'Best' Route Russia Eastbound from Baltics
 

Hi people,

Planning going through Russia from Baltics to Irkutsk/Baikal coming summer. Not very fond of the big cities like Moscow with it's Heavy traffic in summer heat and would like to avoid M. By using Google map there comes one option North of Moscow and one option South of M. What is recommended route for an old man on motorcycle ?

Thanks in advance,

Best regards
I. :scooter:

Have same question...
 

Have the same question...
Based on some report I have read a long time ago I have chosen the "ring road" north of Moscow centre. Not sure if this is a good choice...
I plan to cross the border in Latvia (near Zilupe) 4th of June. Then going to Novosibirsk, Barnaul and then into Mongolia.
When do you want to enter Russia?
Regards from Sweden
Patrick :scooter:

Patrick, we will enter Russia on or about June 12/13 -

I/NOR

It would be a shame to miss Moscow--it is an amazing city--but you are correct that traffic is really intense there, and if that is not your thing then I would try to stick north of Moscow. Note that the ring highway around Moscow (the MKAD) can also be pretty insane, so if you don't want to go to Moscow I would stick well north of the city. Lake Seliger is nice, and Yaroslavl is an awesome smaller city (but maybe kind of out of the way).

The main problem/opportunity that you'll encounter is that all of the major highways will run through Moscow, so if you want to avoid Moscow you will need to stay off the main highways and stick to the small roads. While this will be much slower, you will find it much more rewarding/interesting being off the beaten path.

Unless you have a tent though, make sure to plan to send your day near some kind of town or near a lake, etc. so that you'll be able to find a hotel/resort. It is pretty random though, I've found some rather nice hotels in the middle of nowhere before, but I would not want to count on it...

I would recommend heading towards Moscow, then skirting north well before you reach the city suburbs, turning north from the M9 at Novoprtrovskoye, then going through Klin (where Tchaikovsky lived), Dmitrov and Sergiev Posad (maybe the most important architectural complex of the Russian Orthodox Church), then either keep NE towards Yaroslavl, or drop back south to the M7 and visit Vladimir (another very nice city).

As Motoreiter said, most roads go through Moscow, so if you want to give it a wider berth, you will be making a major detour to the north or south (the latter getting pretty hot), or stick to small roads and enjoy rustic, small town Russia.

And I would definitely stay well clear of the MKAD if crazy traffic is not your thing.

MKAD not too bad
 

dear all

I lived in moscow until 2014 and found the MKAD very busy but not outragious. Since most mainroads drive trhough Moscow, I'd suggest taking the MKAD RingRoad to drive around Moscow. As long as you avoid rush hours, yóu will be fine... and please dont try to hurry...

have a great time

PS. but first consider whether Moscow is really not worth a visit, because I thin k it is :)