Getting to Riga by train is almost a “no can do” — roughly 24 hours and many of the trains go through Belarus. I would look for a cheap flight from Poland to Riga (Air Baltic has a sale right now, I think). Second option would be Eurolines bus — there’s “good” bus service, but the distances are long and the roads aren’t great, so it takes a r-e-a-l-l-y long time.

I would try to fly in and out of Moscow, too. Other option might be bus or train from Vilnius, but avoiding Belerus takes some doing. Use http://reiseauskunft… for train schedules anywhere in Europe.

Where are you from? Have you worked out the visa issues for a trip to Russia?

I have a visa into Russia. Thank you.

I hope to do my travels overland. No flights. Maybe I should really check out the bus option.

Thank you!!

There is no direct train service between Poland and any capital of any of the the Baltic states. The only rail border crossing is served by only ONE train per day, which originates in Warsaw (7:10 AM daily) and ends in Sestokai, Lithuania, just behind the border. You have 15 minutes in Sestokai to change to another train that ends in Vilnius at 17:50. But again, trains from Vilnius to Moscow run through Belarus.

Maybe you should also look for a train or bus towards Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad (Königsberg) is an exclave of Russia between Lithuania, Poland and the Baltic sea. From there, there are direct trains to Moscow which are SUPPOSED to be extraterritorial, e.g. they pass the EU territory without stopping. But I’m not sure if they do or don’t pass through Belarus. Also, cheaper domestic rates may apply to air travel between Kaliningrad and Moscow.

Another way is to skip Belarus not from north, but from south, through Ukraine, with one direct train from Poland to Kiev and another from Kiev to Moscow. This connection DEFINITELY skips Belarus.

But any land form of transportation will take at least two days.

Hi, I´m thinking about traveling from St. Petersburg to Warsaw through the Baltic republics and I found this website… http://www.waytoruss…

I got some useful information from “Way to Russia” but I’ve read some eports from people who had problems (honesty and integrity issues) with some of the links and companies that show up on the site. Be careful about credit card info, etc.

Thank you!!

Belandthecity!
Thanx that good info for me to