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Melbourne to Moscow, Russia from $709 Return on China Southern (June - White Nights Time) @ Beat That Flight

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White Nights in Moscow - mid summer where it doesn't get totally dark all night (it's quite far north) is an eerie experience for those from lower latitudes.

I was in Finland/Russia this time 8 years prior, and 24 hours of daylight in the Arctic circle is a unique memory.

This price is fantastic to get you there. You can also easily hop on a train to St Petersburg.

Yes, you likely need a visa + invitation, but I have been three times and used visatorussia (no affilation) with zero problems.

Airline: China Southern
From: MEL
To: Moscow
Via: CAN (Guangzhou)

Examples:

$709 Return - 02 June to 18 June - https://bookings.beatthatflight.com.au/flights/mel0206mow180…
$709 Return - 03 June to 19 June - https://bookings.beatthatflight.com.au/flights/mel0306mow190…
$709 Return - 04 June to 20 June - https://bookings.beatthatflight.com.au/flights/mel0406mow200…
$709 Return - 06 June to 22 June - https://bookings.beatthatflight.com.au/flights/mel0606mow220…

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closed Comments

  • +8

    JFYI unfortunately, there are no white nights in Moscow - it's just too far away from Arctic circle. There are some "whiteness" and related cultural events around that time in St.Petersburg tho.

    • +2

      Yeah, the white nights stuff in St P was fun, but as I said, it just doesn't get totally dark. In Murmansk (and Ivalo/Rovaniemi where I was, it was 24 hours of daylight, quite amazing!)

      • +1

        When I was in Rovaniemi it was mid-winter, so 24hr darkness (with maybe 30mins of a grey pre-dawn then dark again).
        Perfect reason to drink at any time…

        Handy tip for anyone going there - Don't check out the Lordi "Rock-taurant" - it sucks balls.

        • Sorry to hijack the thread here but I was looking at going up to ROVANIEMI at the end of this year. Besides the dodgy restraunt what do you think?

          Is it worth it or is it a bit of a gimmick?

          • @S4Sneaky: It'll be cold and dark….

            But Santa's village is there, which is 'novel', and if you're ticking boxes, it's just inside the arctic circle which was nice. Reindeer was tasty too ;)

            But given it'll be winter, you might see what I could not - the auroras. And that alone would make it worth it (to me at least).

            • @beatthatflight: Second this.
              Santa's village was a little gimmicky but would be good for kids.
              We didn't get to see the aurora either, which would have been awesome.
              Another gimmicky thing was the "Northern-most McDonalds in the world" which we got a bit of a chuckle out of.

              We went snowmobiling, but it was also a bit of a let down after snowmobiling in Siberia at Lake Baikal, where the vehicles were bigger, faster and they didn't force you to stick to the narrow trail at 5km/h and let us cut loose on our own.

              There was much drinking involved in Rovaniemi though.

  • +3

    Just remember the difficulty of getting visas and access to Russia in case you hope to pop over for a week last minute.

    • +2

      Generally not difficult, get invitation from waytorussia.net or similar, post in application for visa. Costs a couple of hundred dollars total.

      • Hundreds of dollars for a visa??

        • +1

          it's the visa + invitation. If you know someone in Russia to invite you instead, it can be cheaper, but yeah. Also not the most expensive visa, either :

          http://www.traveller.com.au/most-expensive-visas-for-austral…

          Done the top two…..Iran made me buy 'travel insurance' as well, despite already having some :/

        • Visa cost depends on the passport you have, EU Schengen area passport holders got it much cheaper from memory. Last time I needed a double entry which cost more, plus cost to have bankers cheque made out plus return envelope etc. All added up to quite a bit.

      • +3

        if you had a FIFA "FanPass" (from 2018 World Cup), i believe Visa is free to Russia this year as well.

        also, no need to use WayToRussia.net , if you self-organize it.

        • book hotels yourself. confirmed booking for the duration of the stay. remember the address.
        • give this address & your itinerary (in a .DOC or .PDF format) to online Russian-travel company. there are plenty online.
          they accept Paypal and it will cost about US$ 25.
          they will then give you a 'travel voucher', within 1-2 days, via E-mail

        • apply for Russian Visa online.
          book an appointment with the consulate. generally has a 2-week waiting period.
          while you wait, you fill out the online form.

        • on day of appointment.
          take your voucher, passport, etc… and hand over to the officer behind the counter.
          they may ask you questions, but in reality, needs to see a confirmed accommodation for the time you'll be in Russia

        then pay AU$ 150+ for the Visa.

        you either choose to have Passport sent to you via Mail or can pick up again from consulate.

        main thing to remember is, every 7 consecutive days, the accommodation needs to 'register' you as staying with them.
        ( this used to be every 3 days and even going to a police station every 3 days to register yourself, …but this was ~15 years ago)

        • Hence my comment about the difficulty. Plenty of other countries you can just rock up into.

    • +1

      Never heard of anyone not being able to get a visa to Russia. There is a bit of a process to go through, but it's straight forward and electronic.

      • it's only electronic, as of the last 5+ years.
        prior to that, it was a major hassle, to get 'invitation letters',
        buying plane/train tickets through local Russian agents, etc.

        nowadays, you can buy your own online train/plane tickets,
        and in English, while sitting in your own armchair here in Australia.

        so, they are making great strides in encouraging visitors,
        except the older bureaucracy want to maintain visibility of where you go, what you do, etc.
        however, the younger population are just like any western-minded person,
        who also want to travel, value freedom/liberty and work hard in raising a family.

  • this is great price! Flying to Prague one way in few weeks - and it's $950. and it's just couple of hours flight time away

  • Good price, I wish I could go to such a beautiful country with a rich history and culture… but they would murder me for being LGBTI so…

    ;-;

    • +11

      Do you really think that? I've heard a lot of propaganda and half bought into some of it until I actually went there. If you go as a tourist and stick to yourself why would anyone murder you? let alone pay any attention to you? we have this entitlement in the west where we think everyone cares about who and what we are when in reality most people don't care nor pay attention to you. If you plan to protest inside an Orthodox church to make a point well that is a different story.

    • Letting them know is your choice.

    • +2

      Just don't declare that or do coming outs in public and you gonna be alright. No one will care about your background whilst you are there.

    • +3

      Total BS mate. I'm a straight guy, but have some LGBT friends in Russia and they are totally fine. Russia is safe and a nice place to visit. FIFA 2018 was a proof of that. No issues at all.
      Rate of rape per 100,000
      Russia - 3.4
      Sweden - 63.5
      Finland - 15.2
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#By_country

      • +2

        It does not, and of course cannot, include cases of rape which go unreported or unrecorded.[12][13] It does not specify whether recorded means reported, brought to trial, or convicted. Each entry is based on that country's definition of rape, which varies widely throughout the world.

        There you go, boy. According to that useless table on Wikipedia, it's 15x more likely to be raped in Australia than in India. Or wait, perhaps it's the society's awareness what a rape is, that it's a crime and that people actually can and should report it?

      • +1

        Rape is way underreported in Russia and way overreported in Scandinavia.

    • +1

      It's Russophobic propaganda, don't believe it.

      This video might help - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOgLby3Beb0

      • -2

        It didn’t…

    • +5

      Don't get media control your minds.
      I'm gay and travelled through Russia, Ukraine and even met some guys through apps and stuff. Had absolute no issues.
      Very friendly towards foreign travellers and nice people they all wanted to show me around.
      The only trouble I had was my passport was 8 years old and I was wearing glassses when departing so it took quite a while until they finally let me out lol.
      Moscow, St.Petersburg etc are just absoltuely beautiful. Highly recommended.

    • +1

      Probably not murder but…
      https://spartacus.gayguide.travel/gaytravelindex_2018.pdf

      I chuckle at the 'anti-Russian' propaganda comments; the Russian people themselves are fed so many lies through state-controlled media. Russia has a terrible reputation for press freedom also. Try living in a democratic country on one of Russia's borders for a while, then you'll get a more accurate picture of the bullying and intimidation tactics of Putin and his crony government.

      • Hate to break it to you but practically ALL media you consumed is owned by one of the superpowers with an agenda who is trying to program you one way or the other.

        You can have the state-linked Russian or Chinese media or the more sophisticated Western banker/corporate controlled US/AUS/UK etc media. The Russian's are better off because at least most of them know they are being lied to…

        Also all governments use bullying and intimidation, even Australia (as witnessed by several recent police bills to victims and visa bans on various speakers). Think of Assange for example.

        I'll give it to you we're not at the same risk of 'disappearing' as the Russians and Chinese are.

    • +1

      You are drinking some western media cool aid there, nobody cares if you are lgbt anything, and presumably nobody would know so long as you don't go around parading naked on the street - which I definitely recommend you do not do.

  • Lovely place! comes highly recommended (just ask Trump)

  • +3

    I was there for the world cup last year around the same time, great weather with too many sights to see. Moscow / St Petersburg are stunning and it's trippy as when it doesn't get dark, takes a few days to get used to sleeping lol.

    Can't wait to go back one day!

    • Circadin (melatonin) FTW!

      Source: worked big night shifts. Home at 9am to a screaming newborn.

      • +1

        Do I need a prescription :O

        • Unfortunately, yes. And they cost $1/pop (1/day). Over the counter in other countries. Frustrating, since it's awesome, and naturally occurring. But searches suggest it's because parents may use them on overactive kids.

          Made me SO peaceful & sleepy. Usual triggers would wake me 10% max. I'd hear my baby son do usual screaming as he woke each time, for nappy/feed (wife sorted)… But it had zero stressful affect on me. Woke naturally, and full of beans for another 12hr+ construction shift.

          NOTHING like that 'sledgehammer' sleep that sleeping pills supposedly give, waking up groggy & confused.

        • +1

          Melatonin is sold in overseas supermarkets (Walmart in the USA, for example). Try ordering it online from a reputable source. I got 100 tablets for US$2.50 in Walmart.

          Local chemists sell homeopathic melatonin, which is near guaranteed to not contain any melatonin.

          https://www.bioglan.com.au/products/vitamins/melatonin-90s/

          "6X refers to the potency that is achieved through repetitive dilution and succession according to homeopathic principle. In this case, X refers to a 1 in 10 dilution, 6 times over."
          "Rather than providing a milligram dosage of melatonin into the body, this homeopathic product enhances your bodys own melatonin production."

          It's fraud.

  • +3

    Time to watch Insomnia (2002) again.

  • +5

    Incorrect title. There's no white nights in Moscow. Nevertheless great price and the best time to visit (June-August)!
    Moscow is the capital of craft beer in Europe, the choice these days is absolutely amazing. The biggest bottle shop in the world was recently opened in Moscow
    with 200 taps and 1000+ bottles in the fridge.

  • +3

    Outstanding price and country to visit. So much culture, people are generally friendly and hospitable.

  • Hi OP, silly question, but does this work in reverse? i.e. Moscow to Melbourne and back?

    • Not usually, unfortunately :/ Like flights from LON to SYD are often cheaper return than SYD to LON. Depends on taxes, competition and other commercial factors :/

  • Reading this, I wish we had taken a side trip to St Petersburg a few years ago when first traveled to Finland with our kids. My wife was concerned about going into Russia with them, so we didn't, but I'm now trying what would have been a relatively straight forward side trip.

    We went further north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, to Akaslompolo. This was in December so short days, mostly overcast, but when it was sunny the pinky sky colours were amazing, along with the popcorn snow covered trees.

    • +2

      St P would be the pick if you were only to choose one. A very beautiful city, both the Hermitage and the Hermitage hotel worth looking/staying at.

      Completely safe with children, Russian culture respects families more than here - if you are a family with kids people will let you skip to the front of the queues in airports etc

  • I figured I might be able to get a one way for $350, no such luck $700 return or one way same price.

  • What's the temperature like during the midnight sun period??

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