Frequently asked questions about excursions and day trips

For most of our excursions and day trips the guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel.

If you would like to meet them somewhere else, such as from the train upon arrival, please let us know when you book so we can arrange this for you.

It may be possible to personalise our excursions and day trips.

If you have yet to book, either contact our travel team directly, or leave a comment in the notes section of your booking when you request an excursion.

If you have already booked an excursion or day trip, get in touch with your travel specialist who will be happy to try and help.

Any amendments are subject to availability and may be liable for extra costs. We do not guarantee it will always be possible to tailor our excursions and day trips.

Where possible, all our guides will be happy to make a few changes to personalise your itinerary on the day.

If you are planning on requesting significant changes, please get in touch with our travel specialists before you travel, as it may not be possible to make them on the day.

All our excursions and day trips are planned in advance to make the most of the time available, taking into account local traffic conditions when moving from location to location, for instance. For this reason, it may not be possible to make amendments on the day, as it may not be practical, or there simply may not be time.

Most of our excursions and day trips are available in multiple languages, such as French, German, or Chinese, among others.

When making your booking, please leave a comment if you would like to select an alternative language. There will usually be an extra cost for booking a guide in a language other than English. We will confirm this upon receiving your booking request.

Usually it is possible to rearrange your excursion or day trip if you make the request more than 48 hours before the start of your booking.

Please be aware, that some amendments may incur extra charges. This is because tickets to enter many popular tourist sites in Russia must be booked in advance, and these tickets are often non-refundable. So, if you do rearrange your time or dates, you will need to pay for a new entry ticket.

All our excursions show a ‘Physical rating’ in the details, to help guide who they are suitable for.

This being said, most of our excursions are suitable for all abilities, and nearly all of them can be tailored and adapted based on your needs.

If you would like to tailor or adapt any of our excursions or day trips, please make a note of this upon booking.

Real Russia do not cover any losses or damages incurred during excursions. You should always ensure that you have insurance when travelling to cover any eventuality.

Click here to get your travel insurance with Columbus Direct now.

Your time spent in each attraction will depend on the excursion or day trip booked and can be anywhere from 10 – 15 minutes up to a few hours.

If there is a particular aspect of an itinerary that you would like to spend extra time exploring, let us know before you travel, and we will let your guide know in advance.

If a meal is included with your excursion or day trip it will specifically state this in the itinerary or summary.

Some of our longer itineraries may include a break for lunch, but unless it specifically states that the lunch is included, this will be at your own expense.

If you are still unsure as to whether lunch is included, or if you would like to pre-book a table at one of our carefully selected cafes or restaurants, contact our travel specialists who will be happy to help.

Your trip will usually finish wherever it began, normally at your accommodation.

It may be possible to end it somewhere else. If you require this, please request it upon booking, or speak to your travel specialist.

We are always working to add new and exciting excursions and day trips to our website, but sometimes you may not find what you are looking for. This may be because it is out of season, or it may be because we have not come across it yet!

If this is the case, please get in touch with our travel specialists and let them know what it is you would like to do. If you have a link to your inspiration, even better. Our team will then look into whether we can provide this for you or not and, if it isn’t available, suggest a fantastic alternative.

We are always happy to hear feedback, good or bad, as it always helps us to improve our service moving forward.

The best place to leave feedback is on our TripAdvisor page below.

If you have seen more than one trip you would like to take, you do not need to make a request for each one individually. You can simply make a request for one of them, and then in the booking notes let us know which other trips you would like to take. Our travel specialists will then do the rest for you.

Once you have found your ideal excursion, click ‘Book now’ and you will be asked to fill in a few details before sending your request.

Our travel specialists will then review your request and check availability, before getting in touch with you by email or phone.

Once everything is confirmed, you can pay online using our secure payment gateway.

We can offer a variety of services to help make planning your holiday a little easier. Click on one of the links below to find out more…

Russian visas

Mongolian visas

Chinese visas

Russian train tickets

Trans-Siberian train tickets

Accommodation

Transfers

Trans-Siberian tours

Moscow and St Petersburg tours

If you cannot find your guide at the designated start time for your excursion or day trip, give us a call on +44 (0)207 100 7370, and we will help to find them for you, usually the reason they are not there is something as simple as getting caught in traffic, or waiting elsewhere in your hotel.

Please do not start the itinerary on your own, as it may then be difficult to arrange to meet up with the guide elsewhere.

To make this easier, you can call our phone number free for up to two minutes if you are using one of our TravelSim’s.

Purchase your TravelSim here.

While tipping is not expected, you may tip if you feel it is appropriate. The amount is at your discretion.

If a guide has excelled, please let us know so we can pass along your positive feedback.

While we will always do our best to accommodate any last-minute excursion bookings to ensure you have flexibility with your travel arrangements, we would recommend that you book any excursions or day trips in advance.

The main reason for this is that many of the tourist sites across Russia, Mongolia and China are very popular, and often require tickets booked in advance. If you choose to book at short notice, there may be no tickets left and you may be left disappointed. In addition, some of our excursions and day trips require advanced planning, with itineraries, transfers, etc., and so it might be not possible to book at short notice.