Getting to Moscow: dates and travel arrangements

• Our program begins on Friday, March 23, with language testing and a tour of Moscow University.
• Students are expected to arrive in Moscow (either Domodedovo or Sheremetevo on Thursday, March 22, 2007. Most flights from the US and Western Europe come into Sheremetovo and Domodedovo during the late morning through early evening hours (Lufthansa, United Airlines' European partner, has the most flights in daily).
• Choose the airline that best suits your needs coming into Russia as well as on the way back.
• Shop for tickets (two days ago I saved three hundred dollars between an email and a phone call twenty minutes apart for tickets on the same flights).
• Besides the obvious good price, look for flexibility, in case you change your plans, availability of stopovers (if you're planning one); direct flights or transfers versus overnights; frequent flyer mileage credit. Be sure to ask about costs from "door to door": international flights originate in "hub" cities, and you may have to pay an additional fare to get there. Agents and ads often quote prices on limited time tickets; your ticket must be valid for at least the near three months you'll be in Moscow.
• We have flown many different airlines into Moscow, and some have better food or more convenient stopovers, but essentially the service on all of them is more or less the same (especially in economy class), so we recommend you shop for price, convenience, and flexibility.
• There is no official travel agency for this group.
• Trains? Trains through Eastern Europe can be an adventure, at least, but they are not recommended if you're traveling alone. Eurorail passes for Eastern and Western Europe are different, and neither of these will take you in, out, or around Russia or any other Newly Independent State (former USSR).
• Consult travel agents and guidebooks before you buy your tickets and read all the descriptive literature. If you find good sites or sources that would be of interest to other members of the group, post them to our group mailing list.