Kalliningrad yeah or nae?

[Foo Fighter]

Have any of you wanderers ventured into Kalliningrad with your moho's, and if so, was it worth the trouble of getting the visa's? Looking at visiting the Baltic States later this year and other locations which border them

 

[James-Alex]

Sure someone has and will be along to give advice soon

 

[paddymcc]

No but Northern Boy might be able to help as he lives in Estonia (well it's not a million miles away)

 

[billym]

We looked into it in 2019, bouyed by reports of visa free visits which of course we're not true.
We couldn't be bothered with the hassle of getting Russian visas .
We loved the Baltic's though!

 

[Motörhead Fun]

You used to be able to get a cheaper visa for transiting Kaliningrad but think this was scrapped. Also Russia did announce a simpler and cheaper process for Russian visas generally but needless to say UK was not included. Shame really as would be useful to transit.

My understanding now is that you need a full Russian visa which is a bit of a pain to get for just a few days transiting. A company like Real Russia will give you the latest info and can help with the visa if you find the form too daunting. You also have to go to a centre and get fingerprinted etc. We did it for a train trip from York to Vietnam and travelled through Russia. I have to say one of the best countries we have been to and I found the people generous, courteous, and friendly. Nothing like the stereotype.

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[TheBig1]

Russia is way up the list of places I really must visit and experience. All the Russians I know say the stereotypes are rubbish

 

[Northern Boy]

No but @Northern Boy might be able to help as he lives in Estonia (well it's not a million miles away)

Routing UK to Baltics and beyond....

I use the Harwich to Hook of Holland route and then...

Southern route by road.....Germany, Poland, I don't have any advise on Kaliningrad, I just squeeze through the Polish/Lithuanian gap and carry on Northward.

Middle route partly by sea.....There is a great ferry route from Travemunde nr Lubeck in Germany to Liepaja in Latvia, 27 hours on Stenna Line (avoid M/F URD she had not been upgraded the others are OK). Mainly Lorries but OK for us lot too.

Northern route partly by sea.....I love the Sweden route via Hamburg, a small mermaid, the amazing bridge/tunnel thing to Stockholm and ferry to Tallinn. Leaving Stockholm the first four hours or so are breathtaking as you pass through the archipelago. Or you can go a bit further North on a ferry from Stockholm to Turku in Finland and then down on the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn.

I have also experienced the Danish, Frederikshavn to Gotenburg and drive on to Stockholm route.

So that little ramble has not helped you one bit with your question about Kaliningrad has it? I really am about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Its all a lot of fun any way you go

 

[monzer]

The fact that no one seems to have been there should be enough to make you go for it.

 

[paddymcc]

So that little ramble has not helped you one bit with your question about Kaliningrad has it? I really am about as much use as a chocolate teapot

I knew you would be able to help

I loved the Swedish archipelago for sure.

 

[Motörhead Fun]

You used to be able to get a cheaper visa for transiting Kaliningrad but think this was scrapped. Also Russia did announce a simpler and cheaper process for Russian visas generally but needless to say UK was not included. Shame really as would be useful to transit.

My understanding now is that you need a full Russian visa which is a bit of a pain to get for just a few days transiting. A company like Real Russia will give you the latest info and can help with the visa if you find the form too daunting. You also have to go to a centre and get fingerprinted etc. We did it for a train trip from York to Vietnam and travelled through Russia. I have to say one of the best countries we have been to and I found the people generous, courteous, and friendly. Nothing like the stereotype.

Give these guys a ring. https://realrussia.co.uk/Visas

They know their sruff and get arrange an invite that you need for a Russian visa if required. As I said earlier there used to be a transit visa thing for Kaliningrad that lasted 72 hours I think but I'm sure I read that this had been changed.

Please update us on what was said as I may be interested in next couple of years.

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[Foo Fighter]

Thanks for the info guys, especially northernboys alternative routes. I had heard that the border from Poland into Kaliningrad can be troublesome at times. If we decide to go for it enroute we shall let you know how we fared

 

[glenn2926]

Thanks for the info guys, especially northernboys alternative routes. I had heard that the border from Poland into Kaliningrad can be troublesome at times. If we decide to go for it enroute we shall let you know how we fared

Just playing about looking at maps for interesting ideas and Kaliningrad came up.
Did you go? How did you get on?

 

[suavecarve]

Just playing about looking at maps for interesting ideas and Kaliningrad came up.
Did you go? How did you get on?

FiL came back that way on the 72 hour visa thing a few years ago.
I have thought about it but trust the FiL when he said "Dont bother" as even with the 72 hour pass at the time, he said it wasnt worth it apart form ticking it off the wish list.

 

[glenn2926]

FiL came back that way on the 72 hour visa thing a few years ago.
I have thought about it but trust the FiL when he said "Dont bother" as even with the 72 hour pass at the time, he said it wasnt worth it apart form ticking it off the wish list.

Thanks for that. Shame really as it looks quite interesting. I’m in the very early stages of looking at the Baltic coast for a future trip and thought Kaliningrad looked like a way of getting into Russia fairly easily.

 

[suavecarve]

Thanks for that. Shame really as it looks quite interesting. I’m in the very early stages of looking at the Baltic coast for a future trip and thought Kaliningrad looked like a way of getting into Russia fairly easily.

I thought the same (in a few years time)
FiL has since done that journey again and did not go through it again. I think that coupled with Northern Boy s route tells a story !

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[Ian Bosman]

Russia is way up the list of places I really must visit and experience. All the Russians I know say the stereotypes are rubbish

Like anywhere else, the everyday people you meet are all pleasant. It is officialdom which is the usual first encounter that is the put-off. In our foreign travels including goodly parts of Southern Africa it has always been the same.

 

[Foo Fighter]

We were seriously going for it but for that damned Covid. Our issue wasn't so much the hassle of the visa. It was re entering Schengen from unknown Covid threats. We had an absolute cracking time in Poland and the Baltic States. Likewise we didn't enter Belarus or Ukraine for the same reason. We were literally 500 m from Kaliningrad and in Estonia only 100 kms away from St. Petersburg looking at the land border crossing into Russia from the bridge at Narva