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Golden Ring

Explore the ancient kingdoms of the Golden Ring around Russia’s metropolitan capital, Moscow. These cities are open air museums that showcase the most important developments in Russia’s ancient history, including the expansion of the Russian Orthodox Church. Your tour includes a personal driver and guide to accompany you across the Golden Ring cities. 
Duration: 3 days
Type: Private tour

Price per person

Regular price
$ 1,499
Single traveler
$ 2,585

All prices are per person, based on 2 persons traveling, unless noted otherwise. Prices for a single traveler or for a third person may differ.

100% price transparency: this price includes all taxes, fees and credit card charges.
  • Overview
  • Itinerary
  • Included
  • Hotels
  • Visas
  • Sights
  • Reviews

Itinerary

ITINERARY

Day 1
Sergiev Posad -
Transfer from Moscow to Sergiev Posad. Tour of the city's main sights. In the evening transfer to Suzdal.
Day 2
Suzdal -
Tour of Suzdal includes visit to the local Kremlin, Museum of Wooden Art. We will proceed the tour in the nearby Kostroma, and in the evening you will be transfered to Yaroslavl.
Day 3
Yaroslavl and Rostov the Great -
After breakfast at the Yaroslavl hotel we will see the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery and the Church of Ilya the Prophet. After lunch we'll head for Rostov-the-Great to see the local Kremlin. In the evening we will return to Moscow.

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What's included

  • Professional guide
  • Private driver
  • Hotel accommodation
  • Meals as per itinerary
  • Entrance fees
The price doesn't include:
* Airfares
* Optional tours

Our price promise:

Once you have made a deposit for your tour, we are promising you that your price will stay the same, regardless of any currency fluctuations or anything else - another big reason why book your travel to Russia with us. Learn more

Hotels

Hotels
Ask your travel specialist about recommended hotels in each star category or visit our
Firebird Hotels section

Visa

Many of our tours include visa support. We arrange visas to Russia, China, Mongolia, Ukraine and Belarus. Please refer to What's included section to see if visa service is included in this tour program.

Our Visa Department in Washington DC provides comprehensive visa service for US citizens and residents. We will prepare your application and take it to the Russian Consulate, and make sure that it is perfect (approval rate of our applications is 99.9%). Customers from other countries can also utilize our visa support. We will issue official visa invitation, which is required for applying for Russian visa, and provide you with step-by-step instructions for the application process. 

United States customers

 

Visa service included in your tour We will prepare your application package and submit it to the Russian Consulate in Washington DC. 

 

Visa service is not included in your tour program You can apply for visas on your own OR you can purchase our visa services: Visa section


Customers from other countries

 

Visa service included in your tour We will prepare your application package and submit it to the Russian Consulate in Washington DC.

 

Visa service is not included in your tour program You can apply for visas on your own OR you can purchase our visa service. Visa section

Sights included in program

Sergiev Posad
Sergiev Posad
Sergiev Posad is named for Saint Sergey Radonezhsky who founded a small wooden temple deep in the Russian forest. A flood of believers started to come and settle nearby; thus was the beginning of the Trinity Monastery. Nowadays the monastery carries the name of Trinity Lavra of St. Sergey and is considered the "Russian Vatican." The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergey is the so-called Russia's Vatican, home to the Russian patriarch. For centuries the monastery has been the greatest and biggest religious and cultural center of the Russian state. Nowadays the monastery carries the name of Lavra which in Greek means "main and most important monastery". There are several "lavras" in Russia, but the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergey (its full name) is considered to be the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the monastery and its founder in the history of Russia. It is the basis that supports Russian spirituality, statehood, and national character.
Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is located on the left bank of the Kamenka River, some 26 km north of Vladimir. It is often called a city-museum of the Golden Ring, as it has preserved its original appearance and can boast an abundance of historical monuments of ancient Russian art and architecture. While touring Suzdal you have a chance to see the famous Suzdal Kremlin, Krestovaya Chamber, the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Next to Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, which is the core of the Monastery, there is a bell-tower built between the 16th and 17th centuries. So, you will have a wonderful opportunity to take in a performance of the Bell Concert. InSuzdal Museum of Wooden Art you can see the best wooden crafts from all over Russia since the 16th century. Suzdal is a small town by itself, but every inch of it is unique and vibrant.
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is one of the oldest cities in Russia, as well as the largest and, probably, most modern of the Golden Ring cities. It dates back to 1010 and was originally an outpost of the powerful principality of Rostov Veliky. In 1218 Yaroslavl became an independent principality. Today it is a mid-sized city with 600,000 inhabitants.

In Yaroslavl you have a chance to visit the Church of Ilya the Prophet as well as the famous Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. You will enjoy the magnificent architectural ensemble of the buildings and take a tour to the Museum of Icons. 

The Church of Ilya the Prophet was the first church in the city. It was a tribute from Tsar Yaroslav the Wise to God in praise for his legendary victory over the bear.

Reviews

Michael Baldwin

06/20/2012 09:10

Just to let you know that all arrangements for the trip you organised for us to the Golden Ring worked perfectly and was a great success. The timings were just about right for us, the vehicle and driver were of excellent quality, and the guide spoke excellent English (just as well since our joint Russian was close to zero !!). For your future reference, the 'At the Golden Gates' hotel was delightful: perfectly located in the centre of Vladimir, and recently refurbished to a high standard of decor. The lack of air conditioning was a bit of a problem, given that the temperatures were extraordinarily high, but not a huge issue.

Service and food were very good too, so we would unhesitatingly recommend it to future visitors to the town. And, of course, we loved all the towns and sights we visited - perhaps the highlight being that we happened, quite by chance, to visit Suzdal on the day of their annual 'cucumber festival'. So, in addition to enjoying the beauty of the town, it was wonderful to be able to join in with locals having fun - a great event.

So, thank you from all 4 of us.

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