Latvia Russia Border Crossing

[Lonerider]

Does anyone know any info on where to cross the border from Latvia in to Russia. I am looking at stopping in Moscow for a couple of days before heading to Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
Still in the planning phase so open to suggestions. Did a search on Google and this road to the border was suggested E22 / A12 / M9 near Zilupe
Cheers

[motoreiter]

Yes, that is one border crossing, I exited/entered there in late April. Nothing special, pretty boring road, but OK. If you have time, take a detour up to Pskov, it is a nice town.

[motoreiter]

One more comment about that road--there actually aren't that many places to stay for long stretches of the road, so you need to pick a place to stay. There is a newish motel on the main highway at Velikiye Luki; I stayed there, it was OK although the restaurant was pretty weak.

I've never stayed in Rzhev but have read that it is a tough town, so if you stay there be sure to have secure parking for the moto.

Also, for some reason a lot of people say that that road is horrible--one person even said that it basically doesn't exist--but at least on a GS the road was absolutely normal. Note that there is also a fair bit of construction going on, so be prepared for delays.

[Russki Guzzi]

Originally Posted by Caps

Does anyone know any info on where to cross the border from Latvia in to Russia. I am looking at stopping in Moscow for a couple of days before heading to Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
Still in the planning phase so open to suggestions. Did a search on Google and this road to the border was suggested E22 / A12 / M9 near Zilupe
Cheers

As an alternative you might want to consider the crossing a bit further north near Karsava. I used it last July because I’d heard that Zilupe can have long queues while the Karsava crossing is pretty empty. The day before I crossed I had a look at both and while Zilupe was busy Karsava was empty, so I opted for the latter: crossing took 2 hours & border guards were very friendly & helpful.

Originally Posted by motoreiter

One more comment about that road--there actually aren't that many places to stay for long stretches of the road, so you need to pick a place to stay. There is a newish motel on the main highway at Velikiye Luki; I stayed there, it was OK although the restaurant was pretty weak.

Also, for some reason a lot of people say that that road is horrible--one person even said that it basically doesn't exist--but at least on a GS the road was absolutely normal. Note that there is also a fair bit of construction going on, so be prepared for delays.

Probably me that said it didn’t exist: last July that was pretty true for the stretch between Kunya & Shakhovskaya, about 300km. I was warned not to take it, but didn’t have an alternative; I remember I didn’t see another bike on that stretch of road. The problem was that was where the repairs were, it was often reduced to a single lane & the surface was terrible & made worse by days of rain. A better rider than me and a more appropriate bike - like a GS - would have found it easier. But you still have to deal with all the deathwish maniacs in trucks, buses, beat-up Zhigulis & SUVs with blacked-out windows: there are a lot of very nasty accidents on that road.

It may well have improved since I was on it. The construction work is temporary - at least in theory - and the bits where work was completed were fine: there just weren’t very many of those last summer. I’m reluctantly planning to ride back on it to Estonia in a couple of weeks: can you remember where the construction work was in April? It may help my planning.

For accommodation I stayed at the Volyn Country Club, which is about 30 km south of the M9 between Velikiye Luki & Kunya. It’s on a hard to find dirt road, turn off is at a GAI post. All wooden houses by a lake, much nicer than the usual Russian motel.

[motoreiter]

Originally Posted by Russki Guzzi

...I was warned not to take it, but didn’t have an alternative; I remember I didn’t see another bike on that stretch of road. The problem was that was where the repairs were, it was often reduced to a single lane & the surface was terrible & made worse by days of rain.

I've ridden a lot here and you won't see other bikes on most stretches of road, so that doesn't mean much.

I don't recall where the construction was, but am pretty sure it was somewhere between Rzhev and Velikiye Luki. At most of the construction sites they have traffic lights directing traffic; if the light is red when you approach, ride up to the front and when it turns green you can zip right through the construction sites, getting stuck behind a truck is a nightmare because they go about 10kph.

[Russki Guzzi]

Originally Posted by motoreiter

I've ridden a lot here and you won't see other bikes on most stretches of road, so that doesn't mean much.

I don't recall where the construction was, but am pretty sure it was somewhere between Rzhev and Velikiye Luki. At most of the construction sites they have traffic lights directing traffic; if the light is red when you approach, ride up to the front and when it turns green you can zip right through the construction sites, getting stuck behind a truck is a nightmare because they go about 10kph.

Thanks for the info. I think I may well take the St Pete highway and cross at Ivangorod/Narva. Haven't ridden that route before, so at least any roadworks/traffic jams will be different ones.

[BobH]

Hi,

can you tell me if you did the Narva crossing and any suggestions? A couple of us are planning a trip to St Petersburg in June this year.

Thanks

Bob

[motoreiter]

Last time I checked, Narva is in Estonia, not Latvia...

I haven't crossed the Estonian-Russian border at Narva, but crossed it somewhere else last year; nothing special, standard border crossing.