Travel All RussiaReviews of travelallrussia.com

The Imperial Russia Train trip and my extension in Moscow and St Petersburg was a a fantastic experience!! I just reviewed my 1500 or so photos and it reminded me of some of great moments we had during this adventure. First of all, I found Russians to be very friendly, the countryside beautiful, and the cities clean, modern and cosmopolitan. Most young Russians spoke at least some English and everyone we encountered was more than willing to assist us in any way possible. The train was quite comfortable, though getting a good night's sleep was a little difficult at first. There were several small disasters during the trip, such as flooded showers or, in one case no water in a car for about 12 hours, but the crew got to it right away and fixed things as they occurred. The food throughout was great, with meals and the bar car the highlights.. The entertainment provided, a pianist and violinist, were great, especially the latter. One improvement would be providing more information as to when things would happen and what the daily schedules were. The crew was outstanding as well. Most spoke no English, but we always managed to get our points across and they fulfilled our needs and requests as quickly as possible in a smiling and friendly manner. Laundry service was provided upon request. Tours: Tour time was always welcome. Some were better than others. One of the things I learned to appreciate was how difficult it must have been to coordinate the logistics for a trip like this. We were dependent on train arrival times and since we were usually part of the regular trains-sib trains, flexibility was limited. The best tours were the longer ones, especially Vladivostok, Lake Baikal, Irkutsk, and Kazan. The picnic on the shores of Lake Baikal was a highlight as well. At first we were a little disappointed at the lack of free times during tours, but that improved later. Off-train meals were also great, and we got to feast on a lot of local cuisine. My Moscow experience was wonderful as I was able to see a lot of the city on my own as well as during the provided tour. St Petersburg is a beautiful city and my guide Katya and driver Vladimir were with me for all three days. She seemed to know everything about Russian history and the places we visited, so I couldn't have asked for more. The hotels provided were high quality in great locations, especially in Moscow and St Petersburg. The staffs were friendly and helpful and would provide anything you needed at a moments notice. Safety: Anyone who says Russia is not safe has never been there. I never felt uncomfortable and except for guarding my personal items more carefully in crowded places (which I do everywhere), I never thought about it. On the train we could leave our compartments unlocked and had no fear anything would be taken. Coordination: The overall coordination for the trip was excellent. I was met and picked up on time when I was scheduled to be. In most cases, drivers and tour guides arrived early. Overall, this was a trip I will never forget. Many thanks to Travel All Russia for their hard work.

I thought that the ride between cities would be boring but in truth I could not take my eyes off the scenery. Siberia is not entirely forest but mountains, rivers, small villages and large cities. Books I brought with me went unread. The train personnel from cook staff, waiters and porters was first rate. Day trips were excellent. I felt very much at home. Food and drink was plentiful. I have no complaints. I will recommend the Golden Eagle to everyone who has an interest in trains and Russia.

When I talked to Maria, she assured me that we would be able to meet local people and that it was not a church/religious tour. We only saw Siberia through the train windows when moving and not allowed off of the train during stops. The accommodations were not as expected as the shower water was cold most of the time, water leaked into our cabin twice. The local tour guides in most cities gave a "canned" presentation that one could read out of the regular tour guide. Food was plentiful, but not being a fish lover, IO passed on a lot of the main dishes I would not take another trip with your organization and will dissuade anyone that ask about the trip.

I was extremely happy with all arrangements made during the tour. They exceeded my expectations. I would not hesitate to recommend Travel All Russia to anyone. Rodney

What outstanding service! And special kudos to our guide in Moscow and in St. Petersburg; they were both well schooled, knowledgeable, very patient and a joy to be with. Thanks again also to Evelina and her staff in Orlando for excellent planning

Overall it was a great trip except some bumps on the way. Great stuff: 1. Good food. 2. Pleasant manner and politeness of all involved. 3. Sightseeing were good and well arranged. 4. Tour guides were knowledgeable and put forth best efforts. 4. Land lodgings (hotels in St Petersburg and Moscow) were outstanding. Bumpy Stuff (lengthy so to show specifics): 1. Because of fog in the morning, the time to get off the ship to Moscow was delayed. The management decided to let us off in one of the locks. However, the arrangement for getting off the ship were mis-managed and quite annoying. Understood it was a time saving measure. However, the movement of the luggage and transportation were in a mess. We were like refugees for about two hours stranded near a railroad interchange with scourging sun and dragging luggage across the street to the buses. Dragging heavy luggage, I fell in the middle of the road when crossing the street to the bus. Fortunately the cars that were waiting for me to cross and began to move while I was crossing, they immediately stopped when they saw me fell. 2. The ship lodging/accommodation were a bit cramp because of the size of the ship and the old age of the ship as well. 3. The coordination between the hotel in St. Petersburg, tour guide, and Travel All Russia had a big gap during the morning of the third day. Resulted in losing two plus hours waiting for luggage to be put on the bus. The consequence was that we dashed through the Hermitage in about 1 to 1.5 hours. The tour guide hurried us during the entire day because of the luggage problem in the morning. It ended up we were on the ship around 7pm exhausted and did not see much.

Travel All Russia did a wonderful job organizing our trip to Russia and Prague. The tour guides were all great, the drivers were great and the tours arranged to give us a wonderful feel for the country.

Not my first time overseas with Travel All Russia and once again from start to finish they did a marvelous job! And this includes booking flights, helping us arrange visas, getting us a reservation in a picture-perfect hotel we especially enjoyed called The Kempinski in St. Petersburg. Moreover, they did a great job with our itinerary and helped my friend and I see all the highlights we wanted. We were met on time at the airport by a very courteous driver who escorted us every day. And last but not least Travel All Russia managed to get us the best guide there was in town for 4 whole days who took to the best places in St. Petersburg without any lines and provided probably the best guided experience we have ever had, in any city we've traveled in throughout the world.