Russia used to be a mysterious country that few international travelers will go for vacations. Today, it is open to everyone and its tour industry is seeing an upward trend. It has so much to offer regardless you are interested in taking an historical trip around its imperial past or you want to do something a little more adventurous.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than a decade ago, more and more foreigners are traveling to Russia now for business and leisure. However, it can still be a difficult place if you are unable to speak their language. Fortunately, you will find that the Russians are incredibly warm and inviting hosts most of the time. If you are looking for some where that takes you away from the normal holiday routes then you should consider Russia as one of your must visit place.
So what kind of Russia adventure travel can a person expect to be able to do when visiting this unique country? Let us take a look at a couple of adventurous types of travel that you can do in Russia.
1. Trans Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway or Trans-Siberian Railroad is a network of railways connecting Moscow and European Russia with the Russian Far East provinces, Mongolia, China and the Sea of Japan. During this journey, you will travel from Vladivostok Moscow to the wilds of Khabarovsk in the heart of Mongolia. You will also get to visit Lake Baikal and the snowcapped mountains of the Urals.
This journey is a total of 6,135 miles in distance and you will pass through 8 different time zones during the journey. The trains are very comfortable, but it is the beauty of the country as you pass through the various areas that really gets an adventurer excited!
However, if you think this a bit staid for an adventurous journey in Russia, you could try the following instead.
2. Journey to the North Pole
With this type of adventure travel, you are given a chance to add your name to the very small list of people who have already made this epic journey in the past. This is certainly the more challenging of any types of adventure travel that you may find, but it will be worth it when you reach the top of the world. When traveling through the Arctic you will notice that everything seems bigger, the icebergs are massive and the horizon just seems to go on forever.
You will board an icebreaker at Murmansk, Russia and sail into the Barents Sea before breaking into the dense Arctic ice. You will experience an ever-changing panorama of wind-polished ice up to five meters thick and enjoy the immense polar landscapes from the Bridge or deck of the ship. And along the way, you can expect to encounter a variety of Arctic wildlife such as polar bears and walrus.
Certainly many people have found this particular adventure travel to be a very humbling experience and have put life into proper perspective for them.
As you can see, Russia has so much more to offer the adventurous traveler than just visiting the many historical cities. You will likely find yourself back to Russia for adventure travel and other amazing journey over and over again.
Russia can deservedly be called the world’s hitchhiking centre with lots of travel opportunities and thematic clubs. The recent years have brought some betterment to hitchhiking in Russia, and now this way of travelling has become more pleasant and easier than before. No wonder: firstly, there have appeared plenty of new roads and highways in Russia, old roads have been improved; secondly, the number of cars is constantly increasing and drivers learn more and more about hitchhiking from media. In two words – hitchhiking in Russia is thriving.
There are several reasons why travellers choose this way of getting around the country. Travelling by train, plane or with a tourist group can be quite pleasant too, but this only lets a tourist see nice views and converse mostly with other tourists and staff, while seeing a country means first of all seeing the people. Hitchhiking is the way to get personally acquainted with the spirit of Russia through the dwellers of the country. At the same time, Russian hitchhiking has some specific features. While hitchhiking in Europe is one of the civilized ways of travelling, in Russia it may take on the form of extreme sports. This, on the one hand, can be explained with the peculiarities of Russian social organization: European society is aimed at prediction and prevention of uncertainties, which results in variety of rules and following them strictly. In Russia – spontaneity and unpredictability rule. Laws are kept selectively, broken all the time and there’s always a great share of uncertainty in everyday life. This is why one must get ready to meet the possible unexpectedness fully armed.
That’d be reasonable to care for equipment beforehand. The standard set of things every hitchhiker needs includes comfortable shoes, some cash, warm clothes, medicine, pocket flashlight, rucksack and maybe a tent. However, too many things can be a hindrance during the trip. For more safety money and documents shouldn’t be kept in rucksack.
Having some cash will be vitally important for those travellers who start their trip in big cities, where drivers hardly give a lift for free. To save money and time it`d be better to start the trip from the countryside or a small provincial town. No doubt, that the most appropriate places to catch a car are petrol stations, trucks trans-shipment points and busy motorways. A hitchhiker has all chances to be given a lift by a truck driver, but there are also many car drivers who would be glad to have a companion. Girls are not advised to hitchhike alone. The most beneficial combination for hitchhikers is a boy and a girl. However, if a girl happens to hitchhike alone, the best she can do for her own safety is to forget that she’s a girl. Unisex clothing style and neutral tone of conversation are the most appropriate things in this case.
It’s not necessary to speak the language to travel across Russia: one must have a map with the chosen route and know the names of the places he needs to get to. After all, human communication isn’t confined to verbal self-expression, as there is also body language and gestures. Russian people are considered smart, so there are all chances to be understood by a Russian driver if explain where you need to get to in “English with hands". There’s also no need to speak the language of the country you’re staying in to be polite and friendly – the driver of a stopped car will understand greetings in any language and will definitely catch your name and the name of your country. Sure, it is hard to keep the conversation and not let it dry up if a driver and passenger do not speak a common language, but that’s definitely possible to clear out the route, express your admiration about landscapes and surrounding and find out some simple facts about each other.
Time plays one of the crucial roles in hitchhiking. Morning and evening are the most favorable time for catching a car. Weekends and holidays mean that cars are likely to be crammed with families and children.
Despite the risks hitchhiking may imply, hospitable people and beautiful landscapes of Russia will definitely bring a lot of unforgettable and bright impression to hitchhiking tourists.
Both Stephen Chua & Lavrentyeva Natalya are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephen Chua has sinced written about articles on various topics from Free Credit Report Score, Credit Cards and Mortgage. Stephen Chua is the webmaster of TrekkingAdventureTravel.net, a popular website that provides tips, advice and resources to trekkin. Stephen Chua's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.