Russia
 

Really want to go to Archangel next July, apart from Visa hassles what else do I need to know. Any advice would be much appreciated.

News from August 2002
1-Road conditions are quite ok.. no need to worry
2-Dont trust in credit cards.. almost non existing
3-No chance of finding any spare part or a qualified mechanic anywhere ... you are on your own.
4-Park your bike only at attended parking lots.. there it will be safe.
5-Learn couple fo words .. almost no one speaks english.
6-Always carry potable water .. otherwise get used to sparkling soda.
7-Dont worry about personel safety .. its a safe country. ( for you that is ,not for your bike )
8-Learn where you can find ATM .. before the trip.

Beatifull place!!

I crossed from Kirkenes to Murmansk on July 16, 2002. No hassles, no problem. Nice ride on a road being improved. You'll like Murmansk. Great city; nice people. Stay at hotel Polyarnye Zory. Good and secure parking.
Enjoy.

hi Owen, i also want to travel to russia but in June so i am planning at present to go to Lake Baikal, can we swop information?

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oldbiker

Werner did you have a company in Murmansk that took care of your invitation-letter?
That would be perfect for us, then we only have to ride to Murmansk to get it regstered. Afterwards we're free :-)
Planning to ride to Murmansk via Lapland in September. Back via St. Petersburg.

Pieter.

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http://users.pandora.be/pieter.maes2/

Hi,
I got my visa in Canada, before leaving. Had to prepay three hotels, one in St. Petersburg, the other in Moscow, the third in Sochi. This is tricky, because they want to know exact dates of entry, of stay in hotels, and of exit. I asked for three months, but received only one month, which was enough for me. I let the former Intourist (now Intours) in Toronto do all the work for me. They also arranged for my Russian visa. My tip: Ask for the maximum time (3 months). Russian visas are very difficult to extend in Russia (so I was told).
All the best.

You can try to get a journalists visa for Russia. They can go as far as one year and you can be where ever you want (exept some forbidden places). I got mine through an german/russian visa agency - cost about 300 Euro.

Ride save
Jochen

hola travellers,

I agree with everything said above, but not with this:

3-No chance of finding any spare part or a qualified mechanic anywhere ... you are on your own.

I am riding a Tenere around the world since 1999. The best mechanics are in Russia !!! You won´t find spare parts if you don´t ride an Ural or an Isch - but a Russian mechanic will find a solution for your problem, don´t worry.

I spend only three months in Turkey, but the only good mechanic I met was Iranian !

Let a visa agency do the job with the visa - I got in Germany a six month visa for this summer - not cheap 400 Euro

the usd cash and enjoy the girls

mika from Sao Paulo Brazil

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yes, best mechanicians in russia, clever, creative, friendly, cheap

no spare parts are very few, you need to be lucky

no problem with visa crdit cards in big cities

safe country but park your bike safe at night

no prob water, fuel

visa : www.ryh.ru

i was there in spring 2003, from estonia to mongolia then back to kazakhstan

safe travels

more info on my website link "informations pratiques pour les autres voyageurs"

http://vincent.danna.free.fr/

sorry in spring summer 2002