Way to Russia Talk Lounge

Jebber45 · Frequent Guest Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 17

Hello everyone,

My girlfriend and I are heading to Moscow in just two weeks. We have planned a 2 day, 1 night trip to visit Rostov - and get out of the big city for just a bit. In talking to others who have been in the area, it was recommended that we visit Sergiev Posad and the monastery there. My girlfriend is Orthdox, and it is definitely something we are interested in.

We leave via the commuter train on Wednesday, October 1st from Yaroslavsky station in Moscow and were planning to get off at Rostov. We have a hotel booked, will stay the night, and return by train the following day.

In checking the stops on our train, I did notice that it stops at Sergiev Posad. So stopping off there in the morning for a tour of the monastery seems to be no problem. However, after our time there, we would need to get to Rostov. I looked at the train schedule and the only train option to get from Sergiev Posad to Rostov on that day looks to be on commuter train No. 824. Yet, this train departs at 4:35pm and arrives in Rostov at 7:42pm. This is later than I would like to arrive in Rostov. Ideally I would like to leave Sergiev Posad at around 2pm.

So, I was wondering if anyone knew of train(s) that I am not seeing, or alternatively how I could get there by bus. Or any other way that I could get from Sergiev Posad to Rostov mid-day. Thought about a taxi, but have no idea how much that would cost.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can give me!

James

vox16 · WayToRussified Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 324

Jebber45 · Frequent Guest Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 17

Thanks for the help with the buses! The bus routes that you listed in your post , can you clarify for me when they leave Sergiev Posad and when they arrive in Rostov. Sorry, it was a little unclear to me!

thanks again, James

vox16 · WayToRussified Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 324

Jebber45 · Frequent Guest Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 17

Just as a follow up.... We just missed a bus, and didn't want to wait for the next one.. So, we ended up taking a cab! It was 2500 rubles ($100-ish) for the 2 hour trip. Well worth it from our point of view as we had a nice cab driver who gave us a good tour. Not great if you are on a budget I guess, but it worked out well!

On a side note, I would not have stayed overnight in Rostov if I had to do it all over again. The hotel was crap, and there is only like two restaurants in town. The kremlin and yakov monestary were cool, but not very visitor friendly. Plus, most of the buildings were closed. In my opinion, Rostov should be like a 4-hour visit.