Named the main problems that Russian tourists will face on a long weekend

At the end of February, the Russians are waiting for four days off – from February 23 to February 26, we will have a rest. The most adventurous will add February 22 to these mini-vacations (you can always agree on a day off!). It is almost always possible to get out to a neighboring city for the weekend, but it will be quite difficult to arrange a small vacation abroad, even to open countries: it is too expensive!

According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, most tourists during the February holidays will go to the Krasnodar Territory, the Moscow Region, Moscow, St. Petersburg. At the same time, tour operators note that the February dates are gradually ceasing to be peak dates for tourism: people have spent a lot of money on the New Year holidays and have decided to take a break for now – but, of course, not all of them. Therefore, there is a demand for both hotel holidays, ski tours, and sightseeing tours in Russia. According to experts, not everyone realized it yet – the peak of demand is expected approximately 1-2 weeks before the start of the holidays, that is, after February 10-15.

For lovers of ski resorts, the February holidays are the last chance to enjoy their favorite sport. The traditional domestic Russian version is Krasnaya Polyana. An air ticket to Sochi from Moscow and back on holidays will cost from 23,000 rubles. Surprisingly, the prices bite, but not much – despite the fact that good hotels in ski resorts are always booked in advance, so there is usually little to choose from at the last moment. Krasnaya Polyana is probably not full this year, so a very good five-star spa hotel will cost 50 thousand for four days – expensive, but quite acceptable in its category. Hotels in the village of Esto-Sadok are much more expensive – there the price for four nights in a hotel reaches 120 thousand rubles. The most expensive offer is renting a cottage with an area of ​​200 square meters within walking distance from the Rosa Khutor ski lift: four nights there will cost 390 thousand rubles.

“Sochi is traditionally the leader in terms of the number of bookings both in season and off-season, while hotels and resorts in Sochi are no less popular than ski resorts. In Gelendzhik, large sanatoriums and hotels with infrastructure for a comfortable stay in the off-season are in the lead, ”ATOR quotes Oksana Bulakh, a representative of one of the major tour operators.

If we talk about domestic tourism, Kaliningrad is still popular as the most obvious “window to Europe”: people go for a walk around the city, and breathe the Baltic Sea on the winter beaches of Svetlogorsk or Zelenogradsk, walk along the Curonian Spit.

However, a much more common request at the end of winter is, they say, “somewhere warm”, bask in the sun at least a little. So, we are looking towards the southern and, moreover, accessible directions. The best solution is to try to arrange a vacation at your own expense or a day off on February 22 in order to have time to fly out at least a little earlier and win an extra day.

A popular destination for travel lately is Uzbekistan. An air ticket from Moscow to Samarkand (departure on February 22, return on the 26th) will cost approximately 31 thousand rubles, the same will cost to fly to Bukhara.

Another “top” destination is Armenia: ancient temples and monasteries, Lake Sevan, wine and lavash included in the UNESCO heritage list attract tourists not “instead of Europe”, but by themselves. You can fly to Yerevan and return back on holidays for 28 thousand rubles.

The most expensive weekend in Istanbul will cost – whatever one may say, and this is already “almost Europe” and the crossroads of the world (and at the same time the Second Rome): a round-trip flight without transfers costs at least 44 thousand rubles. The Turkish coast, even outside the swimming season, will cost even more: to fly to Antalya and back – from 51 thousand rubles, to Alanya the same amount, and ticket prices to Dalaman start from 45 thousand.

True, hotel prices on the Turkish coast will please you: in the low season, when you can’t swim, demand is low, so it’s quite possible to find a decent hotel for 3-5 thousand rubles per day – and this will be the first coastline where you can admire from the balcony by sea. Although inexpensive hotels are so-so compensation: all the same, a four-day vacation in Turkey for a family of three will cost at least 170 thousand rubles, and this is without the opportunity to swim!

Cairo is not the most banal idea: such a weekend trip will appeal to those who are not averse to spending many hours in a row in archaeological museums (and in general are fans of Ancient Egypt). True, and this is not cheap: a direct flight to Cairo and back, if you ask the price of tickets for February 22 and 26, respectively, will cost 51 thousand rubles. And here the price peak for the “top” holiday dates is more obvious than ever – it is worth slightly shifting plans and considering the option of departure on February 25 and return on March 1, as the ticket will rapidly fall in price to 28 thousand. Almost double!

Experts also predict that the top destinations will include Baikal, Tula, Kazan, Dagestan, Chechnya and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, as well as sightseeing tours to Tatarstan.

Alas, few people can afford such a vacation – therefore, it is possible that short trips (perhaps by bus) to the cities closest to Moscow will be popular at the end of February. For example, trips to Vladimir, Bogolyubovo, visits to the Suzdal Kremlin and local monasteries are in traditional demand. Such a tour, if you buy it from a tour operator, will cost from 43 thousand for two. Another option is a weekend tour to Tula (from 23 thousand for two). Another option is to go on a long weekend to Karelia: here prices start from 8550 rubles per person for three days.