Day 1 | Departure from USA | Notes and Options |
Day 2 | Arrive St. Petersburg (afternoon) Bus transfer to accommodations Dinner at or nearby accommodations. Short walking tour. Orientation. | Accommodation options for short programs include hotel and hostel. Home stay may be possible in some cases depending on group size and university dormitory may be available if courses are included. |
Day 3 | St. Petersburg Breakfast Walking tour of city – St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Peter & Paul Fortress. | Option 1: Bus tour (may be preferable for very large groups) Option 2: Welcome dinner (Russian Festive) + Folk Show at Nikolaevsky Palace |
Day 4 | St. Petersburg Breakfast Tour of Hermitage (2 hrs) Free time | Option 1: Full-day Hermitage tour with lunch and Scythian Gold Exhibit Option 2: Evening canal tour |
Day 5 | St. Petersburg Breakfast Summer Palace Tour - either Peterhof (travel by boat along Neva) or Pushkin & Pavlovsk (by bus) | Option 1: Dostoevsky Tour Option 2: Yusupov Palace “Rasputin Tour” Option 3: Lunch at Café “Idiot” Option 4: "Siege of Leningrad" tour (museum and Piskarovskoe cemetery) Option 5: Festive dinner at "Podvorie" restaurant (en route from Pushkin & Pavlovsk) |
Day 6 | Novgorod day trip Breakfast Novgorod day trip (includes Russian lunch) by bus
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Day 7 | St. Petersburg Breakfast Meeting student group (university students, political or other special interest youth group) Free time | Option 1: Visit local NGO Option 2 (evening): Ballet or other performance (depending on schedule) |
Day 8 | St. Petersburg Breakfast Baltika Brewery tour (by subway and then by Baltika bus) Free time Overnight train to Moscow | Option: Lomonosov Porcelain Factory 
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Day 9 | Moscow Morning arrival and transfer to accommodations Walking tour of center: Red Square-Tverskaya (lunch at Uzbek Buffet)-Arbat Orientation on metro Free time | Option (evening): Sandunovsky baths (banya) 
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Day 10 | Moscow Breakfast Kremlin tour – includes Armory, Grounds, Cathedrals | Option 1: Izmailovsky Park souvenir market (best on weekends) Option 2: Evening cultural event |
Day 11 | Moscow Breakfast Novidevichy Convent and Cemetery | Option 1: Day trip to Abramtsevo and/or Sergeev Pasad Option 2: Day trip to Vladimir/Suzdal Option 3: Visit Moscow State University (near Novidevichy) |
Day 12 | Moscow Breakfast Tour of Red October Chocolate Factory Visit to Christ the Saviour Cathedral (shorts/sleeveless shirts not allowed) Festive farewell dinner (Georgian) | Options: Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Museum, numerous other museums on a variety of themes. |
Day 13 | Departure Transfer from hotel to airport | |
