Latest News

MITT - Moscow International Travel & Tourism - Hotels Available NOW!

We have a great range of Moscow hotels at discount rates for MITT 2010 - instant availability, big discounts and online visa support for Russia ! Transfers, trains and tours - all available online ! Select-a-room.com for best rates in Moscow - and top service from our Moscow team. Contact Violetta, Irina and team for MITT bookings now!

Weather Warning - Russia and Ukraine

A Russian winter is generally very cold and this one is no exception! Remember to wrap up warmly for the snow and ice in Russia and Ukraine currently!

ASLA - Russian Visa Made Easy!

Well the good news is I finally got my visa today; particularly good as I leave in only four days time and was beginning to panic! The visa process for Russia (as I've mentioned before) is rather long-winded to say the least. First you have to apply for an invitation- but you can only apply no earlier than 45 days for departure, this takes about two weeks to process, so by the time you get it through, there's not much time to spare for the Visa application to go through.

Must say though I found an excellent travel group (ASLA- based in Cambridgeshire), who were fantastic in guiding me through the process, writing me a support letter (visa requirement) and generally making sure everything went as smoothly as possible.

So now that's it. All I have to do is pack....

I confess that I'm not exactly great at organising myself for a trip, usually that's bad enough when dealing with a one or two week holiday, but this time I'm packing for THREE MONTHS!
Nightmare.
I'm trying to only pack the necessities, but given I'm going to one of the coldest parts of the world, in winter, that's no easy task. Jumpers, thermals, coats and heavy trousers make that 20kg limit difficult to reach, That's before I add a couple of books (I can't survive without reading material!), children's books (for the teaching job), camera, hairdryer and the various chargers for ipod, phone, camera and laptop!
Trying to remember everything is a challenge enough, without having to squeeze it all into my bag.
My final pre-work challenge is the travelling down to Heathrow.
Even this is far from simple. I was going to travel down on Saturday itself (my flight isn't until 2pm) but then realised that there are going to be engineering works on the Norwich to London line ALL weekend. This means there's a bus (usually old and battered) replacement service between Colchester and Witham; thus turning a 1hour 50 min journey into a 3 hour nightmare- and that's if the roads are okay; looks like snow all week!
Thankfully however my friend in London has come to my rescue, so I'm now travelling down on Friday afternoon (normal service), staying at hers, then taking the tube down to Heathrow in the morning. On the plus side it means I get to see my best friend before I leave (which I didn't think would happen), so maybe a blessing in disguise.

Now all that stands between me and Russia is an unpacked bag, four days, a day of airports and that's it! Next time I write I'll probably either be in Russia or be well on my way!

Visas and Visa Processing for Travel to Kazakhstan

We are handling a large number of visas for travel to Kazakhstan for clients in countries round the world as Kazakhstan has a limited number Embassies and Consulates. If you need a visa for Kazakhstan, we can help - contact us on cisas@aslatravelgroup.com for full information!

Moscow Hotels - Price Reductions!

Great Value - just in, lower prices for the following hotels in Moscow:

Hotel Cosmos:  http://www.select-a-room.com/hotel/russia/moscow/cosmos-hotel

Hotel Budapest:  http://www.select-a-room.com/hotel/russia/moscow/budapest-hotel

Hotel Aerostar: http://www.select-a-room.com/hotel/russia/moscow/aerostar-hotel

Best value hotels from Select-a-room.com !

Celtic FC vs Dinamo Moscow - Champions League 4-5 August 2009 - Moscow!

Hotels in Moscow avaialble NOW - lowest prices online from www.select-a-room.com/hotels/russia/moscow

* 4 star from €62/night - instant confirmation, visa support; transfers; tours - book now! Great hotels near Stadium.

Boo k now!

5 Star Hotel Peter 1, Moscow - Amazing and Unique Value !!

We urge anyone travelling to Moscow in June, July and August to take a look at the amazing deals on the 5 star Hotel Peter 1 that we are now offering. The hotel is walking distance from the Kremlin....Prices from EUR 138 for Single or twin room - including breakfast and tax!!

Take a look and see for yourself: http://www.select-a-room.com/hotel/russia/moscow/peter-1-hotel

Book now - availability strictly limited and available rooms selling VERY fast!

Best regards from a very warm Moscow! Spacibo!

Moscow Team

Madonna Concert in St Petersburg!

Madonna will perform in St. Petersburg on August 2

American pop singer Madonna will give a single concert in Russia within the bounds of her world tour "Sticky & Sweet".

The concert will be held on August 2 at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg.

The Square can accommodate no more than 50 thousand people. The cost of tickets for the Madonna concert will be from 2 to 10 thousand rubles. Tickets for the so-called silver and gold fan-zone will cost 3,5 and 5 rubles, respectively. There will also be arranged VIP-zone, entrance to which will be 30 thousand rubles.

Major Price Falls for White Nights at Grand Hotel Europe - St Petersburg, Russia!

We have negotiated major discounts on our already low rates for the magnificent Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg - including the White nights period! This amazing deal reflects the current economic crisis - and our large volume of bookings in one of the best hotels in the world!

For a fantastic treat, enjoy the superb location, 24 hours of daylight and the magnificent city of St Petersburg - don't miss out - book now! Space is limited and bookings are coming in quickly.

 

Point to Point Russian Rail Tickets - Trans-Siberian E- tickets Online!

We now have prices loaded onto www.select-a-room.com - for customers to buy Russian rail tickets online using the new e-ticket system of Russian railways. You can purchase individual tickets online for sectors between St Petersburg and Moscow and beyond to Ekaterinburg, Perm, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude and Vladivostock; tickets also available from Ulan Bator to Beijing, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude and beyond. Tailor-made Trans-Siberian tours. Hotels of course are available online at discount rates in each city.

Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian Travel - Now Online!

We have added rail journeys online for the first time using the new e-ticket service for travel by rail within Russia. Currently we offer Eastbound only - westbound goes live shortly. Book hotels in key stopover locations and train travel from St Petersburg to Moscow to Vladivostock (stopovers in Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk and more) , or Moscow to Beijing via Ulan Bator, Mongolia on the Trans-Mongolian Express.

Stop Press: E-tickets Now Available for Russia Rail Travel inc Trans-Siberian!

We can now book and provide e-tickets for Russian rail travel for independent travellers to destinations within the former Soviet Union. Book online or request your journey and we will confirm and send you a CONFIRMATION reference for presentation at the departure point ticket office - they will provide you with your ticket. In certain locations, ticket machines at the main stations can issue your tickets too. As we roll out this service by destination, we are currently offering trains between Moscow, Ekaterinburg and St Petersburg and rail from Moscow along the Trans-Siberian Express Route to Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude and Vladivostock - with many more to follow. It is now possible to book Trans-siberian rail online and tailor your tour to include stopovers!

This is a FIRST for Russia - and is working well. Certain restrictions apply: maximum 4 tickets per booking, availability is at this time on request and tickets can only be confirmed 45 days prior to departure.

Quick, easy - and cost effective! No more high-cost courriers or postage fees to get your tickets!

Dnepropetrovsk Announced as Venue for Ukraine vs England - 10 October 2009 - World Cup Qualifier

Mr Surkis, Chairman of the Ukraine Football Association announced at the weekend that the Ukraine vs England World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on 10 October will take place in Dnepropetrovsk. The city has limited accommodation and we have pre-booked a range of rooms in different categories. We can also offer accommodation in Kiev with onward travel by train - book early to be sure of securing your room ! Whilst this decision remains to be ratified, we are confident that this will be the venue....

Update: 9 April - 17.45 - no official confirmation yet - so submit request online by way of OPTION (no credit card or payment needed) and we will contact you once venue is definitely reconfirmed.

Stop Press: Welcome to our New Travel Forums for Travel Advice Worldwide!

We are pleased to announce that we have developed our new Online Travel Forums for visitors to our discount hotel websites - the Travel Forums are is designed to allow you to ask general travel questions about our destinations, and for other members of the forum and our administrators to reply in order to enhance your planning and preparation for travel. We are pleased to receive any comments or suggestions that you may have to improve the forum and hope you find it useful. You are welcome to start new forums for different regions - or simply review questions and comments posted by others. To participate, you need to register - but to review, no registration is needed. Any questions - simply email us at info@select-a-room.com ! We hope that this will be helpful for particularly complex destinations where visas are needed or for travel to particular events where hotels are very busy.

Rail Tickets Throughout Russia from our Moscow & St Petersburg Teams

Intercity train travel in Russia is popular - its fast, efficient and safer than internal flying by general agreement. Train tickets need to be pre-booked and pre-paid currently - and there are currently no e-ticket facilities so all passengers need a traditional and paper ticket. Our teams in Moscow and St Petersburg can provide rail tickets - but with major fluctuations in rail prices for train travel between all destinations in Russia, please contact our teams in Russia for any routes that are not shown on our booking engine.

We can book all point to point rail tickets throughout major cities of Russia - with Moscow - St Petersburg rail journies proving most popular, and Moscow through to Vladivostock on the Trans-Siberian Express very popular in summer months. Remember that you will need to collect your ticket before onward travel - so don't book flights without checking delivery procedures and times!

Please contact our Russia team if you cannot find your preferred journey on our online search function - by email on info@select-a-room.com by clicking the "live chat" button to talk to our teams in Moscow and St Petersburg directly, or call us - all contact details on our homepage! If Russia office is offline, welcome to call our team in UK who will pass on your message.

Welcome to trains in Russia!

Contact Us

Email:

visas@aslatravelgroup.com

Telephone:

01480 433800
01480 433783

Fax:

01480 433799

Mail:

Visa Dept
Asla Travel Group
Bridgefoot House,
159 High Street,
Huntingdon,
Cambridgeshire,
PE29 3TF, England;