Guided Tours in Russia: How to Book and Pay as a Foreigner
Yes, in 2026 you can still book guided tours in Russia even if all you have is a Visa or Mastercard from your own bank. GetYourGuide, Civitatis and Viator stopped selling activities in Russia in 2022, so you have to use Russian platforms or the few international ones that stayed. The real question isn’t where to book but how you pay: on many tours you book online without paying anything and pay the guide in cash on the day.
On this page I sum up the platforms that work, how you pay on each one and the tours that readers of this blog book most in Moscow, St Petersburg and Murmansk.
Where to book and how you pay on each platform
| Platform | What it offers | Website language | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik8 | Guided tours, day trips and tickets for museums and palaces | English | On many tours you book without paying online and pay the guide in cash. The rest only with a Russian card |
| Tripster | The biggest catalogue of local guides in Russia, including outside Moscow and St Petersburg | Russian only | Online deposit with a Russian MIR card, the rest in cash to the guide |
| GuruWalk | Free walking tours of the centre | English | Free booking and a cash tip at the end |
| Eatwith | Dinners in people’s homes, cooking classes and food tours | English | Foreign card, Google Pay and Apple Pay |
If you don’t have a Russian card, start with Sputnik8 and GuruWalk. If you already have a MIR card, Tripster opens up far more options, especially in smaller cities.
How to book on Sputnik8 without paying online
Sputnik8 is the Russian platform that works best for foreigners: the website is in English and many tours have English-speaking guides. It doesn’t accept foreign cards, but a good part of its catalogue can be booked without paying anything upfront.
- Go to Sputnik8 and pick the city.
- Open the tour and check the payment method: if it says payment on the spot (on place), you can book without a card.
- Choose the date, number of people and language, and leave your email and a phone number with WhatsApp or Telegram.
- You get a confirmation with the meeting point and the guide’s contact. On the day of the tour you pay in roubles, in cash.
A tip: only book the option you’re actually going to do. If you book several to decide later, the guide holds the spot for you and the ones you don’t use end up cancelled. If something comes up, cancel early from the confirmation email.
The widgets on this page show tours in English. Each tour page tells you which languages the tour is available in.
Tripster: more choice, but in Russian and with a MIR card
Tripster is the platform Russians themselves use to find a guide. It has far more tours than Sputnik8, including in Kazan, Murmansk, Lake Baikal and the Golden Ring, and you can message the guide before booking to ask whether they speak English.
It has two drawbacks. The website is in Russian only (your browser’s translator handles it fine). And to book you have to pay part of the price online: with a card from a foreign bank you can only pay for tours priced in a currency other than roubles, which in Russia are almost none. In practice you need a MIR card. The rest is paid in cash to the guide.
Guided tours in St Petersburg
St Petersburg is where readers of this blog book most, and almost always the same things: the Hermitage with the ticket included, Catherine Palace with the Amber Room, Peterhof and its fountains, and the Peter and Paul Fortress. For the palaces outside the city, a guide saves you the transport hassle and the ticket queues, which get long in summer.
You can browse all St Petersburg tours on Sputnik8. I explain how to book them one by one, along with free walking tours and food experiences, in the guide to guided tours in St Petersburg.
Guided tours in Moscow
In Moscow, what’s most worth a guide is the metro, because without explanations the stations are just pretty, and the Kremlin, where the guide sorts out entry to the cathedrals. There are also Soviet-era tours, visits to a dacha with a home-cooked lunch and day trips to Sergiev Posad.
You can browse all Moscow tours on Sputnik8. For your first day, a GuruWalk free tour of Red Square and the centre is the cheapest way to get your bearings: you book for free and leave a tip at the end, usually 10 to 20 euros per person. Everything else is in my guide to Moscow tours: city tours, free walking tours and private guides.
Murmansk tours: northern lights and Teriberka
In Murmansk a guide is almost essential: you chase the aurora by car, far from the city lights, and the road to Teriberka, the village on the Barents Sea, isn’t one to drive yourself in winter. Aurora season runs from late August to mid-April. I cover it all in the guide to the northern lights in Murmansk and the one on tours from Murmansk.
Other destinations: Kazan, the Golden Ring, Lake Baikal and Sochi
Outside the big cities, Sputnik8 has fewer tours in English. Tripster has much more to choose from, if you have a MIR card.
Kazan
The capital of Tatarstan is easy to see in one or two days; with a guide you get far more out of the Kazan Kremlin, where the Kul Sharif Mosque and the Annunciation Cathedral stand a hundred metres apart. More ideas in things to do in Kazan.
The Golden Ring
Suzdal and Sergiev Posad work as day trips from Moscow; for the towns further away it’s better to stay the night. You’ll find them all in the guide to the Golden Ring.
Irkutsk and Lake Baikal
It’s the must-do stop on the Trans-Siberian. From Irkutsk there are trips to Listvyanka and, in winter, out onto the frozen lake. It’s all in the guide to Lake Baikal.
Sochi
The Black Sea in summer and skiing at Krasnaya Polyana in winter, an hour apart. All in things to do in Sochi.
If you want to pay for everything online: the MIR card
With a Russian MIR card the problem goes away: you can pay online for any Sputnik8 or Tripster tour, and for Hermitage, Kremlin or Bolshoi tickets on their official websites. Foreigners can get one, and I explain how in the guide to the MIR card for foreigners. For every other payment on your trip, there’s a summary in how to pay in Russia.
Frequently asked questions
Can I book a guided tour in Russia with my Visa or Mastercard?
On most Russian platforms, no. But on many Sputnik8 tours you can book without paying online and pay the guide in cash, GuruWalk free tours are paid with a tip, and Eatwith accepts foreign cards. To pay for everything online you need a Russian MIR card.
Are there English-speaking guided tours in Russia?
Yes, English is the language with the widest choice. Sputnik8 has many tours in English, GuruWalk runs free walking tours in English in Moscow and St Petersburg, and on Tripster you can message the guide before booking to check.
Why don’t Civitatis or GetYourGuide have tours in Russia?
They stopped selling activities in Russia in 2022 because of the sanctions that followed the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and haven’t come back. That’s why you have to book on Russian platforms like Sputnik8 or Tripster, or on international ones that stayed, like GuruWalk or Eatwith.
What happens if I book on Sputnik8 and can’t make it?
Cancel from the confirmation email as early as you can. If the tour is paid to the guide you don’t lose money, but the guide holds the spot for you and often turns other travellers away. Only book the option you’re actually going to do.
Do I need to book in advance?
In summer, yes, especially for the Hermitage, Catherine Palace and Peterhof, which fill up with groups. In the low season you can book a day or two before. Free tours can be booked up to the same day.