Yes, travel to Russia can be expensive. The fees for Russian visas are high, as are plane tickets between the United States and Russia. There are some things that travelers can do to find cheap flights to Russia (although "cheap" is of course a relative term).
Plane tickets from the U.S. to Russia are more than $1,000 for economy class seats, but that price can usually be cut by at least a couple of hundred dollars by shopping around and following a few insider tips to finding cheaper flights.
Comparison Shop for Cheap Flights to Russia
By now, most travelers know that comparison shopping through online flight ticket companies is one of the keys to finding cheap flights. A lesser-known fact: after finding the best price on a plane ticket, travelers should go directly to the airline website instead of buying it through the flight comparison quote site. Most (but not all) airline quote websites charge a fee in addition to the price of the flight.
Airlines that Have Cheap Tickets to Russia
Sometimes, flight comparison websites don't list all airlines. The following airlines often have good deals and travelers to Russia should go directly to these sites to check out prices.
- Delta Airlines
- Aeroflot Russian Airlines
- AirBaltic
- Lufthansa
Finding the Right Russian Airport
Domodedovo in Moscow is the busiest airport in Russia, and travelers may find that by flying into that airport instead of Sheremetyevo, the other main Russian airport, they will save some money on their Russian plane tickets. Even if travelers want to visit St. Petersburg as their main destination, they should still fly into Moscow because it's cheaper. Plus, St. Petersburg is just a train ride away from Moscow and train tickets are as low as $15 U.S. dollars per person.
Finding the Right U.S. Airport to Fly to Russia
Atlanta, Georgia is a huge hub and many cheap flights to Russia fly out of there. If a traveler checks on flight comparison sites, they may very well see that the cheapest ones have layovers or stopovers in Atlanta. Travelers should check airline prices from their closest city, to Atlanta, and then to Moscow to see if that's cheaper than simply flying out of their closest city.
LAX in Los Angeles and JFK in New York may also have cheaper flights headed to Russia.
Savvy travelers will know that they need to set up alerts for when deals come through from airlines selling discount flights to Russia. People can set up these kind of alerts through Kayak.com and many other airline comparison websites.
For more information on traveling to Russia, check out tips and advice on Travel to Russia.
To learn more about Russian culture, read Russian Culture and Etiquette.
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