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Russia - off the beaten track - ideas please? Russia - off the beaten track - ideas please?
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Photo by Giovanni Lamonica, Aralsk, Kazakhstan.

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Giovanni Lamonica,
Aralsk, Kazakhstan.



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  #1  
Old 7 Feb 2017
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Russia - off the beaten track - ideas please?
Hi y´all,

we´re planning to travel about 14 days on motorcyles (1190R and Transalp) in the European part of Russia (i.e. west of the Ural) (plus another 10 days or so travel to and from Germany).

Where to go within that area between Baltic and the Caspian Sea will heavily depend on what we need to see. We´re not too keen on St Petersburg, will in any case do one day in Moscow (but not more, as we´d rather go back into the open range) and will certainly visit one or the other of the Golden Ring cities.
From you guys wer´re more interested in your personal experience; where did you stop, what did you discover along the way (such as a nuclear warhead missile station from the cold war which we once found to be accessible in the Ukraine), any local bike meets etc.
Thanks and best regards
Chris
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  #2  
Old 8 Feb 2017
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Explore the republic of Karelia (north of St Petersburg) and stay in the capital city of Petrozavodsk ( a very pleasant city) set by the edge of lake Onega. Take a day trip there to the Island of Kizhi. It is well worth the day trip. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kizhi_Island

From there I had originally planned to get up to Kem (toward Murmansk peninsula) and take a trip to the Soloveski islands (world heritage list) .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solovetsky_Islands

Again, a worth while trip. However, last year was so cold and wet, we had so many storms, that we continued East instead.

If you continue East, via the north roads, note that you cannot visit Plesetsk without a FSB permit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesetsk_Cosmodrome
Despite reading in Moscow Times last year that the Russian government was thinking about opening it up to visitors, it is still NIET /forbidden place for tourists, as far as I know. (see my trip reports for details on this – 2016 – on my website).

If you cross via the Baltic states, the city of Pskov has a really nice Kremlin. And lots of hotels.

For details of our explorations of Russia see my website and trips in 2014 and 2016. 2015 was Siberia and is too far for you.

Murmansk Peninsula could be a nice place to explore depending on weather. If you are on a car it should be ok, on a bike, it could be extremely cold and wet if unlucky.

Any questions feel free to send me an email or PM.
Load the app Yandex for routing, itinerary, hotels and everything else. Its Satellite view is very good also to have an idea of the state of the road, when zooming (note that the satellite view are not using the same pictures than in Google). Yandex is the Russian version of google and is perfect for Russia. Along with Maps.me.

Cheers,
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Old 8 Feb 2017
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14 days is very little time to see anything in Russia, but here are some suggestions in the Moscow area... you could try one of two of the following:

- Golden Ring Cities; I think Vladimir is nicest, but Yaroslavl and Kostroma are also nice. Suzdal / Bogolyubovo have some very picturesque churches. Rostov is also worth seeing.

- A bit north; Novgorod is nice, Vologda is nothing special but close to beautiful Ozero Beloye / Belozersk, Kirillov Monastery and Ferapontov Monastery, the latter of which has amazing frescoes.

- Staying west, Pskov and Smolensk are both lovely cities, nearby is Pushkin's estate / museum.

- To the south there is very little of interest (Yelets is nice) until you reach Kalmykia and the Caucasus, but these are much too far away with your time frame

- A bit east; Kazan is a historical city well worth seeing, but there is not much else around, though the Volga is nice. I really liked Samara but to a first-time visitor it will probably have little appeal.

I have a lot of travel reports from all over Russia on my website, maybe you can get some ideas: https://eurasiaoverland.com/category/russia/

EO
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Old 8 Feb 2017
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Whew, where to start? Honestly, just stay off the main highways and you'll find all of the "off the beaten track" places you'll need.

While I understand you desire not to spend too much time in Moscow, one day is really not enough...at least two days are a must! Stay in an area called Kitai Gorod, it is right in the center and there are plenty of small hotels, hostels, bars, restaurants in the area.

For smaller cities...Yaroslavl is great, as are Samara, Volgograd, Pskov, Nizhni Novgorod, Kazan. Up near the Latvian border is a small town called Sebezh, very nice.

On the other fan, not a big fan of Orel, Velikiye Luki, Saransk, Ryazan.

If it is your first time, just ride the small roads and you're pretty much sure to find something interesting. I advise using a GPS because a lot of these small roads have poor signage and it is easy to get lost otherwise. Have fun.
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Old 11 Feb 2017
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Thanks guys, this is a great list to consider and start planning!

Best regards
Chris
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Old 11 Feb 2017
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"nuclear warhead missile station from the cold war which we once found to be accessible in the Ukraine"

Any more info available?

John
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