With the summer upon us, many of our readers may be making travel plans. Perhaps some are going to Russia or the region for a study abroad or on business. This experience can be overwhelming on its own, and limited Russian skills may add to the stress. To make the process smoother, I would like to cover some basic concepts that may come in handy in your travels.

Air Travel

First of all, you need to book your flight (заброни́ровать рейс). Nowadays that’s easy to do over the Internet (по Интерне́ту), although if you are staying somewhere with spotty Internet access, you can do it in person at a travel agency (турфи́рма).

Some things to keep in mind when choosing your flight are departure time (вре́мя вы́лета),  arrival time (вре́мя прилёта), and any layovers (переса́дки).

At the airport in Russia, you will want to listen for the announcements for the check-in (регистра́ция). It usually goes like “Начина́ется регистра́ция и оформле́ние багажа́ на рейс но́мер… авиакомпа́нии… до… Регистра́ция произво́дится у сто́йки…” (Check-in and baggage check is now open for [airline name] flight [number] to [destination]. Check-in is at counter [number]). These announcements are also made in English, but the announcer can have a strong accent, making it hard to understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT5eBeG-QKI

If you hear “Начина́ется поса́дка…” at the beginning of the announcement, it’s time to go to the gate — that is the boarding call.

Accommodation

If you are an independent traveler, you will need to book a hotel (заброни́ровать но́мер). Once you’ve arrived, you need to see the reception (администра́тор, recently also increasingly ресе́пшен) to check in to your room. The check-in is called заселение. If you are staying in a dormitory (общежи́тие), you need to talk to your school’s administration about the move-in.

Trips

If you are planning to travel within the country, you need to buy tickets (купить билеты) to your destination. If you are planning to travel by rail (е́хать на по́езде), be sure to check if you are buying купе́ (a compartment) or плацка́рт (shared car).

Remember that some places have special discounted rates for students, so you are one, you may want to have your student ID (студе́нческий биле́т if you are enrolled in a Russian college) ready.

Any other things you would like to know to be able to navigate travel to and in Russia? I’m sure our readers who have traveled to Russia will have a lot to add.