This page explains how to buy train tickets from Moscow to other European cities at the cheapest prices, buying online direct from the operators, usually with print-at-home or collect-at-station tickets. Click here to for journeys starting in another city.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: All international trains to/from Russia are suspended until further notice, originally due to Covid-19, now due to sanctions & the war with Ukraine. There are currently no trains to or from Russia. The Foreign Office now advises against all travel to Russia.
I want to go from
Moscow to...
Moscow to other destinations in Russia
Moscow to St Petersburg
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You can do this journey on high-speed Sapsan daytime trains taking 3h50 or a variety of sleeper trains including the famous Krasnaya Strela (Red Arrow) and the luxurious privately-run Grand Express, see the Train travel in Russia Moscow-St Petersburg section for details.
Moscow to Warsaw
Option 1, Moscow to Warsaw by daily sleeper train. Suspended due to sanctions
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A direct sleeper train leaves Moscow Belorussky every day at 14:15 (13:14 from late March to late October) arriving Warsaw Centralna at 08:45 next morning.
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The fare is around 6,600 rubles (€94) in a 4-bed sleeper, 9,900 rubles (€140) in a 2-bed sleeper, 12,200 rubles (€173) in a 1-bed sleeper.
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You can check fares & times and buy tickets online at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru (can be fiddly and may reject some western credit cards, but does usually work) or using the Real Russia form on this page (easier, no credit card problems, but with a mark-up).
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The train consists of two or three impressive modern Austrian-built sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments built in 2014, see photos of this type of sleeper here & see panorama photo inside one of these modern sleepers. Each compartment can be sold as 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth or 2nd class 4-berth. The sleeping-cars go through to Prague. A Russian restaurant car is attached between Moscow & Brest on the Belarus/Poland border and there's a bistro car within Poland.
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This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa. Warsaw Centralna station & city information. Map of Warsaw.
Option 2, Moscow to Warsaw via Kyiv, with no need to cross Belarus. This takes 2 nights with a day to explore Kyiv.
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Step 1, travel from Moscow to Kyiv by overnight train, train 5 leaves Moscow Kievskaya station at 19:35 arriving Kyiv at 06:32 (day 2).
Other night trains are available and times vary, so check times for your date using int.bahn.de or www.poezda.net. 2-berth and 4-berth sleepers are available. Enjoy the best part of a day in Kyiv.
The fare is around €92 with a bed in 4-berth kupé or €180 with a bed in a 2-berth spalny vagon.
Book at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru. If you have any problem, try contacting www.polrail.com.
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Step 2, travel from Kyiv to Warsaw by Kyiv Express, leaving Kyiv at 19:13 and arriving Warsaw Wschodnia at 10:06 next morning (day 3).
The train has 2-berth & 4-berth sleepers, see the Kyiv Express photos on the London to Ukraine page.
Kyiv to Warsaw costs around around €46 with a bed in a 3-berth sleeper.
Book this train at the Ukrainian Railways website booking.uz.gov.ua/en. Booking only opens 30 days ahead. If you look further ahead than this, no train appears. If no trains appear when you book to Warsaw Centralna, try booking to Warsaw Zachodnia, it doesn't really matter.
Moscow to Budapest & Bucharest
Option 1, Moscow to Budapest using the direct sleeping cars from Moscow to the Czech Republic, suspended due to sanctions
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Step 1, travel from Moscow to Bohumin in the Czech Republic, leaving Moscow Belorussky every day at 14:15 (13:14 from 29 March to 24 October 2020) arriving Bohumin at 13:20 next day. This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa.
The fare is approximately €120 with a bed in a 4-berth sleeper. €180 in a 2-bed sleeper or €215 in a single-bed sleeper.
You can check fares & times and buy tickets online at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru (can be fiddly and may reject some credit cards, but does usually work) or using the Real Russia form on this page (much easier, no credit card problems, but with a mark-up).
The train consists of two or three impressive modern Austrian-built sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments built in 2014, see photos of this type of sleeper here & see panorama photo inside one of these modern sleepers. Each compartment can be sold as 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth or 2nd class 4-berth. The sleeping-cars go through to Prague. A Russian restaurant car is attached between Moscow & Brest on the Belarus/Poland border and there's a bistro car within Poland.
This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa.
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Step 2, travel from Bohumin to Budapest by comfortable air-conditioned EuroCity train with restaurant car, leaving Bohumin at 13:51 arriving Budapest Nyugati at 19:20 (the day after leaving Moscow).
Buy a Bohumin to Budapest ticket from 219 at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz and print your own ticket.
If this seems a tight connection, don't worry. The EuroCity train actually starts its journey at Terespol in Poland on the border with Belarus, and run coupled up to the Moscow-Prague sleeping-cars from Terespol through Warsaw all the way to Bohumin, as one combined train. You do not even need to get off in Bohumin: As the train approaches Bohumin, you can simply walk along the train from the Russian Railways sleeping-cars through the Czech Railways (CD) seats cars to Prague to the Polish Railways (PKP) seats cars bound for Budapest.
Option 2, Moscow to Budapest via Kyiv, avoiding Belarus so no need to get a Belarus transit visa
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Step 1, take one of the daily sleeper trains from Moscow to Kyiv, for example train 5 leaving Moscow Kievskaya at 19:35 arriving Kyiv Pass at 06:32. This has comfortable sleepers in 2-berth & 4-berth compartments. There are no known problems for westerners travelling this way.
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Step 2, then take the direct Kyiv to Budapest sleeper train leaving Kyiv daily at 13:07 arriving Budapest Keleti at 08:20 next morning. This also has comfortable Ukrainian sleepers in 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin.
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Contact reliable Polish agency www.polrail.com to see if they can book both these trains for you, although you may be able to book the Moscow to Kyiv train using Russian Railways www.rzd.ru with ticket collection from a Russian ticket office.
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Step 3, travel from Budapest to Bucharest & Romania as shown here.
Moscow to Prague & Bratislava
Option 1, Moscow to Prague by direct train, suspended due to sanctions
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A direct train with comfortable Russian sleeping-cars links Moscow with Prague every day, leaving Moscow Belorussky at 14:15 (13:14 from late March to late October) and arriving Prague Hlavni at 17:40 next day.
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The train consists of two or three impressive modern Austrian-built sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments built in 2014, see photos of this type of sleeper here & see panorama photo inside one of these modern sleepers. Each compartment can be sold as 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth or 2nd class 4-berth. The sleeping-cars go through to Prague. A Russian restaurant car is attached between Moscow & Brest on the Belarus/Poland border and there's a bistro car within Poland.
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You can check fares & times and buy tickets online at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru (can be fiddly and may reject some credit cards, but does usually work) or using the Real Russia form on this page (much easier, no credit card problems, but with a mark-up).
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This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa.
Option 2, Moscow to Prague via Kyiv, avoiding Belarus so no need to get a Belarus transit visa
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Step 1, take one of the daily sleeper trains from Moscow to Kyiv, for example train 5 leaving Moscow Kievskaya at 19:35 arriving Kyiv Pass at 06:32. This has comfortable sleepers in 2-berth & 4-berth compartments. There are no known problems for westerners travelling this way.
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Step 2, then take the direct Kyiv to Budapest sleeper train leaving Kyiv daily at 13:07 arriving Budapest Keleti at 08:20 next morning. This also has comfortable Ukrainian sleepers in 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin.
Contact reliable Polish agency www.polrail.com to see if they can book both these trains for you, although you may be able to book the Moscow to Kyiv train using Russian Railways www.rzd.ru with ticket collection from a Russian ticket office.
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Step 3, travel from Budapest to Bratislava or Prague by EuroCity train as explained on the Budapest to Prague page.
Moscow to Vienna
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The best routing is via Kyiv as trains run daily and it avoids Belarus so no need to get a Belarus transit visa. Suspended due to sanctions.
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Step 1, travel from Moscow to Kyiv by sleeper train, for example Train 5 leaving Moscow Kievskaya at 19:35 arriving Kyiv Pass at 06:32.
This has comfortable sleepers in 2-berth & 4-berth compartments. There are no known problems for westerners travelling this way.
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Step 2, travel from Kyiv to Vienna by direct sleeping-car, leaving Kyiv at 13:07 every day and arriving Vienna Hbf at 11:21 next morning.
This sleeping-car has comfortable sleepers in 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin, see the Kyiv to Vienna page for details.
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Contact reliable Polish agency www.polrail.com to see if they can book both these trains for you, although you may be able to book the Moscow to Kyiv train using Russian Railways www.rzd.ru with ticket collection from a Russian ticket office.
Moscow to Berlin, Cologne, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona...
Option 1, Moscow to Germany using the weekly Moscow - Paris Express, suspended due to sanctions
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An excellent direct train links Moscow with Berlin & Paris once a week on Tuesdays.
It's run by RZD Russian Railways, with modern & comfortable standard sleepers with 2 & 4 bed compartments, and VIP luxury sleepers with en suite toilet & shower. It crosses Belarus, so remember your Belarus transit visa.
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For Brussels, travel to Paris, walk 10 minutes to Paris Gare du Nord and catch a train from Paris to Brussels in 1h25, booked at www.thetrainline.com.
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For Amsterdam, book this train from Moscow to Berlin at www.rzd.ru, stay the night in Berlin, book a Berlin to Amsterdam Intercity train from €37.90 at int.bahn.de for the following day. See the timetable here.
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For Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt, book this train from Moscow to Berlin at www.rzd.ru, stay the night in Berlin, book a train from Berlin to anywhere in Germany from €27.90 at int.bahn.de for the following day.
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For Barcelona & Spain, take a taxi or metro to the Gare de Lyon for the afternoon TGV to Barcelona, see the Paris to Barcelona page.
Option 2, Moscow to Berlin using the twice-weekly Swift sleeper train, suspended due to sanctions
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In 2016, Russian Railways RZD started a new twice-weekly sleeper train from Moscow to Berlin using a smart new articulated Talgo train branded Strizh (Russian for Swift).
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It runs on Fridays & Sundays, leaving Moscow's Belorussky station at 09:56 (08:57 from late March to late October), arriving Berlin Hbf at 06:46 next morning.
This train is an articulated Spanish-built Talgo train branded Strizh (Russian for swift) which started running in 2016. It has ordinary seats, 2nd class 4-berth sleepers, 1st class 1 or 2 berth sleepers with washbasin and deluxe 1 or 2 berth sleepers with en suite shower & toilet. There's a restaurant & bistro car. This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa.
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Fares around 13,000 rubles (€181) with a bed in a 4-berth compartment, 18,000 rubles (€251) with a bed in a 1st class 2-bed compartment.
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You can book this train at either the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru (a little fiddly, may reject some western credit cards) or using the Real Russia form on this page (easier, no credit card problems, but small mark-up).
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Then book onward trains from Berlin to Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Switzerland at the German Railways website int.bahn.de. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone. I'd allow at least 2 hours between trains in Berlin just in case of any delay.
Option 3, Moscow to Berlin & Germany using the daily Moscow-Warsaw sleeper train, suspended due to sanctions
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Step 1, travel from Moscow to Warsaw by daily sleeper train, leaving Moscow Belorussky at 14:15 (13:14 from late March to late October) arriving Warsaw Centralna at 08:45 next morning.
The fare is around 6,600 rubles (€94) in a 4-bed sleeper, 9,900 rubles (€140) in a 2-bed sleeper, 12,200 rubles (€173) in a 1-bed sleeper.
You can check fares & times and buy tickets online at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru (can be fiddly and may reject some credit cards, but does usually work) or using the Real Russia form on this page (much easier, no credit card problems, but with a mark-up).
The train consists of two or three impressive modern Austrian-built sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments built in 2014, see photos of this type of sleeper here & see panorama photo inside one of these modern sleepers. Each compartment can be sold as 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth or 2nd class 4-berth. The sleeping-cars go through to Prague. A Russian restaurant car is attached between Moscow & Brest on the Belarus/Poland border and there's a bistro car within Poland.
This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa. Warsaw Centralna station & city information. Map of Warsaw.
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Step 2, take the Warsaw-Berlin EuroCity train leaving Warsaw Centralna at 12:33 and arriving Berlin Hbf at 18:16. Change onto the 18:50 ICE train with restaurant car arriving Cologne Hbf at 23:13. Fares from €29.90 to Berlin or €39.90 to Cologne if you book at int.bahn.de.
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Step 3, stay overnight in Cologne. Suggested hotels near to Cologne Hbf with good reviews include the Breslauer Hof Am Dom, Hotel Domspitzen, CityClass Hotel Europa am Dom, Hilton Cologne, Excelsior Hotel Ernst am Dom
For Brussels, take the 07:42 or 09:42 ICE train arriving Brussels Midi at 09:35 or 11:35, fares from €19.90 pre-booked at int.bahn.de.
For Amsterdam, take any suitable onward ICE train to Amsterdam Centraal from €19.90 pre-booked at int.bahn.de.
For Paris, take the 06:44 or 08:44 Eurostar (formerly Thalys) high-speed train to Paris Gare du Nord, booked at www.thetrainline.com from €35.
Option 4, Moscow to Germany via Kyiv, avoiding Belarus & the need for a Belarus transit visa, also suspended due to sanctions
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This route takes you from Russia through Ukraine into Slovakia and Hungary, avoiding the need for a Belarus transit visa. It's a safe and comfortable option.
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Step 1, take one of the daily sleeper trains from Moscow to Kyiv, for example train 5 leaving Moscow Kievskaya at 19:35 arriving Kyiv Pass at 06:32. This has comfortable sleepers in 2-berth & 4-berth compartments.
The fare is around €92 with a bed in 4-berth kupé or €180 with a bed in a 2-berth spalny vagon.
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Step 2, then take the direct Kyiv to Vienna sleeper train leaving Kyiv daily at 13:07 arriving Vienna Hbf at 11:21 next morning. This also has comfortable sleepers in 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin.
Booked through Polrail, Kyiv to Vienna costs around €138 in a 3-berth sleeper €149 in a 2-berth sleeper, or €241 in a single-berth sleeper.
Booked at the station in Ukraine, Kyiv to Vienna costs around €80, Lviv to Vienna around €60, in both cases with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper.
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To buy tickets, contact reliable Polish agency www.polrail.com and ask if they can book both these trains for you.
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Step 3, travel from Vienna to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris or anywhere in western Europe as shown on the Trains from Vienna page.
Moscow to London
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See the UK to Moscow page for full details of routes, options, fares and how to buy tickets from Moscow to London.
Moscow to Helsinki
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An overnight sleeper train called the Tolstoi links Moscow with Helsinki every night, see the Moscow to Helsinki page for details.
Train suspended due to sanctions
Moscow to Stockholm & Oslo
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Step 1, travel from Moscow to Helsinki overnight on the sleeper train Tolstoi, see the Moscow to Helsinki page for details. Train suspended due to sanctions.
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Spend the day in Helsinki.
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Step 2, sail overnight from Helsinki to Stockholm by cruise ferry using one of two competing companies, either on the direct ferry or via Turku, as shown on the Trains & Ferries from Helsinki page.
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Step 3, travel from Stockholm to Oslo by train, as shown here.
Moscow to Copenhagen
Option 1, Moscow to Copenhagen via Helsinki - avoids the need for a Belarus visa.
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Step 1, travel from Moscow to Helsinki overnight on the daily sleeper train Tolstoi, see the Moscow to Helsinki page for details. Train suspended due to sanctions.
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Spend a day in Helsinki.
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Step 2, sail overnight from Helsinki to Stockholm by cruise ferry using one of two competing companies, either on the direct ferry or via Turku, as shown on the Trains & Ferries from Helsinki page.
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Step 3, then catch a fast X2000 train from Stockholm to Copenhagen booked at the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se, or if you have any problems with sj.se, at Omio.com. You print your own ticket.
Option 2 Moscow to Copenhagen via Berlin
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Step 1, take the weekly Moscow-Paris train or the twice-weekly Strizh sleeper train from Moscow to Berlin. You can book from Moscow to Berlin using the Real Russia form above, just click Advanced search next to arrival to, select Germany and enter Berlin. Remember this train passes through Belarus, so you'll need a Belarus transit visa. Trains suspended due to sanctions.
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Step 2, then simply book a Berlin to Copenhagen ticket from €37.90 at the German Railways website int.bahn.de and print your own ticket or show it on your laptop or phone.
Moscow to Kyiv
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Several overnight sleeper trains link Moscow with Kyiv every night, you can check train times and buy tickets from Moscow to Kyiv using the Real Russia form on this page: Click Advanced search next to arrival to and select Ukraine as the destination country then Kyiv as destination city.
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All trains were suspended due to Covid-19, and are now cancelled - and the lines blown up - due to the war in Ukraine.
Moscow to Mongolia, China, Vladivostok, Japan, Korea
Hotels in Moscow
Backpacker
hostels
www.hostelworld.com: If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & VPN
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Always take out travel insurance
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible limit. An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself. Here are some suggested insurers. Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.
www.staysure.co.uk
offers enhanced Covid-19 protection & gets 4.7 out of 5 on
Trustpilot.
www.columbusdirect.com
is also a well-know brand.
If you live in the USA try
Travel Guard USA.
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Get an eSIM with mobile data package
Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a mobile data package for the country you're visiting and stay connected. Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM card so you don't need to buy a physical SIM, including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list. Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.
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Get a Curve card for foreign travel
Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then add a foreign transaction fee on top. A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month at time of writing. The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.
How it works: 1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android. 2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses. 3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card. 4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app. You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.
I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader. The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than digging a card out). I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great. See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.
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Get a VPN for safe browsing. Why you need a VPN
When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure. A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi. It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply. See VPNs & why you need one explained. ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription. I get a small commission to help support this site.
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Carry an Anker powerbank
Tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes are often held digitally on your mobile phone, so it's vital to keep it charged. I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over if I can't get to a power outlet. Buy from Amazon.co.uk or from buy from Amazon.com.