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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' (also known as 'visa support' or 'voucher+confirmation') 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 5 days. We arrnge this registration in Elbrus area, but if you enter in Russia more than 5 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
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.
At the moment there are seven airlines which serve the destination. All of them offer on-line reservations. You can choose and book tickets directly from airline.
Destination in the forms: 'Mineralnye Vody'.
Aeroflot airline: www.aeroflot.ru
DonAvia airline (Aeroflot's associate): www.aeroflot-don.ru
Rossiya airline: www.rossiya-airlines.com/en
Vim-Avia airline: www.vim-avia.com/en
NordStar airline: www.nordstar.ru (in Russian)
Siberia airline : www.s7.ru
UTair airline: www.utair.ru
Ural airlines: www.uralairlines.com/en
Nordwind airlines: www.nordwindairlines.ru
RedWings airlines: www.flyredwings.com
Pobeda airlines: www.pobeda.aero
We can book tikets for you but there will be our processing fee (1500 Rubles) added to the price of tickets. We do not have special agreements with airlines and book through same these pages. We recommend to make reservations yourself. This makes refund procedures much easier and faster in case of cancellation or any changes.
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
Domodedovo (DME) airport: www.dme.ru
Vnukovo (VNK) 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.
Summer 2018 flights timetable (last updated April 13, 2018)
From Moscow to Mineralnye Vody (MinVody, MRV) |
Airline |
Flight |
Departure |
Arrival |
From Airport |
Days |
| Utair |
UT573 |
0:10 |
2:20 |
VKO |
daily |
| Aeroflot |
SU1300 |
1:25 |
3:40 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 169 |
6:20 |
8:35 |
VKO |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
| Pobeda |
DP 169 |
7:00 |
9:15 |
VKO |
Thursday |
| NordWind |
N4 183 |
7:35 |
9:45 |
SVO D |
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday |
| Rossiya |
SU6119 |
7:25 |
9:40 |
VKO A |
daily |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1304 |
7:45 |
10:00 |
SVO D |
daily |
| NordWind |
N4 183 |
8:55 |
11:10 |
SVO D |
Tuesday |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1310 |
9:40 |
11:55 |
SVO D |
daily |
| NordWind |
N4 183 |
10:20 |
12:30 |
SVO D |
Monday |
| Utair |
UT 373 |
10:50 |
13:00 |
VKO |
daily |
| Uralairline |
U6-153 |
11:45 |
13:55 |
DME |
daily |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1312 |
14:00 |
16:15 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Sibir S7 |
S7 1215 |
14:45 |
16:55 |
DME |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 169 |
16:30 |
18:45 |
VKO |
Monday |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1302 |
16:40 |
18:55 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 169 |
17:20 |
19:35 |
VKO |
Tuesday |
| Utair |
UT 273 |
17:30 |
19:40 |
VKO |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 169 |
18:30 |
20:45 |
VKO |
Saturday |
| Rossiya |
SU6121 |
20:10 |
22:25 |
VKO A |
daily except from 19.05,14,15,16,17,19,20,22,23,26.06 |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1314 |
20:55 |
23:20 |
SVO D |
daily |
From Mineralnye Vody (MinVody, MRV) to Moscow |
Airline |
Flight |
Departure |
Arrival |
To Airport |
Days |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1315 |
2:35 |
4:55 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Utair |
UT574 |
6:00 |
8:15 |
VKO |
daily |
| Aeroflot |
SU1301 |
7:15 |
9:35 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 170 |
9:05 |
11:20 |
VKO |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
| Pobeda |
DP 170 |
9:45 |
12:00 |
VKO |
Thursday |
| NordWind |
N4 184 |
10:35 |
12:55 |
SVO D |
Wednesday |
| Rossiya |
SU 6120 |
10:40 |
13:00 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1305 |
11:10 |
13:30 |
SVO D |
daily |
| NordWind |
N4 184 |
11:45 |
14:10 |
SVO D |
Friday |
| NordWind |
N4 184 |
12:10 |
14:30 |
SVO D |
Tuesday |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1311 |
13:00 |
15:20 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Utair |
UT 374 |
14:00 |
16:15 |
VKO |
daily |
| Uralairline |
U6 154 |
14:45 |
16:55 |
DME |
daily |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1313 |
17:25 |
19:45 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Sibir S7 |
S71216 |
17:50 |
20:05 |
DME |
daily |
| NordWind |
N4 184 |
18:50 |
21:10 |
SVO D |
Monday |
| NordWind |
N4 184 |
19:05 |
21:25 |
SVO D |
Thursday, Saturday, Sunday |
| Pobeda |
DP 170 |
19:15 |
21:30 |
VKO |
Monday |
| Aeroflot |
SU 1303 |
19:55 |
22:15 |
SVO D |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 170 |
20:05 |
22:20 |
VKO |
Tuesday |
| Utair |
UT 274 |
20:40 |
22:50 |
VKO |
daily |
| Pobeda |
DP 170 |
21:15 |
23:30 |
VKO |
Saturday |
| Rossiya |
SU6122 |
23:20 |
01:40+1 |
VKO A |
daily except from 19.05,14,15,16,17,19,20,22,23,26.06 |
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