Join us on an optional adventure to the Star City Cosmonaut Training Centre. Experience the low-down on the Russian space program. Click here

Day 8: Moscow – breakfast
Today, we head into Red Square where, if open, we can pay our respects for free to Lenin, the grandfather of Communism, who has lain in state within his eerie mausoleum since his death in 1924. There are continual calls for his internment. In the meantime, he still represents a ‘worldly’ and dignified piece of Soviet history. We continue inside the Kremlin - Russia’s bastion of political might, where we enjoy a guided walk through the grounds, seeing numerous governmental buildings, gold-domed cathedrals and the tsar bell. The rest of the day is free for you to explore more of Moscow, Russia’s mightiest city.

Hopping aboard the Metro is by far the most efficient way to get around. Izmailovsky flea market is worth a visit. It offers a sprawling collective of stalls hocking everything from Soviet Red Army memorabilia to bootleg CDs, fluffy hats and Matryoshka dolls. Overnight - Moscow

Day 9 (Sun): Moscow – breakfast
After breakfast, tour ends.