Cheap Tricks

Where to Stay

Moscow: Rossiya 6 Ulitsa Varvarka (Kitai-Gorod metro station). Tel: +7-095-232-6254, 232-6046. Fax: +7-095-232-6248 • Kosmos 150 Prospekt Mira (VDNKh metro station). Tel: +7-095-234-1000, 234-1063, 234-1376. Fax: +7-095-215-8880. www.hotelcosmos.ru/ehome.html • Sport 90/2 Leninsky Prospekt. Tel: +7-095-737-6737, 131-3515

St. Petersburg: Sleep Cheap 18/32 Mokhovaya Ulitsa. (Chernyshevskaya metro station). Tel/fax: +7-821-115-1304. Tel: 273-5709. www.sleepcheap.spb.ru [email protected] • Hotel na Sadovoy 53 Sadovaya Ulitsa. (Sadovaya metro station). Tel: +7-812-314-4510. Fax: 310-6537 www.nasadovy.sp.ru • St. Petersburg International Hostel 28 3rd Sovetskaya Ul. (Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station). Tel: +7-821-329-8018, 277-0569. Fax: 329-8019 www.ryh.ru [email protected] • Gostevoi Domik 13 Grechesky Pr. (Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station). Tel: +7-821-271-3089. Fax: 271-0434. www.peterhousegroup.ru [email protected]

Suzdal: Pokrovsky Monastery Hotel Tel: +7-09231-20908

Kostroma: Volga Hotel Tel: +7-094-2546263

Yaroslavl: Yubileiny Hotel Tel: +7-085-2-30-9259

Novgorod: Beresta Palace Hotel Tel: +7-816-2158010

Where to Eat

Moscow: There are dozens and dozens of inexpensive places. For good, inexpensive Russian cuisine, try the Yolki-Palki and Shirli-Myrli chains, and Kitezh Restaurant.

St. Petersburg: Sherbet, 26 Vosstaniya Ul. (Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro station). Tel: 272-7613. • Blindonalt’s. 18 Ul. Zhukovskovo (Mayakovskaya metro station). Tel: 327-3694. • Demidov 15 Nab. Reki Fontanki (Gostiny Dvor metro station). Tel: 272-9522. • Pelmeni Bar 53a Kronversky Prospekt (Gorkovskaya metro station). Tel: 238-0977.

Other Contacts

For off-the-beaten track tours in Moscow, contact Patriarshy Dom (www.russiatravel-pdtours.netfirms.com) In St. Petersburg, Peter’s Walking Tours runs tours from the International Youth Hostel and other locations. See www.peterswalk.com for details. • Neil McGowan’s Russia Experience (including the Beetroot Bus) can be found at www.trans-siberian.co.uk. This should not be confused with www.trans-siberia.com, which deals with just the railway. • Omsk-based Eurasia Tour offers a variety of adventure-travel options in mid-Siberia. www.euroasiatour.net • Further east, Yakutsk-based Siberia Nomad can be found at www.siberianomad.com. This company offers some pretty hard-core trips (want to try reindeer herding with the Evenk?), although at higher prices than many true budget travelers can afford. • For Kamchatka, which is about as far east as you can get, Lena and Friends can be found at www.lenaandfriends.com

There are any number of websites dealing with accommodation and other facets of traveling in Moscow and St. Petersburg. For example: www.moscow-hotels.net, www.all-hotels.ru, www.waytorussia.net, www.moscow-guide.ru, www.saint-petersburg.com, petersburgcity.com, and many more. For real budget options in Moscow, try the more light-hearted www.unclepasha.com and its affiliate www.cheap-moscow.com.

If you’re dead set on doing things as cheaply as possible, registering as a member of www.globalfreeloaders.com may help you find cost-free accommodation across Russia. It’s a member-only thing, so read the site carefully

Special thanks to Alexandra Lanskaya of Patriarshy Dom Tours and Joseph Crescente, editor of the new St. Petersburg edition of the In Your Pocket city guides, www.inyourpocket.com, who both provided accommodation and dining recommendations for this sidebar.