The Waterways of the Tsars, Russia

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Day 1
Today we leave St Pancras by Eurostar, travelling to Brussels, with a light meal and drinks, where we change trais and continue to Cologne. We spend the night at Le Meridien Dom Hotel.

Day 2
Cologne awaits to be explored as today is free day until the evening, when we board the Jan Kiepura sleeper to Moscow.

Day 3
We spend the day travelling across Poland, Belarus and into Russia.

Day 4
We arrive to Moscow in the morning and we get on board the cruiser MS Amakatarina, our floating hotel for the next days. We'll stay in Moscow for the next three days, enjoying the things the city offers to visitors.

Day 5
Today we'll enjoy a morning city tour of Moscow where we'll see many of the most iconic locations, including the Red Square, the Kremlin and the State Tretyakov Gallery, which we'll visit afterwards.

Day 6
This morning we visit the Kremlin and the guided tour includes the Armoury Museum. Later, we'll take a ride on Moscow's Metro system and finally in the afternoon, you'll enjoy a free afternoon to explore the city independently.

Day 7
We begin our cruise along the Moscow Canal and the Volga River and we'll stop at Uglich, where we'll go for a guided tour, followed by a visit to a Russian family house.

Day 8
We stop at Yaroslavl today for a sightseeing tour of this city and to visit the historic Transfiguration Monastery, located on the Solovetsky Islands.

Day 9
Today we stop in Goritzy, a small Russian village, where we'll visit the Monastery of St Cyril on the White Lake and the Museum of Icons before returning to our ship to cruise to Kizhi.  

Day 10
We dock at Kizhi Island, a UNESCO protected open-air architectural museum and reserve, where we'll have the chance to visit the Church of the Transfiguration. 

Day 11
We continue to Svirstroy, an unspoilt Russian village on the Svir river,100 miles (161km) from St Petersburg. We spend the night here.

Day 12
Today we arrive into St Petersburg, where we'll spend three nights. We'll have a sightseeing tour to discover the city once we arrive, which includes St Isaac's Cathedral.

Day 13
We enjoy a of the famous Hermitage Museum, that includes the largest collection of paintings in the world. This evening we enjoy the evening ballet performance at the Hermitage Theatre, the private theatre of the Tsars.

Day 14
Today we visit the Imperial Estate - Peterhof Palace, from where the Grand Cascade can be seen.

Day 15
Today is free until we transfer to the airport for our return flight home to London.

More about the trains

Eurostar: The high speed Eurostar trains link St Pancras International in London with Paris, Lille and Brussels. In your dedicated Standard Premier (the highest class of Eurostar travel available for leisure customers) carriage you'll find a less dense seat configuration, meaning the seats are larger and you have ample space to relax and stretch out. As part of the service you'll enjoy complimentary drinks and refreshments, served at your seat by friendly, helpful waiting staff.

Jan Kiepura: The Jan Kiepura EuroNight sleeper train serves the route between Cologne and Warsaw. The modern Polish sleeping cars offer one, two or three berth compartments with seats that convert to upper and lower berths at night, air conditioning and a small washbasin. Shared WCs are available at the end of each carriage.

Where you’ll stay 

Le Meridien Dom Hotel, Cologne: The boutique 5-star Le Meridien Dom Hotel enjoys a wonderful location between the train station and Cologne's UNESCO-listed cathedral. The hotel has a restaurant, bar and a summer terrace facing the cathedral. The air conditioned rooms feature warm, modern décor and have a telephone, television, fully stocked minibar, safe and a hairdryer. Winner of Great Rail Journeys’ Gold Award (2010) for outstanding customer service.

MS Amakatarina: this 5-star ship designed for passengers' comfort and convenience, offers public rooms that include solarium and sauna, two restaurants and a bar, the Panorama Lounge and a Conference Hall. The cabins have en suite facilities with shower and W.C. Upgrades and cabins with balconies are available at a supplement.

Customer Comments

"Our tour choice was 'Waterways of the Tsars' and early on 20th June 2011 at St Pancras Station we are among a group of 24 plus Tour Manager John whose first words to us paraphrase as "a holiday and a cultural adventure." Great Rail Journey veterans understood. Two days later we journeyed to Moscow. That adventurous overnight sleeper train forged an esprit de corps! There were guided tours in Moscow, our base now the ship MS Amakatarina which afterwards cruised for six days along those vast waterways, stopping at historic towns and villages with always a guide of high calibre (once a University Professor!) to provide essential cultural and historical background. The highlight was touring from our MS Amakatarina base to Petersburg! A spectacular city of opulent baroque palaces and gardens associated with Peter the Great and successive Tsars. In the Hermitage are some of the world's greatest art treasures. Memories on which to linger..." Mr and Mrs Scragg