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Important information

Visas.

Almost all foreign travelers (including European and American countries) must have Russian entry visa. Russian Consulates in countries are responsible for issuing visas.
- We send you an "invitation" (visa support) page. You have to take that invitation to the Russian Consulate along with passport, photos and other papers personally, by post or through a visa service company.
- Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months AFTER your trip and you must have 2 empty pages for visa sticker there. Russian Consulate also demands that you must have health insurance (any, not necessarily climbing one) valid in Russia before you apply for visa.
- You must pay a fee directly to the Consulate. The amount depends on your country. Time for processing visa depends on Consulates. It may be pretty different in different countries, different Consulates in a country and time of a year. Better if you put at least 2 weeks for visa procedures but sometimes it may take even 2 days. Contact the exact Consulate to know how that works in your exact case.
- Russian visa has period of stay - from Date to Date. You can enter and leave Russia on any date but only within that period. Overstay is a serious violation and you will have big problems with police when you finally decide to leave Russia having your visa period expired.
- OVIR(UVIR) registration. One must be officially registered in a place he stays for more than 3 days. We do that registration in Elbrus area, but if you enter in Russia more than 3 days before coming in Elbrus region you must be registered somewhere before in other case you will be fined. After Elbrus region that is not so important, that is why if you plan to travel in Russia beside Elbrus tour better do this AFTER Elbrus.
- More about visas is on our Visa Page. Please do read that page.

Heath, vaccinations and insurance:

Russian law does not require any vaccinations from foreigners. However that may be required by your own country authorities. Please check this beforehand. Russian Consulate demands that you must have health insurance (an ordinary one, not necesserily active travel) valid in Russia.

In UK a couple of main insurance companies control the market and do not insure for climbing in the Caucasus. That is why it is hard if not impossible to have an insurance from a UK insurance company. There were some discussions about this on UK climbing forums and one of the solutions is to have an insurance from a non-UK based company. A sample: Austrian Alpine Club with a branch in UK http://www.aacuk.org.uk

Also it is possible to come without special climbing insurance at all. First aid, rescue service, initial hospitslization are free for all in Russia and you do not need any special papers if there is an accident in the mountains.

Hotels in Moscow.

It is always a problem with good but reasonable inexpensive hotels in Moscow.
- We recommend to book hotel rooms in advance. We offer some hotels in Moscow. See [an error occurred while processing this directive] Additional Services page. Note that there are no hotels in city center area cheaper than 200 Euro per room.
- There are some hostels in the city center area, they offer beds in 5-8 bed dormitories and simple rooms (with toilets in a corridor) for 25-50 Euro per person. These hostels may be easily found and reserved through the Internet. However there may be some problem with official registration there (see Visa section above), they may ask some additional payment for this or refuse to do this. Ask them about registration beforehand when you reserve.

Flights:   Moscow - MinVody.

Normally (if this was not discussed and ordered before) we expect to meet you on the first day of your tour itinerary at Mineralnye Vody (MRV) airport. Short name is MinVody. On the last day of your itinerary we will take you back to that airport.

There are several airlines which serve the destination. All of them have own pages for reservation in English so you can easily choose and book tickets directly from airline.
Destination in the forms: 'Mineralnye Vody'.

Aeroflot airline: www.aeroflot.ru
DonAvia (Aeroflot's associate): www.aeroflot-don.ru
Siberia airline : www.s7.ru
UTair airline: www.utair.ru
Transaero airline: www.transaero.ru

We can book tikets for you but there will be our processing fee (1000 Rubles) added to the price of tickets. We do not have special agreements with airlines and book from same these pages.

Airports in Moscow.
There are 3 main airports in Moscow. Your international flight may land in Sheremetievo (SVO) or Domodedovo (DME) airports or Vnukovo (VNK) airports. Check this before planning your flight connections. Your flight to MinVody may go from another airport so you may be forced to change airports or terminals.

- Sheremetievo (SVO) has several terminals. Normally international flights come to Terminal F. Local flight go from Terminal D or Terminal B). Map of Sheremetievo terminals and hotels is here. Changing terminals may take from 10 minutes to 1 hour.

- There are big distances between Sheremetievo (SVO) and Domodedovo (DME) and Vnukovo (VNK) airports. To make sure you have sufficient time for moving between airports there must be at least 4 hours gap between your flights. Calculation is: 1 hour for leaving airport (passport gates, luggage) + 2 hours for transportation (1-2 depending on traffic jams) + 1 hour for registration (registration ends 40-50 minutes before the flight).

Sheremetievo (SVO) airport: www.svo.aero
Vnukovo (VNK) airport: www.domodedovo.ru
Domodedovo (DME) airport: www.vnukovo.ru

Luggage.
If you have problems with your luggage (lost or undelivered) and you stay only one night in Moscow, sign for its delivery to MinVody airport not to hotel. If you sign for MinVody
delivery our driver can pick the luggage up in 1-2 days from MinVody. If it is delivered to a Moscow hotel after you leave we can do nothing and the luggage will stay there until you return to that hotel. In most cases luggage gets lost or delayed when you change flights in huge airports without withdrawing it, signing for its direct delivery to the final destination. Because equipment may be essential and you do not have many days to wait we strongly recommend to get and take luggage then at every point of changing flights. [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Summer 2013 flights timetable (last edited March 24, 2013)

From Moscow to Mineralnye Vody (MinVody, MRV)
Airline	Flight	Departure	Arrival	From Airport	Days
Aeroflot	SU 1304	08:55	11:15	SVO D	daily
DonAvia	SU 4314	10:15	12:40	SVO D	Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday
Transaero	UN 0169	10:40	12:50	DME	daily
Siberia	S7 1213	10:50	13:05	DME	daily
UtAir	UT 373	11:00	13:25	VNK	daily
DonAvia	SU 4370	11:50	14:15	SVO D	daily
DonAvia	SU 4376	14:20	16:55	SVO D	daily
Transaero	UN 0189	17:05	19:20	DME	daily
DonAvia	SU 4372	17:15	19:45	SVO D	daily
DonAvia	SU 4332	19:10	21:30	SVO D	Thursday
DonAvia	SU 4332	19:20	21:40	SVO D	Saturday
DonAvia	SU 4332	19:25	21:45	SVO D	Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday
DonAvia	SU 4332	19:35	21:55	SVO D	Friday
DonAvia	SU 4332	19:55	22:20	SVO D	Monday
UtAir	UT 573	21:00	23:10	VNK	daily
DonAvia	SU 4334	21:00	23:15	SVO D	Thursday
DonAvia	SU 4374	21:35	00:05+1	SVO D	except Thursday
Transaero	UN 2169	23:05	01:10+1	DME	Wednesday, Saturday 08.06-28.09.2013

From Mineralnye Vody (MinVody, MRV) to Moscow
Airline	Flight	Departure	Arrival	To Airport	Days
UtAir	UT 574	06:30	08:30	VNK	daily
Transaero	UN 2170	06:40	09:05	DME	Thursday, Sunday 09.06-29.09.2013
DonAvia	SU 4315	06:55	09:20	SVO D	Monday, Wednesday,Thursday,Sunday
DonAvia	SU 4371	08:25	10:50	SVO D	daily
Aeroflot	SU 1305	12:35	14:55	SVO D	daily
Transaero	UN 0170	13:50	16:00	DME	daily
DonAvia	SU 4373	13:55	16:20	SVO D	daily
Siberia	S7 1214	14:05	16:20	DME	daily
UtAir	UT 374	15:50	17:55	VNK	daily
DonAvia	SU 4333	15:50	18:20	SVO D	Thursday
DonAvia	SU 4333	16:00	18:30	SVO D	Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
DonAvia	SU 4333	16:20	18:50	SVO D	Friday
DonAvia	SU 4333	16:40	19:05	SVO D	Monday
DonAvia	SU 4335	17:40	20:05	SVO D	Thursday
DonAvia	SU 4375	18:20	20:45	SVO D	except Thursday
Transaero	UN 0190	20:20	22:35	DME	daily
DonAvia	SU 4377	20:50	23:30	SVO D	daily

MinVody Airport - Elbrus area - MinVody Airport transportation:

Normally (if this was not discussed, requested and confirmed in advance) we expect to meet you on the first day of your tour itinerary at Mineralnye Vody (MRV) airport. Short name is MinVody. On the last day of your itinerary we will take you back to that airport.

1. The transportation from MinVody airport to our hotel in Elbrus area on the first day of the tour is included into the tour package cost but with some limitations

- If one's flight comes before 11:30 we do not guarantee our people meet him from the flight. Probably he has to wait until until 11:30 when our bus comes to airport.

- If one's flight is scheduled to arrive later than 20:00 he has to order a private transportation or come on his own. Travel time is about 4 hours by car.

- Although our guides meets every flight there is no certainty when our regular buses leave airport. Everything depends on the number of people on flights.We guaranty that we do not force you to wait for more than 3-4 hours at the airport. In most cases there are 1-2 most popular flights, most people come by those flights and our transportation goes after these flights.

- If you do not wish to wait you can ask for a private transport in advance or on the spot. There is no refund for not used regular transportation. Note that transportation takes 4 hours one way and it is not cheap. You can ask our guide to help with taking taxi or sharing a taxi-minibus.

2. The transportation to MinVody airport from our hotel in Elbrus area on the last day of the tour is included into the tour package cost but with some limitations

- On the way back we take people to the airport for the flight at 12:30. Therefore the bus comes to airport at about 11:00-11:30 and leaves hotel at about 7:00-7:30. Those who need earlier transportation (do not forget that it takes 4 hours to get to airport from Elbrus area must order a private transportation.

- Those customers who have late flights can either go with early bus or order a private transport. In any case they can discuss the situation with guide and reps and probably there may be a convenient solution especially if there are some other people on that flight

3. If someone arrives earlier or leaves later (not on regular transportation dates) he must order a private transport from us or come/leave on his own.

4. There is no refund for unutilized group transportation. 'Included' transportation is a group regular transportation and may be arranged only on regular dates and with group. It may not be moved or cancelled same as other services within itinerary (i.e. same as there is no refund if you do not take part in a scheduled hike).

From Mineralnye Vody (MinVody, MRV) to Moscow
no regular transport, come on your own or request our transport in advance   We take people to airport for this flight (at about 11 am)   You should wait from 11 am till the flight
Airline	Flight	Departure	Arrival	To Airport	Days
UtAir	UT 574	06:30	08:30	VNK	daily
Transaero	UN 2170	06:40	09:05	DME	Thursday, Sunday 09.06 - 29.09.2013
DonAvia	SU 4315	06:55	09:20	SVO D	Monday, Wednesday,Thursday,Sunday
DonAvia	SU 4371	08:25	10:50	SVO D	daily
Aeroflot	SU 1305	12:35	14:55	SVO D	daily
Transaero	UN 0170	13:50	16:00	DME	daily
DonAvia	SU 4373	13:55	16:20	SVO D	daily
Siberia	S7 1214	14:05	16:20	DME	daily
UtAir	UT 374	15:50	17:55	VNK	daily
DonAvia	SU 4333	15:50	18:20	SVO D	Thursday
DonAvia	SU 4333	16:00	18:30	SVO D	Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
DonAvia	SU 4333	16:20	18:50	SVO D	Friday
DonAvia	SU 4333	16:40	19:05	SVO D	Monday
DonAvia	SU 4335	17:40	20:05	SVO D	Thursday
DonAvia	SU 4375	18:20	20:45	SVO D	except Thursday
Transaero	UN 0190	20:20	22:35	DME	daily
DonAvia	SU 4377	20:50	23:30	SVO D	daily